The new initiative from Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand will provide financial assistance to academics to attend international meetings in their field of expertise and to undertake profile-building activities at international conferences, like hosting workshops or networking events.
In return, academics must work with Business Events Wellington to lead a bid to bring the international conference to Wellington in the future.
To be eligible for the fund, academics must work for Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington or the University of Otago Wellington and already volunteer in some capacity with an international association in one of the sectors that Wellington has pinpointed as “strategically important”.
The sectors Wellington is targeting cover regenerative action, computer engineering, technology, business, science and the creative arts – along with the various subfields within these areas.
Winning conferences in the range of 500 to 1,200 delegates in these priority sectors is the aim of the program, by removing financial barriers for academics to create international association relationships which are key to securing congress hosting rights on multiple fronts – to build desire with academics to engage with the bidding process which in turn creates a relationship between the city and the association.
“The strength of Wellington’s conference offering lies in its world-class research community,” said Business Events Wellington manager, Irette Ferreira.
“This fund supports our local experts to lead on the world stage, bringing more international events – and the knowledge, innovation and economic benefits they deliver – home to Wellington.”
The fund will have two rounds of applications each year going forward, with the current round open now until November 21.
“Wellington’s research community has a global mindset and a strong track record of collaboration,” said Victoria University of Wellington’s deputy vice-chancellor of research, Margaret Hyland.
“This fund will give our academics the tools and confidence to lead international bids, bringing world-class events and new opportunities to the capital.”
