Sir Paul Reeves to chair next CoRE selection round

(Media Statement from the Hon Dr Michael Cullen, Minister of Tertiary Education)

Sir Paul Reeves will chair the 2006/7 Centres of Research Excellence contestable funding round, Tertiary Education Minister Michael Cullen, announced today.

This funding round is the third since the government established the Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs) in 2002 to produce world-class research that is focused on New Zealand’s future development.

Each centre has a number of partners, including other universities, Crown Research Institutes, wananga and private research groups.  Massey, Auckland, Victoria and Lincoln universities host the existing centres.

“It gives me a great deal of pleasure to announce that Sir Paul has kindly accepted to chair the CoRE Fund Committee for the third time,” Dr Cullen said.

“Sir Paul’s deep understanding of the tertiary sector as well as his extensive experience brings significant value to this important selection round.  The establishment of the CoREs has led to collaborative research networks.

“These partnerships impact positively on the economy, driving it forward.  The research community provides New Zealand with an enormous opportunity to become an innovation-led country.”

Sir Paul, current Chancellor of the Auckland University of Technology, is a former Governor General, Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand.  He chaired the CoRE Fund Committee for the selection rounds in 2001 and 2003.

The government announced in August another two CoREs would be added to the existing seven and that an additional $10 million of operating funds and a further $20 million for capital purchases would be made available to the fund.

In this round the seven existing centres will be able to apply for funding for a further six years and applications will also be invited to establish new centres. 

The Royal Society of New Zealand will conduct the funding round on behalf of the Tertiary Education Commission.  Proposals are due in December with final decisions to be made by June 2007.