The University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Mariela de Amstalden as a full professor to the New Zealand Law Foundation Chair in Emerging Technologies.
Dr de Amstalden is an expert in the field of Law and Technology. She is currently a UK Royal Society/Leverhulme Trust/British Academy APEX Award grantee (Academies Partnership in Supporting Excellence in Cross-disciplinary research) under visiting fellowships at the University of Cambridge (2024-2025) and at the University of Oxford (2026).
Dr Mariela de Amstalden has been appointed New Zealand Law Foundation Chair in Emerging Technologies, within Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture – Faculty of Law.
The role of Chair, as Director of the Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies, aims to provide national and international leadership in the field of emerging technologies, fostering collaboration across disciplines and delivering innovative solutions to the legal and policy issues shaping our technological future.
The Centre was established through a partnership with the New Zealand Law Foundation, as part of the University’s Leading Thinkers Initiative. Dr de Amstalden is the second person to hold the position of Chair, with Professor Colin Gavaghan serving as the inaugural Chair and Director of the Centre from 2010-2022.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming Dr de Amstalden to the Faculty of Law,” says Dean of Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture – Faculty of Law, Associate Professor Bridgette Toy-Cronin.
“She brings a thoughtful and rigorous approach to examining the legal challenges posed by emerging technologies. Her mix of international experience and deep curiosity makes her a great fit for this role, and I’m excited to see the conversations and research she’ll lead from Aotearoa.”
During her career, Dr de Amstalden has worked as associate professor in Law and Technology at the University of Exeter and an assistant professor in Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the University of Birmingham.
Her international academic experience includes a lectureship at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, research fellowships at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She has also held a number of visiting appointments, including at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and the University of Edinburgh, among others.
Her professional appointments have included Legal Advisor on academic secondment to the UK Food Standards Agency and to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research in Geneva.
Dr de Amstalden graduated with a PhD in Law from the University of Lucerne in 2015 and has Master of Law degrees from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Intellectual Property Law) in the Netherlands and from the University of Lucerne (Global Legal Studies) in Switzerland. She is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and has been a member of the Spanish Bar since 2011.
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to take up this role and to contribute to the vibrant academic community at Otago,” Dr de Amstalden says.
“Its commitment to excellence in interdisciplinary and international collaboration makes it an ideal place to advance new thinking in socio-legal and policy responses to emerging technologies.
“I particularly look forward to collaborating with new colleagues and students to guide and shape the next generation of technological governance in Aotearoa, the South Pacific and beyond.”
The Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies is a pioneering research hub dedicated to exploring the legal, ethical, and societal implications of rapidly evolving technologies.
University of Otago Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson says, “We are delighted to welcome Dr de Amstalden to Otago and to the Faculty of Law, and we look forward to her contribution to our University community and to society as a whole, through this visionary Leading Thinkers’ Chair.”
Committed to ensuring that Aotearoa New Zealand is prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, the work of the Centre informs policy, guides regulation, and fosters public understanding in areas where innovation intersects with law and ethics.
It builds on the legacy of the Law Foundation-sponsored Human Genome Research Project and extends to encompass a wide array of transformative technologies, including nanotechnology, alternative bioenergy, robotics and artificial intelligence and cognitive science.
New Zealand Law Foundation Chair Ned Fletcher says the Law Foundation is delighted at the appointment of Dr de Amstalden to the Chair in Emerging Technologies.
“Scientific advancement is constantly throwing up new issues in law and ethics around emerging technologies, and the Law Foundation looks forward to Dr de Amstalden’s contribution to the informed debate of these issues, given her outstanding academic record and broad research interests in technology, bioeconomics, robotics, and intellectual property rights,” he says.
Dr de Amstalden will start in the role in June, 2026.
About the Leading Thinkers Initiative at Otago
Established in 2003, the Leading Thinkers Initiative was Otago’s unique response to the Government’s Partnership for Excellence Framework. Tertiary institutions were offered the opportunity to seek matching funding, from a government contribution of $25 million, for large-scale investment projects.
Instead of using the capital offered for infrastructure, Otago chose instead to build knowledge leaders, with the aim of supporting world-class scholarship at Otago in areas considered vital for the nation’s future wellbeing.
The final result of the campaign was 27 Chairs and projects, reaching across all academic disciplines and in line with the University’s strategic goals. The diversity of initiatives was a key strength, attracting benefactors with widely varying interests from across the community.
You can read more about Leading Thinkers here
Kōrero by Margie Clark, Communications Adviser, Development and Alumni Relations Office