The future of Dunedin depends on the ability of the city to harness the significant brain power that already exists in the private and public sector, Dunedin North MP Pete Hodgson says.
‘‘We have to accept that there is no future in seeking to get some form of large company to locate here. We have to build from our existing talents.''
Mr Hodgson is ideally placed to provide an overarching view of the city's future. The MP is also Economic Development Minister, Tertiary Education Minister and Research, Science and Technology Minister, all of which have a significant presence in the city.
The University of Otago, one of the most successful research universities in the world, was right in the middle of his electorate and several Crown research institutes also had a presence in the electorate.
The planned closure of Fisher and Paykel Appliances was sad for Dunedin but not unexpected.
The key now was to retain the research and development and design jobs from the company, and develop them for the future.
However, it was important not to forget about the contribution of primary production and its offshoot industries to the region.
New Zealand was a world leader in the sheep industry and it was not surprising that sheep genomics was most advanced in this country.
What was probably not understood was that sheep genomics was centred on Dunedin through Invermay and the university.
If Dunedin had a fault it was being unable to understand what it was good at, he said. The city was the most research-intensive city in New Zealand or Australia.
One person in 200 in the city was involved in full-time research, with no teaching, and often those people were regarded as senior in their field. That percentage was unrivalled in New Zealand or Australia.
The proportion of the population studying for a doctorate was nearly 1% and while a lot of those people would leave the city, that was an example of how intensive research was in Dunedin.
Another significant part of the population was involved in research and teaching so it was no surprise that Otago was rated one of the top universities in New Zealand, Mr Hodgson said.
‘‘This doesn't have to be all about commercialisation. Much is public good research, done for the benefit of New Zealand and the world. It has to be done somewhere.''
Other examples of world-leading research was seen in the area of pharmaco-vigilance, which was run from Otago. That involved checking reactions to drugs, with the most obvious example the misuse of drugs.
The data produced was for international consumption, Mr Hodgson said.
World-class injury prevention research was carried out in the city and the diabetes centre was part of the World Health Organisation's global network.
‘‘I could go on and on with examples, but the message is that when you are thinking about research in Dunedin you need to think about private and public research and possible commercialisation.''
Some research was easy to commercialise but there was still a lot of work to do.
Fifteen years ago, there was probably only two companies associated with research coming out of the university - Zenith Technology and Taylormade Productions. Now, there are plenty of examples.
ICT companies could be spun off quite easily but biotechnology companies took a long time to become profitable, something investors often overlooked.
‘‘Some are going well, others are always a year or two away. That's the nature of the industry.
"People must not lose faith in the quality of the science in our biotech companies. It is very good.''
If there was one area of concern it was from the lack of private investors prepared to put their money into the high risk/high reward areas of research.
The Upstart incubator had access to local seed funds that would soon be augmented by the Government. That would help commercialise more companies, Mr Hodgson said.
Funding was available for those talented people who could look across a wide range of research and identify opportunities.
Design was another growth area that should be nurtured. ‘‘If Dunedin has a world class reputation for its medical research, there is no reason why we can't build on our design research.''
