R&D funding options seminar

Members of the Waiariki Institute of Technology Centre for Business, Research and Enterprise ahead of next week's funding presentation. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua businesses considering carrying out research and development will get an extra insight into what funding is out there and how Waiariki Institute of Technology can help with research capabilities at a special seminar next week.

The presentation by Callaghan Innovation business growth manager Peter Maxwell will be held at Waiariki next Tuesday.

Mr Maxwell will be talking about the possibilities of using Waiariki students and staff capability to apply for funding to support businesses ongoing research and development. Representatives from Waiariki will present on the areas they have research and development capability in, including the information technology sector, healthcare, forestry management and tourism and hospitality.

"We will be talking about what Callaghan Innovation does and how they can support companies especially around grants funding. There are various schemes that can help companies from the small to the the very large."

Mr Maxwell said grants could range from $5000 to the hundreds of thousands, depending on the project.

"Any company that is looking at research and R&D, especially around the technology area, should come along."

He said they'd teamed up with Waiariki because a lot of the students were involved in projects as part of their training and they wanted to help try to link the students and appropriate businesses.

Mr Maxwell said they could provide advice on how to get to the stage where they were able to apply for funding, but funding wasn't given retrospectively, so companies should start talking with them early.

Careers and Employability centre manager Nadene McClay said the presentation would be useful for any businesses looking at innovation.

Mrs McClay said there were several ways Waiariki could assist businesses in research - from students carrying out research for businesses through to research that might tie in with what staff members or graduate students were doing.

Mrs McClay said many businesses were busy with their day-to-day business and presentations like this were good for helping link everyone together and show local businesses some of the opportunities that were available to them.

While they had worked with Callaghan Innovation on projects before and assisted with application, this was the first time they'd held a presentation like this.

The Department for the Centre for Business, Research and Enterprise head, Clarke Raymond, said one of Waiariki's strategic goals was to contribute to the growth of the region in more ways than education.

"Waiariki's staff possess a wealth of knowledge and skills across a broad range of industries. This resource can be accessed in the form of applied research and consultancy to make a valuable contribution to the economic and social aspirations of our community."

He said the centre was tasked with identifying and developing those opportunities.

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Darrin Walsh said he would recommend any businesses head along to the event.

He said it would be particularly beneficial to businesses who had some plans but weren't sure on how to carry them out, or who were after additional funding but weren't sure how to go about it.

-Those wanting to attend need to RSVP to mark.grant@waiariki.ac.nz by tomorrow.