The NZVCC have just announced a great initiative, along with Business NZ, TEC and the University Commercialisation Office of NZ. As you might have guessed by the participants, it’s all about business-university links.

UniServices, the commercialisation arm of the University of Auckland, is hosting an event to promote university innovation and technology in the health sector on Tuesday 18 May. Six other New Zealand universities will be joining the University of Auckland at the event….Under this initiative, a series of similar events involving all eight New Zealand Universities will be held around the country over the next twelve months. Each event will focus on a specific theme such as biotechnology, energy, food and nutrition, ICT, education, design and creative arts and high tech manufacturing.

What impresses me most is that they are running this industry by industry, and involving all universities, so that they have the best prospect of linking relevant business and industry people. It ties in well with yesterday’s science announcements, which will have been no coincidence, but if the universities can kick on with this sort of coordinated initiative, then I have a lot more hope for universities’ contribution to economic development in NZ. For once the universities are not just saying that spending money on them will magically lead to growth but are doing something practical. Good on them.

By the way, if you want to read some voodoo economics about how university spending magically leads to growth, Universities Australia has just published a consultant’s report to that effect.