The Future of Curiosity-Driven Research   

The 2026 NZAS conference and awards ceremony is being held in-person on 3 December 2026 at the Bioeconomy Sciences Institute in Mt Albert, Auckland.

Register for the conference here

Registration is free but vital as you must be signed in on-site. 

For livestreaming - check our channel on Youtube.

Programme

12.30-1.30pm: NZAS AGM

1.30: Presidents' Address

Our annual President’s Address will set the scene with the crisis in the research system resulting from cuts and reform.

2-4pm: Panel and workshop on curiosity-driven research

This ~2 hour panel and workshop will examine what’s at stake, what we might lose and how we can fix it. We’ll begin by looking at the loss of the Marsden Fund and how we can best preserve curiosity-driven research, followed by examining how this fundamental research can best flow into successful applied science, missions and innovation.  We conclude by asking what solutions look like, and how well MBIE’s four Pillars can represent the differences between fields.

Panelists TBA

4 - 5pm: 2026 NZAS Awards