During my visit to the Euroscience Open Forum in Dublin last week, I participated in a panel discussion entitled ‘Science Advice for European Policy’ organised by the UK charitable trust Sense about Science. This organisation aims to equip people to… Read More »Is it peer reviewed?
Welcome to SciPoDS Welcome to the Centre for Science in Policy, Diplomacy and Society (SciPoDS), in the Public Policy Institute of the University of Auckland. Positioned at the nexus of science and public policy, SciPoDS combines a commitment to academic… Read More »The Advanced Technology Institute – opportunities and challenges for academia
On 4 July 2012 physicists at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, announced that they now have compelling evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson, an elementary particle whose existence was postulated 48 years ago by Peter Higgs… Read More »The nature of scientific knowledge – inspiration from Higgs
A well constructed theory is in some respects undoubtedly an artistic production — Sir Ernest Rutherford Science is fundamentally about developing ideas and testing them to gain a better understanding of the universe, not just about experimental studies that gather… Read More »Has science lost its scholarship?
During recent weeks, I have been in Europe and Israel at a number of engagements related to understanding how the world’s small advanced counties are developing and using their science and innovation systems. Several consistent themes emerge, and these are… Read More »‘Science is the greatest innovation of all time’: some observations from the small advanced economies
There is a very interesting initiative to create a dialogue under way in Britain. Anti-GM activists have indicated that at the end of May they are going to destroy approved field experiments of genetically modified wheat, performed by a very… Read More »Dialogue or direct action?
Two recent news items have highlighted an increasing discussion in Europe on the need for more early stage and discovery research to meet two major challenges: driving innovation for economic growth, and responding to emerging global issues such as food… Read More »View from our antipodes
It is gratifying to see that New Zealand is becoming internationally recognised for its excellence in clean technology research. A major event in the clean technology world is the annual CleanEquity Monaco conference, an invitation-only showcase designed to accelerate innovation… Read More »Green growth: Success for emerging New Zealand clean technology companies
Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate and President of the Royal Society of London, has recently given two important lectures which must be essential reading for all those interested in science and its role in developing New Zealand. In his Anniversary… Read More »Science matters to us all
It is satisfying to see from the 2011 rankings of Asia-Pacific countries by the leading science journal Nature that New Zealand and New Zealand research institutions continue to rank highly despite our relatively low level of investment in basic research.… Read More »NZ science – well regarded but could do better