Research focus areas
Victoria University of Wellington leads the world in some areas and has international success in many others. Explore some of our cutting-edge projects.
![materials-3200x1800.jpg Manufacturing state-of-the-art magnetic thin film materials.](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0004/1468228/varieties/ls_medium.jpg)
Advanced materials
Victoria University of Wellington's advanced materials researchers are among the best in the world and are leading many collaborations to improve our lives.
![Climate change-3200x1800px Landscape of an iceberg in a deep blue antarctic sea.](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0011/1426493/varieties/ls_medium.jpg)
Antarctic and climate change
We are New Zealand's top academic institution for Antarctic and climate change research and are a world leader in this vital field.
![asia-pacific-3200X1800.jpg Woman addressing listeners, with city at night in background.](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0007/1468231/varieties/ls_medium.jpg)
Asia-Pacific relations
The political, economic, cultural and environmental significance of the Asia-Pacific has never been greater and our research is focused on these four aspects.
![design-meets-art-history-image Dr Raqi Syed discussing the history of virtual reality](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0011/1702766/varieties/ls_medium.png)
Colliding conversations: virtual reality and beyond
Video conversations exploring how staff and students across different disciplines contribute to hot topics in virtual reality and digital creation.
![organic-science-3200x1800.jpg Research scientist adding liquid to glass flask.](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0005/1468229/varieties/ls_medium.jpg)
Organic chemistry
University researchers are working with world-class biologists and fellow global leaders in organic chemistry to tackle diseases such as cancer.
![law5-3200x1800.jpg Artistic iron work that trims the upper part of a building.](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0004/1450642/varieties/ls_medium.jpg)
Public law
Located at the centre of New Zealand political life, we are proud of our long history as the country's pre-eminent place to study and research public law.
![eng-3200x1800.jpg Two students work on an orange remotely operated vehicle that has large tracks – Wellington is in the background.](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0003/1450596/varieties/ls_medium.jpg)
Artificial intelligence, evolutionary computation and machine learning
Victoria University of Wellington is leading this exciting field of future-defining research.
![Big data AI Woman looks at man](https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/health/research/digital-health/images/big-data-ai-jpg/ls_medium.jpg)
Digital health
The future of healthcare lies in the digital solutions we are developing now—and the ones we are yet to discover.