Commercialise to create impact, New Zealand scientists urged

Get science out of labs and into the hands of end-users, says research institute head

Creating research impact requires commercial initiatives rather than just the dissemination of knowledge through academic channels, the chief executive of the Plant and Food Crown Research Institute has said.

Accepting the first Commercial Icon Award at commercialisation agency KiwiNet’s annual awards ceremony on 30 November, David Hughes said that New Zealand researchers had moved into licensing and creating spinout companies to ensure their work got “out of our labs”.