The Nuffield 2025 Contemporary Scholars Conference (CSC) wrapped up last week in Auckland, running March 8 to March 16.
This CSC, organised by Rural Leaders and hosted by Rural Leaders and Nuffield International, brought together over 100 newly selected Nuffield Scholars from around the globe. The CSC offered scholars an immersive experience through a series of carefully curated activities, workshops and speakers.
It’s an immersive platform for new scholars to engage with thought leaders to address global agricultural challenges. The 9-day programme featured presentations, panel discussions, and field trips. This year’s conference emphasised leadership development, critical thinking, effective communication, wellbeing, Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, trade and exposure to New Zealand’s unique value chains.
For Rural Leaders, hosting this CSC provided an opportunity to showcase Aotearoa’s advancements in the food and fibre sector. Participants explored local farming systems, sustainability practices, and technological innovations, gaining insights into how New Zealand maintains its competitive edge in global agriculture.
An important aspect of the CSC is the networking among scholars, fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange. Many of these newly connected scholars will travel together internationally in small groups during their Global Focus Programme (GFP), another key chapter in the scholarship programme.
The GFP is a four-week tour across multiple countries, further enhancing scholars’ global perspective on agricultural practices.
CSC Programme highlights included:
Presentations: Scholars attended sessions led by global thought leaders addressing pressing agricultural challenges. These talks provided insights into innovative solutions and strategies shaping the future of agriculture.
Speakers included: Jodie Redcliffe (Nuffield International and Australia CEO), Kate Scott (Nuffield/Rural Leaders Chair), Hon. Damien O’Connor MP, Christoph Graf Grote (Nuffield International Chair), Steve Kearney (Chief Mental Health Officer NZDF), Shannon Stallard (Lead with Virtue), Russell Pickering (The Pickering Group), Andrew Watene (Head of KPMG Propagate), Jessica Smith (Deputy Chief Executive at Te Tuapapa – Ministry for Housing and Urban Development), Marcin Markowicz,
(2023 Nuffield Scholar, Poland), Bruce Weir (GM Country Banking Rabobank), Campbell Parker (CEO DairyNZ), David Chin (CEO LIC), Tim Gibson (Director LIC), Corrigan Sowman (LIC Board Chair), Charlotte Rutherford (Dir. Of Sustainability Fonterra), Vangelis Vitalis (NZ Chief Trade Negotiator), Sally Thomson (Nuffield Executive – Brazil), Bev Flatt (Global Partnerships Manager – Agriculture Advocacy and Activiation, Bayer-Sponsor), Lisa Rogers (CEO Rural Leaders) and more. Thank you to all for giving your time and sharing your isnights.
Panel Discussions: Engaging panels allowed scholars to delve deeper into topics such as sustainable farming practices, climate change adaptation, and technological advancements in agriculture.
Field trips: Participants embarked on field trips to local farming operations and agri-businesses, witnessing firsthand New Zealand’s cutting-edge agricultural practices and value chain innovations.
These included: DairyNZ, LIC, Balle Bros., Plant and Food, Leaderbrand, Punchbowl and more.
Networking: The entire conference was essentially a networking session, enabling scholars to connect, share experiences, and lay the groundwork for future collaborations.
And, did we mention the Nuffield Games? These were held near the end of the conference and, well, there’s really nothing like it.
While the true impact of this CSC will play out over time, these activities collectively enhance the scholars’ understanding of global agricultural dynamics equipping them with the knowledge to drive positive change in their respective regions and industries. For New Zealand – it puts the country front of mind amongst a large cohort of rising global rural leaders.
Feedback has been unanimously positive. The success of this CSC is underpinned by our conference sponsors’ generosity.
Rural Leaders, Nuffield NZ and Nuffield International wish to express their thanks to: Bayer, Nuveen, LIC, PWC, Rabobank, Laguna Bay and MyFarm Investments. Thank you for making this CSC possible.
You can download this CSC’s programme here for more detail on the conference’s nine days.
A huge thanks also to Phil Morrison for binding together the CSC’s insight threads so well during the conference. Phil facilitated the event expertly and was instrumental to its success.
For the 2025 Nuffield New Zealand Scholars: Lisa Portas, Dani Darke, Alan McDermott and Jon Pemberton, their journeys are underway and their research topics are now more carefully defined. During the CSC every 2025 scholar gave a 2-minute summary of their intended research.
Take a look at the topic presentations from our four 2025 NZ Scholars below:
The 2024 NZ Scholars will submit their completed reports in the coming weeks. We’ll share those widely after our investing partners have had a first preview.
