Hey everybody,

Last week MBIE published a set of reforms that signal the conclusion of three years of restructuring in our national science system. It’s a considerable pivot away from primary industries and health, toward “advanced technology like like AI, quantum, and synthetic biology”. It’s all filtered through outcome-based accountability, looking to “mission-led partnerships” to fix chronic underfunding and boost commercialisation.

Reception is mixed in the innovation and government sectors. Read the PM advisors’ briefing pack and look out for the webinar on 16 April for a chance at Q&A. $122M is a decent chunk of change—that’s a full $24 per person in Aotearoa! JK, we’re currently just below Greece and just above Poland in the World Bank rankings of R&D spending as %GDP. It’s not dire… it’s just not great. It’s a reallocation, not new money, so it won’t move the dial. But let’s see if it helps these mission-led partnerships develop: if we can support our community’s natural propensity toward collaboration with decent cash (and not too many strings) we can get a real win. After all, R&D spending stats cover both public and private dosh—strong collaboration is how the leaders became the leaders.

The Parts Trader deal has an official number on NBR: $650M #needDrEvilemoji.

The part great universities play in developing great cities: “To state the obvious, we believe that world-class universities build world-class cities“ and “UC hit a record-breaking 25,000 students last year. This growth has coincided with a 6% rise in Christchurch’s youth (15-24) population“. Yup, obvious to anyone here, so it’s great to see this message out there. University towns are just, like, cooler, maaan.

Reminders:

Highlighted entries are new from last week.

Thu Apr 9th, 10–2.30pm, Pitching & Being Trusted, workshop at Victoria run by Callum and David from Hardwired.

Thu Apr 9th, 12pm, Women in HealthTech meetup at Bellagio.

Thu 10th to Mon 13th Apr, World Rural Health Conference at Tākina

Mon, Apr 13th, 12.30–1.30 pm, Research funding in Aotearoa New Zealand—Threats, trajectories, and the potential for transformation, Prof Jonathan Boston at Rutherford House (Vic).

Tue, Apr 14th, Environmental research across Asia, one-day symposium also at Rutherford House.

Thu Apr 16th, 2pm, FinTech Festival, Shed 6, celebrate the founders graduating from Fintech Lab 2026.

Mon Apr 20th, 10–4.30pm, Governing for Growth, run by the Angel Association.

Tue, Apr 21st, 2–3pm, What can AI do about Landslides, Flooding and Earthquakes? at Massey an online—register here.

Tue, Apr 21st, 5–8:30pm, Cracking the U.S. Market with TaxStudio and Studio Leonelli.

Wed, Apr 22nd, 12.30-1.30pm, Bots On The Front Line - How automation is easing the pressure in healthcare, online

Wed Apr 29th, 5–7:30pm, Aurora Climate Lab launch at Creative HQ.

Sat May 2nd, TEDxVUW, with a theme of THRESHOLD, hosted at Victoria in Kelburn. Almost all speakers announced and tickets are now on sale.

Wed May 6th, AI and Creativity Summit, Wellington edition at Datacom.

May 7th–8th, ANZ Digital Twin 2026 somewhere in Wellington.

Tue, May 12th, Digital Health Leadership Forum at the InterContinental.

Wed May 14th, 5:15–7:30pm, AI for Good New Zealand at The Atom—Interested in speaking? Register your interest here.

Fri May 15th, NZ Tech Rally brings all devs together at Tākina.

Mon May 18th to Sun May 24th, Techweek26 all over Welly

Tue May 19th, 12–6pm, Hutt Valley Manufacturing & Innovation Expo.

The May 21st, 2:00pm, Movac Growth Jam, details and location coming soon

The Atom at Victoria is open for any unfunded Founders (Students, Early Stage, Idea Stage) and is run by Entrepreneur in Residence, Parisa Shademan - Email [email protected], or join the Facebook community.