AgResearch, Lincoln University merger planned

[marsden_online]

Buh - what?! That'll change the landscape a bit.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10560936

Agresearch is New Zealand's largest Crown Research Institute, with 1000 full-time staff, 604 of whom are full-time researchers, while the university has 610 on its payroll, 219 of those full-time academic staff.

Staff were told of the proposal early today, and consultations are now under way on creating a new university with combined revenue of $230 million and assets of $485m.

After a merger costing an estimated $2.5m, the organisations expect to save about $2.5m a year and attract additional revenue of $50m a year.

Lincoln University vice-chancellor Roger Field said the merger was not based on cost-cutting through job cuts, but the greater opportunities that it offered.

Comments

[ankhst.livejournal.com]

It could be very good for both parties, I reckon (aside from the general staff cuts). AgResearch often pay for postgrads to do research projects for them (as their thesis/research work), which have to be supervised by an academic or two as well as the CRI scientists. Now Lincoln have access to more potential research projects, more staff, and probably funding, and AgResearch researchers will have more ready access to cheap (student) labour for their work. But we'll have to see how it plays out.