Published Mar 11, 2025
Along with supporting researchers to bring their innovations to market, we also have the important job of connecting world-class researchers at Te Herenga Waka with industry and government departments wanting to apply academic rigour to answering society’s toughest problems. The calibre and breadth of expertise at Te Herenga Waka means it’s no surprise that we’ve nearly doubled the output of our commissioned research and advisory (CRA) services in just one year.
Wellington UniVentures’ relationship manager, Kartik Nagarajan, has a talent for connecting people and opportunities. With excellent networks throughout industries, government, and academia built over many years, Kartik looks where Te Herenga Waka expertise can be applied to real-world problems.
In the past year, Karik has worked with researchers from across the University, from experts in law to political science and history.
Kartik says, “Connecting people with opportunities is just one part of my role. The rest of it involves removing barriers to make it as easy as possible for busy academics to make the best possible use of their time by focussing on providing research and advice, not administrative tasks.”
Kartik helps researchers prepare stellar proposals, coordinate and manage contracts, and keeps an eye on budgets. He works closely with academics throughout the entire lifecycle of the project to help coordinate research activities such as workshops and international travel. At the same time, his close relationship with clients throughout the project helps ensure the research output is directly applicable.
Among Kartik’s successes in 2024 include his close and trusted relationship with Dr Mona Krewel, senior lecturer in Comparative Politics.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mona since 2023 on various contracts and engagements with government agencies around social media perception and misinformation.
“Mona is exceptionally well-connected and respected for her expertise, and in the past year we’ve had multiple successes together.”
A notable collaboration in 2024 was work for the NZ Defence Force on the social media landscape in NZ based on data from the NZ Election Study. This important project looked at how New Zealanders use social media for political information purposes and how social media use in NZ has developed over time. The team also analysed data on who uses social media in NZ based on demographic characteristics and political attitudes and how New Zealanders perceive mis- and disinformation and their own ability to recognize false information on the internet as well as their trust in social media.
Dr Krewel says, “UniVentures and Kartik supported me all the way through the project, from providing the offer and calculating project budget to making the contract and doing the billing.
“I very much appreciate their support as a researcher, as this allows me to focus on the research side of things and not having to calculate RA costs or overheads. It is also especially helpful that Kartik regularly checks in with our client to see how the contracting progresses and to work through any holdups and that I do not have to do that.”
Dr Krewel says she hopes to continue the successful collaboration with Kartik and Wellington UniVentures, adding:
“I very much enjoy doing commissioned research because it allows me to deliver research which is not only published in academic journals and read by only a handful other academics in my field but instead to produce research that has policy impact and thereby help to contribute to evidence-based policy-making in Aotearoa.
“Working with UniVentures has also made me aware of the financial value of my work and allowed me to generate a constant research income flow to fund my Internet, Social Media and Politics Research Lab (ISPRL). With the revenue that resulted from my commissioned research work I have funded RAs, teaching buyouts, and conference travel. Much of this would not have been possible without the support of UniVentures. I hope to continue the joint work with them in the future.”
Dr Krewel presenting to Vice Chancellor Nic Smith and Minister Shane Reti
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