President of the European Research Council at Conference

Tuesday, 7 February 2012, 2:07 pm
Press Release: Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand

Wellington, 7 February 2012

President of the European Research Council key note speaker at Science Policy Conference

Prof Helga Nowotny, the President of the European Research Council, will be in Wellington to speak at the inaugural Asia Pacific Science Policy Studies Research Conference, 8-10 February.

Professor Nowotny is one of the three most influential actors in the European research ecosystem. The European Research Council had a budget for the period 2007 to 2013 of € 7.5 billion (around NZ$12 billion). Its schemes are open to top researchers of any nationality or age who wish to carry out their frontier research in the 27 EU Member States or associated countries.

The Austrian academic is Professor emerita of Social Studies of Science, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University, NY. as well as a doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of Vienna.

The Financial Times rated Prof Nowotny as one of their most influential women of 2011 in the field of science and technology.

ENDS

Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH > >

BUDGET 2012:
Parliament Debate Live - Video Of Budget 2011
Keith Ng Interactive Graphic: How the Budget Breaks Down
BUDGET 2012 - FULL COVERAGE: Reports / Analysis - Press Kit - Reaction (from everybody) - Previews (from everybody) - Pre-Budget Announcements

Gordon Campbell: On the Budget’s Spreadsheet Victories

It wasn’t as if expectations were sky high, exactly. Chances are, it was always more likely that we’d be seeing Bigfoot rampage through the Beehive lock-up than catch a glimpse of a credible growth agenda from this government. More >>

Sludge Budget Report - Short The Dollar! MEMO: To international bankers FROM: C.D. Sludge Please short the dollar! It'll be good for both you and us. And you know you want to. Greexit, Eurogeddon... watch out... flight to quality and all that. Follow your instincts. The NZ Debt Management Office has been so surprised at the unprecedentedly low interest rates that it can borrow at that it has already entirely pre-funded the 2013 fiscal deficit - all $8 billion of it! More >>

Pattrick Smellie Comment: Doddling along the best we can hope forCriticising Budgets for lacking vision or imagination is like shooting fish in a barrel, but even so, this year's Budget again feels like a missed opportunity. Perhaps it's the intrusion of real world needs that means the government couldn't make better political use of the $558.8 million it expects to gather in its first partial asset sale. More >>

SKA decision a breakthrough for Australia-NZ science
Australia and New Zealand will remain at the forefront of global radio astronomy after it was announced that the hosting rights for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope will be split between Australia-New Zealand and South Africa. More >>

Also:

SKA to be split between Australia, NZ and South Africa

BusinessDesk: NZ dollar hits 6-mth low, revives, as EU meets; budget looms
The New Zealand dollar climbed from a six-month low as European Union leaders meet amid talk Greece could leave the euro zone and ahead of the budget locally which is expected to chart the route back to fiscal surplus. More >>

Also:

Business.Scoop - While you were sleeping: Relief rebound
Overnight - World Week Ahead: EU rattles the globe
Business.Scoop - While you were sleeping: Flight to quality intensifies
BNZ - Weekly Overview
Business Desk - While you were sleeping: Worries on euro risk
Business Desk - More >>
HSBC - RBNZ Observer Update
Business Desk - NZ dollar holds near 4-month low after EU pledges bailout
Business.Scoop - While you were sleeping: Greece, US jobs looking up
Binoy Kampmark - The European Elections: The Assault on Austerity
Keith Rankin - Greece, Germany and Euro: who are the bad guys?
OECD - Economy: Bigger Euro Bailout Funds Needed - OECD

EARLIER:

BusinessDesk - NZ Dollar Outlook: Kiwi may fall on Euro polls, Chinese data - NZ dollar falls to new 3 1/2-month low on Euro leader fears - NZ dollar falls below 80 cts for first time since January - While you were sleeping

Broadband:Chorus Spend Up

Chorus, the telecommunications network operator spun out of Telecom last year, will spend as much as $965 million over the next two years in the roll out of its ultra-fast and rural broadband networks. More >>

Media: Quickflix welcomes probe of Sky TV content deals
ASX-listed Quickflix has welcomed the New Zealand antitrust regulator's probe into Sky Network Television's content deals with internet service providers, saying the issues raised by the Commerce Commission are "serious and real."

Sky's shares sank 8.3 percent to a two-and-a-half month low $5 after the regulator said it will investigate the pay-TV operator's contracts with ISPs and potential barriers to accessing content. The announcement was made after the commission approved a joint venture between Sky and state-owned Television New Zealand to launch a budget pay-TV platform, Igloo.More >>

ALSO:

Commerce Commission - Igloo joint venture won't lessen pay TV market competition
Labour - Igloo deal signals weakening of Commerce Commission
IGLOO - Igloo Celebrates Commerce Commission Decision
BusinessDesk - MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares fall; Sky TV down on regulator probe
BusinessDesk - MediaWorks joins queue of Igloo critics

MPI: No Fruit Fly Outbreak Detected to Date as Actions Continue
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) reports that testing on samples from fruit fly traps in the Auckland Controlled Area has so far shown no sign of further fruit flies.

However as a precautionary measure, the Ministry continues a large field effort to ensure that if any of the pest insects are present, they are not able to spread from the Avondale area where the one male fly was found last week.
More >>