Message from Society President – Dr Brent Clothier
Dr Brent Clothier shares his foreword as President of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
Kia ora Fellows,
This will be my last President’s message to the Academy as my three-year term-of-office ends on June 30. I have enjoyed my term greatly, some early ‘bumps’ notwithstanding.
I have served four years on the Academy Executive Committee, one as President-Elect, and three as President. It has been fulfilling and rewarding to work with the great Committee team, first under Professor Charlotte Macdonald as Chair, and now Distinguished Professor Geoff Chase. Kia kaha for the years ahead.
One of the priorities in the new 20 year “Growing Pathways of Knowledge” Strategy of the Royal Society Te Apārangi is on ‘people and partnerships’. The last three months have seen the Society carrying out exemplary work in this space by supporting, empowering, engaging and growing our networks for mutual benefit and value.
In mid-March, Paul Atkins and I attended the board meeting of the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) in Sydney. ACOLA is the umbrella organisation linking the six disciplinary Academies in Australia. The ACOLA members were very interested to learn of our new strategy, as they themselves, both collectively and individually, are beginning to develop their own long-term strategies.
Our Te Apārangi Council meeting on 27 March was held in Nelson, and on the day after the meeting the Council took the opportunity to visit both Plant & Food’s seafood research facility, and the campus of the Cawthron Institute, New Zealand’s largest independent research organisation. It was inspiring to see the excellent research being carried out at the interface of science, industry, and non-governmental organisations.
A highlight of the year for the Academy is always the New Fellows Day, which was hosted in our whare on 18 April. And a highlight of the year for the Society is always the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes which we hosted at Parliament on 1 May. These events celebrate the amazing talents and inquisitive natures of our researchers, right across the spectrum of science, research, and education. I know the Prime Minister and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology were impressed. Indeed, Minister Judith Collins told us so, when Paul Atkins and I met with her separately in the Beehive on 9 May!
A strategic priority of Te Apārangi is “… to grow our international networks, particularly in the Pacific region”. On 3 May we hosted, in our whare, FAST – the France Aotearoa Science & Technology Incorporated Society for their annual meeting, which this year celebrated the 200 years of FASTing since Dumond D’Urville’s explorations in New Zealand. A highlight of the meeting was the keynote talk by Sir Collin Tukuitonga, who ‘zoomed’ in from Niue. Then on 6 May, we hosted seven delegates from CAST, the Chinese Associate for Science and Technology, led by Madam Luo Hui the Director-General of International Affairs of CAST.
So after an amazing four years, three as President, I wish you all the best for the future. And I’m looking forward to being an active part of that.
Ngā mihi
Dr Brent Clothier FRSNZ
President, Royal Society Te Apārangi