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Hundreds rallied for better pay and working conditions at the University of Otago on 11 October, 2022. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Sweeping job cuts across financially strained universities are heaping pressure on the science sector.
There have been close to 600 job losses across Massey, Victoria and Otago Universities - a mixture of voluntary and forced redundancies - resulting in some subjects being eliminated from institutions altogether.
Much of the financial strife was brought on through the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw student numbers plummet, and remain inconsistent ever since. Scientists fear it will take a toll on the small research sector for many years to come.
Physicist Nicola Gaston joins Kathryn Ryan to discuss what has led to this point, as well as Professor Michael Plank, who played a crucial role in the Covid-19 modelling team.
NZ Association of Science co-president Troy Baisden also joins Kathryn to share his wider concerns of an impending collapse across Crown-funded research projects.