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National Business Review
06-05-2025
- Business
- National Business Review
Ministry of Awesome appoints new CEO
The board of trustees at Ministry of Awesome has appointed Graham Scown as its new chief executive, effective immediately. Over the past three years, Christchurch-based Ministry of Awesome has transformed from a regional startup hub into a key national player supporting founders across the country. Scown's appointment will be focused on implementing Ministry of Awesome's strategic plan to build New Zealand's most impactful founder-focused programmes for globally ambitious startups, supporting a rise in women entrepreneurs through Electrify Aotearoa, and supporting a more aligned and collaborative startup community. 'Graham's experience in bridging the worlds of government, universities, startups, and industry will be instrumental as we build founder-focused startup programmes to increase economic productivity in New Zealand through startup innovation,' Ministry of Awesome chair Dale Stephens said. For the past 13 years, Scown has led the University of Auckland's venture-building efforts through UniServices, spearheading national programmes such as Momentum, to foster student entrepreneurship, and Return on Science, to drive research commercialisation. His leadership in building successful programmes to enable first-time founders to build new ventures will strengthen Ministry of Awesome's model of leveraging entrepreneurs-in-residence to deliver founder-to-founder mentorship. Scown takes over from interim CEO James Burnes, who will remain a member of the board of trustees, a position he has held since 2019. 'Ministry of Awesome is playing a pivotal role in connecting and supporting a national framework for founder success,' said Scown. 'There's incredible momentum building in our startup ecosystem, and Ministry of Awesome is uniquely placed to fuel that, from the grassroots to the global stage. I look forward to working with our partners and founders to extend our role helping to create companies reaching global markets.' This is supplied content and not commissioned or paid for by NBR.
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Ministry Of Awesome Announces Graham Scown As New Chief Executive
Press Release – Ministry of Awesome Over the past three years, Christchurch-based Ministry of Awesome has transformed from a regional startup hub into a key national player supporting founders across the country. Tuesday, 6 May 2025 — The board of trustees at Ministry of Awesome is pleased to announce the appointment of Graham Scown as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Over the past three years, Christchurch-based Ministry of Awesome has transformed from a regional startup hub into a key national player supporting founders across the country. Scown's appointment will be focused on implementing Ministry of Awesome's strategic plan to build New Zealand's most impactful founder-focused programmes for globally ambitious startups, supporting a rise in women entrepreneurs through Electrify Aotearoa, and supporting a more aligned and collaborative startup community. 'Graham's experience in bridging the worlds of government, universities, startups, and industry will be instrumental as we build founder-focused startup programmes to increase economic productivity in New Zealand through startup innovation,' says Dale Stephens, Chair of Ministry of Awesome. For the past 13 years, Scown has led the University of Auckland's venture-building efforts through UniServices, spearheading national programmes such as Momentum to foster student entrepreneurship and Return On Science to drive research commercialisation. His leadership in building successful programmes to enable first-time founders to build new ventures will strengthen Ministry of Awesome's model of leveraging entrepreneurs-in-residence to deliver founder-to-founder mentorship. Scown takes over from Interim CEO James Burnes, who will remain a member of the Board of Trustees, a position he has held since 2019. Burnes' priority over the past 14 months as interim CEO was to strengthen the organisation's focus and capabilities to deliver founder support in anticipation of changes by the government to NZ's science and innovation sector. 'Ministry of Awesome is playing a pivotal role in connecting and supporting a national framework for founder success,' said Scown. 'There's incredible momentum building in our startup ecosystem, and Ministry of Awesome is uniquely placed to fuel that, from the grassroots to the global stage. I look forward to working with our partners and founders to extend our role helping to create companies reaching global markets.'
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Ministry Of Awesome Announces Graham Scown As New Chief Executive
Tuesday, 6 May 2025 — The board of trustees at Ministry of Awesome is pleased to announce the appointment of Graham Scown as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Over the past three years, Christchurch-based Ministry of Awesome has transformed from a regional startup hub into a key national player supporting founders across the country. Scown's appointment will be focused on implementing Ministry of Awesome's strategic plan to build New Zealand's most impactful founder-focused programmes for globally ambitious startups, supporting a rise in women entrepreneurs through Electrify Aotearoa, and supporting a more aligned and collaborative startup community. 'Graham's experience in bridging the worlds of government, universities, startups, and industry will be instrumental as we build founder-focused startup programmes to increase economic productivity in New Zealand through startup innovation,' says Dale Stephens, Chair of Ministry of Awesome. For the past 13 years, Scown has led the University of Auckland's venture-building efforts through UniServices, spearheading national programmes such as Momentum to foster student entrepreneurship and Return On Science to drive research commercialisation. His leadership in building successful programmes to enable first-time founders to build new ventures will strengthen Ministry of Awesome's model of leveraging entrepreneurs-in-residence to deliver founder-to-founder mentorship. Scown takes over from Interim CEO James Burnes, who will remain a member of the Board of Trustees, a position he has held since 2019. Burnes' priority over the past 14 months as interim CEO was to strengthen the organisation's focus and capabilities to deliver founder support in anticipation of changes by the government to NZ's science and innovation sector. 'Ministry of Awesome is playing a pivotal role in connecting and supporting a national framework for founder success,' said Scown. 'There's incredible momentum building in our startup ecosystem, and Ministry of Awesome is uniquely placed to fuel that, from the grassroots to the global stage. I look forward to working with our partners and founders to extend our role helping to create companies reaching global markets.'
RNZ News
27-04-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Auckland University Covid vaccine safety study could lose funding in final year after DOGE review
Photo: AFP A vaccinologist behind a ground-breaking study into the safety of Covid-19 vaccines is worried US funding cuts could undermine vaccine confidence. The Global Vaccine Data Network, run from Auckland University, has drawn on data from more than 300 million people to research vaccine safety and efficacy since 2019. At the end of March, researchers learned that a five year project investigating Covid vaccine safety had been caught up in the Trump administration's funding cuts. Co-director and associate professor Helen Petousis-Harris said the project was in its final year, and it was heartbreaking to see its delivery now under threat. "We're four years into it, so we've achieved a huge amount of the work, which is now really bearing the fruits." She said the work was important for vaccine confidence and future pandemic preparedness, with extensive data sets enabling researchers to answer questions about vaccine safety and rare adverse events robustly. "To do that you need diverse populations, you need to have populations using those vaccines, and to detect these rare things you need huge numbers of people." "It was really ground-breaking, the output ... these are by far the biggest studies of its kind to be undertaken." Petousis-Harris said the project was "collateral damage" at a time when many were undervaluing scientific research. "It's gutting, but it's not really surprising," she said. "We are entering into a time now where scientific institutions are being eroded, it destablises and undermines science. "So the more you strip it away, and the people that do it, the more you feed the narrative that it (science) has no benefit." She said the team needed to find about US$2 million to finish its work into Covid vaccine safety, after the US health department's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) terminated its funding. The findings from the Global Vaccine Data Network - "a multinational, investigator-led research network that conducts globally coordinated epidemiological studies on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines" - include the largest-ever study into the safety of Covid-19 vaccines. A study supported by the CDC as part of its financial assistance totalling US$10,108,491. The network's website said the Covid vaccine safety study was terminated 13 months early following a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) review. Greg Murison, chief executive at UniServices - which hosts the project in Auckland - said the global Covid vaccine safety project had received funding from the CDC since 2021. He said a recent change in policy in the United States had resulted in "major cuts to health funding and research in the United States and globally". "Recently the CDC informed UniServices that that funding for the GVDN would cease with immediate effect." He said research that did not rely on CDC funding would continue, but confirmed work was underway to consolidate and secure the data that had been collected on vaccine safety. The Ministry of Health said it was aware of the overseas funding decisions affecting the network, but said it had not received a request for funding.
The Guardian
24-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Global study on Covid vaccine safety falls victim to Trump cuts
The largest ever global study into the safety of Covid-19 vaccines has been terminated just 13 months shy of completion, after becoming caught up in the Trump administration's sweeping funding cuts. The Global Vaccine Data Network, which was established in 2019 by the New Zealand-based vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris and the US-based vaccinologist Steven Black, has already produced some of the world's most comprehensive studies on vaccine efficacy and safety, based on data from more than 300 million people. The University of Auckland hosts the network, which collaborates with institutions and experts across the globe. The groundbreaking five-year project to evaluate the safety of Covid vaccines across hundreds of millions of people received more than NZ$10m from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2021, but after a recent funding review by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), it can no longer finish the project, Petousis-Harris said. The network looks at data from millions of people to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines, analyse risk and benefits and respond to issues such as vaccine hesitancy. To do this requires 'enormous study power, enormous populations and diversity', said Petousis-Harris, who is an associate professor at the University of Auckland. But funding for the global Covid vaccine safety project was 'suddenly cut … without warning, without planning', she told the Guardian. The second Trump administration has initiated sweeping cuts to US scientific institutions and government departments, as well as research and aid programmes, which has affected projects across the globe. On 1 April, roughly 10,000 people lost their jobs at agencies including the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health in a continuation of one of the largest mass firings in American history. The cuts to CDC has not only affected the data network's 'bottom dollar' but will further delegitimise science, scientific institutions and scientists, Petousis-Harris said. 'The impact of the Trump administration to withdraw such vast amounts of funding globally is almost hard to articulate.' The Covid vaccine project needs roughly US$2m to finish its work, she said. The network hopes another funder – be it governmental or philanthropic – will fill the financial gap. Meanwhile, the loss of such research risks creating the conditions for disinformation about vaccines to flourish. 'We saw it go on steroids over the pandemic period, and now, by disestablishing so many institutions that do have some authority in the space, you've just opened it wide up for different narratives,' Petousis-Harris said. The University of Auckland's UniServices – the commercial arm of the University that supports research programmes such as the Global Vaccine Data Network – confirmed the project's funding had been cut. 'Recently the CDC informed UniServices that that funding for the [project] would cease with immediate effect,' said Dr Greg Murison, UniServices' executive director. 'We are now in the process of consolidating and securing the data and material created on vaccine safety and research the [project] has collated since 2019.' The network had published 'several significant scientific findings since its inception' and some of its other projects will continue due to being funded separately. The New Zealand health ministry said it was aware of the decision to end the study's funding. 'At this stage, the Ministry has not received a request for funding,' it said.
