2024 Awards Sponsors
A big thank you to our 2024 Awards evening sponsors. Their generous support allows us to continue to bring together Aotearoa's science, research, and deep-tech communities for a night of celebration and provide an even better experience.
Ngā mihi nui.
These sponsors believe in the power of science and research to create world-changing innovations. Find out more about them below.
Campus Plus – Networking Sponsor
Campus Plus New Zealand helps clients discover the first moments of commercialisation curiosity, nurture commercialisation confidence, and create engagement insights to drive commercialisation impact and spin-out success. Our programs, tools and solutions are designed by professionals experienced in research commercialisation and university spin-out investment. We use best practice methodologies to complement existing activities, enabling you to maximise your impact.
Our professional development programs upskill researchers and identify commercialisation talent early, empowering the creation of a commercialisation pipeline. Platform Plus provides rich engagement insights, enabling commercialisation professionals to do more with what they’ve got. The Curiosity Fund, launching in 2025, will provide investment funding for spin-outs from Campus Plus-affiliated institutions.
AJ Park – Sponsor of the Commercialisation Impact Award
For over 130 years, AJ Park has helped companies and individuals identify, develop, protect, commercialise, manage, and enforce their IP rights in New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and throughout the world.
We use our technical expertise in patents, trade marks, commercial and litigation services to help our clients turn their ideas into assets. Within these groups, we have sector expertise in a range of industries including biotechnology, information technology, life sciences, mechanical and electrical engineering, and fast-moving consumer goods.
BNZ – Sponsor of the Research Entrepreneur Award
Bank of New Zealand was founded in 1861 and has been an integral part of New Zealand life ever since. Today the bank employs over 5,000 people in New Zealand; works with Personal, Business, Agri and Private Wealth clients; and has 135 branches and Partners' Centres across NZ.
We're committed to positive change, focusing on kaitiakitanga (caring for the natural world), and manaakitanga (caring for people and communities), and are actively taking steps to accelerate the just transition to a net zero emissions economy, one that supports the regeneration of the natural environment. We are delighted to partner with KiwiNet to support, promote and showcase research that is changing our world and which has led to commercial success.
KCA – Sponsor of the Commercialisation Rising Star Award
Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA) is the peak body representing research translation organisations and individuals participating in or supporting the commercialisation of Australian and New Zealand publicly funded research. It is the leading body for best practice in industry engagement, commercialisation and entrepreneurship.
KCA has existed since 1978 and is a founding member of the global Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals. KCA currently represents an 800 plus member community of practitioners, collaborators and advisors spanning the broad publicly funded research innovation system, led by a passionate and dedicated Board of Directors.
PwC – Sponsor of the Breakthrough Project Award
Every day 185,000 PwC people in 157 countries work hard to build strong relationships with others and understand the issues and aspirations that drive them. In New Zealand, PwC employs over 1,250 people and has offices in the Auckland, Waikato, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago regions.
Beyond our traditional service offerings, PwC New Zealand has a strong industry focus, with multi-discipline teams dedicated to key industry groups in both global and national markets. For our clients, this means the best local knowledge combined with the broadest global experience.
Our partners and staff are dedicated to solving the complex problems businesses are facing in today's changing marketplace, leveraging our integrated global network to meet client needs.
Sprout Agritech – Sponsor of the Breakthrough Innovator Award
Since 2015 Sprout has been building global agrifoodtech businesses and entrepreneurs through its Accelerator and venture investment. Its focus is on investing in entrepreneurs and technologies that improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production and distribution.
Sprout provides emerging agrifood technologies and start-ups with a pathway to global markets and international investment networks through its local and sector-focused group of investors including Finistere Ventures, Our Crowd, and Fonterra.
Ara Ake – Emerging Innovator Awards Sponsor
As Aotearoa New Zealand’s future energy centre, Ara Ake focuses on advancing the country’s energy sector by accelerating the demonstration, commercialisation and deployment of critical innovations and emerging technologies into the market.
Ara Ake collaborates across the energy ecosystem to enable energy solutions to become commercially viable and support the decarbonisation of New Zealand.