22 August 2017
Start of work on Joint Facility marked by Minister
The start of work on a world-class $206 million joint facility to house AgResearch and Lincoln University researchers,
students and staff - and create new ways of working together for greater impact - is being viewed as an important step
forward for agriculture, science and education in New Zealand.
Leaders from AgResearch and Lincoln University were joined by Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, and
Minister for Science and Innovation, Paul Goldsmith in marking the early work being underway on the site of the new
facility today.
The facility, parts of which will be complete in 2019 and the remainder in 2020, will accommodate 700 scientists and
students who will work and learn in a new shared environment, to produce innovations for New Zealand’s primary
industries and help grow the New Zealand economy. The facility will be jointly owned by AgResearch and the University,
and DairyNZ will be a tenant.
“The connections forged inside this facility are going to mean a new era of top quality science and impact for
agriculture, which will in turn mean more prosperous communities across New Zealand,” says AgResearch chief executive
Tom Richardson.
“It is also going to be a huge drawcard for the smartest minds to join in our research and keep us at the cutting edge.”
“There’s been a lot of work done to get to this point of having a spade in the ground, and the site now being prepared
for the 27,000 square metre building. I think there is a real sense of anticipation that we are going to have a facility
that is something quite special.”
Lincoln University Chancellor Steve Smith called it a historic day.
“Lincoln’s future in the national tertiary system and its national and international standing will be defined by what
happens within the walls of these buildings that will become the first physical home for the Lincoln Hub.
“The opportunity for Lincoln University – one which we intend to seize – is to unleash the potential inherent in having
our teachers and students working alongside and partnering with the leading-edge scientists from AgResearch, other CRIs
and industry.
“The real power in learning and research comes from proximity: human relationships, being in the same space; chance
conversations and the synergies observed between different academic and scientific disciplines,” Mr Smith says.
Minister Goldsmith was joined by representatives from Lincoln University and AgResearch at the event in signing a
document to be placed in a time capsule that will eventually be incorporated into the site.
Selwyn MP Hon Amy Adams also attended the event.
Ends