Wellington University makes it easier to benefit from its research

Two new Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington initiatives make it easier for government, businesses and other organisations to benefit from the wide-ranging expertise of the New Zealand university with the highest proportion of academics conducting high-quality research.

Students, fellow researchers, potential partners, media and the general public will also benefit after the University launched an open access repository for its academics’ journal articles, conference papers, book chapters and other research outputs, as well as more user-friendly profile pages for the academics on the University website.

The new profile pages make it easier for users to search for academics based on keywords and field of research tags. Academics can also set availability tags, including for media inquiries or membership of an advisory committee.

The open access repository, on the Figshare platform, is a rapidly growing collection of freely accessible research. Visitors to the repository are able to view and download material for their own use, with some available under Creative Commons licensing.

Wellington University was number one in New Zealand’s main measure of research quality—the six-yearly Performance-Based Research Fund—in both 2018 and 2012.

“The University nurtures intellectual curiosity that pushes the boundaries of new knowledge and enhances the world around us,” says Vice-Provost (Research) Professor Margaret Hyland.

“Sharing that knowledge as widely as possible is a fundamental part of what we do and these two initiatives are already helping greatly with that.

“With so many countries suffering the effects of COVID-19, including renewed lockdowns, and international travel off the cards for the medium term, it is crucial our academics and their research have a strong and easily accessed online presence, so they can continue to offer maximum benefit to New Zealanders and the rest of the world, and we can secure and maintain the often international collaborations and partnerships that make so much of that research possible.”

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