The New Zealand Medical Education Trust was established on 27 November 1973, in celebration of the Otago Medical School’s centenary. The Trust was founded to promote and advance post graduate medical education across New Zealand.

The Trust operates as a charitable organisation dedicated to pioneering and fostering independent research, innovation, and development in the medical field. It provides scholarships and grants for continuing education, supports investigations in remote areas, and works to expand access to medical knowledge. The Trust's overarching goal is to support and encourage the advancement of postgraduate medical education throughout the country.

Gold Sponsor and Gala Dinner Sponsor 

Medical Assurance (MAS)

MAS is a New Zealand-owned insurance and investment company that’s been enhancing the financial health and wellbeing of our members since 1921. We offer a range of insurance and investment solutions designed to protect what matters most and help grow our members’ wealth. 

As a mutual organisation, owned by our members, we're driven by their best interests - not by offshore shareholders. Our commitment to outstanding service and support has earned us the Consumer People's Choice Award for House, Contents and Car insurance nine years in a row. 

Find out more:  mas.co.nz

Gold Sponsor 

Medical Protection Society (MPS)

Medical Protection offers members professional support and advice, including a 24/7 emergency phone line, access to complimentary counselling, and a full risk management education programme. In addition, we now offer Practice Membership that provides comprehensive indemnity if your practice faces a complaint or investigation not covered by a member’s individual indemnity.

Find out more: medicalprotection.org/nz.mas.co.nz-practice-membership

Partners

University Book Shop

Step through the doors of the University Book Shop (UBS) into one of New Zealand’s best-loved independent bookshops. Owned by the Otago University Students’ Association, UBS caters to the specialised needs of students and academics, but it is primarily a bookshop for everyone. 

Housed in a distinctive triple-brick building dating back to 1910, the shop has a rich history. Originally built for  confectionery company Romison and Co., the building produced boiled sweets and chocolate tablets. Since 1962, it has been home to the University Book Shop,where a hydraulic hoist that once lifted trays of sweets now moves trolleys of books between floors.

The distinctive building was also home to the offices of Landfall, New Zealand’s first and longest-running literary journal, now published by Otago University Press. Founding editor; Charles Brasch - a key figure in shaping New Zealand's literary identity - supported writers like James K. Baxter, Ruth Dallas and Janet Frame, all of whom were regular visitors to the shop.

Today, Brasch's original editing desk holds pride of place on the shop's lower level. Its beautifully turned legs are quiet tribute to the literary legacy that lives on within these walls.

University of Otago

Founded in 1869 by an ordinance of the Otago Provincial council, the University of Otago is New Zealand's oldest university. It was endowed with 100,000 acres of pastoral land and granted authority to confer degrees in Arts, Medicine, Law, and Music.

The University opened in July 1871 with a teaching staff of just three Professors. These early academics covered a wide range of subjects: Classics, English Language and Literature; Mathematics and Natural Philosophy; and Mental and Moral Philosophy alongside Political Economy. Further funding allowed for rapid expansion. Law lectures began in 1873, and Medicine followed in 1875. Mining was introduced as early as 1872, with a dedicated School of Mines established in 1878.

Originally located in a building that later became the Stock Exchange on Princes Street, the University moved to its iconic current location in the late 1870s with the construction of the northern wings of the Clocktower and Geology buildings.

Today, the University of Otago is home to over 20,000 students, including more than 18,500 full-time equivalent students, continuing a proud legacy of academic excellence and innovation.