I’d like to start today by expressing my sorrow at the death of Jiayi Li, a Chinese student who came here to learn and grow, but lost her life.

1. Uni Not Only Option So says the Industry Training Federation, which points out that limited university entrance is not the end of the world.
2. Zero Fees in Queenstown …are successful for SIT, which has put on new courses to meet demand.
3. Video Killed the Radio Star Steven Joyce, former radio boss, is now a YouTube hit (ish) with clips of Labour MPs taking the piss out of him in Parliament being viewed 5-6,000 times.
4. Education & Immigration Education NZ’s Rob Stevens has an opinion piece in The Press about education and immigration links and the wider value of export education.
5. Unfortunate Experiment University of Otago researchers have reviewed the patient files of those involved in the Unfortunate Experiment, the first time such research has been done.
6. Thumb Lost at BOPP A student who lost a thumb in a benchsaw accident at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic will be given $10,000 by the polytechnic after a District Court hearing. The Polytechnic plead guilty but could not be fined because Crown organisations have exemption from fines. Safety procedures have been improved since the incident.
7. LIANZA and Canty Uni LIANZA, the professional body for librarians and information professionals, has criticised the University of Canterbury’s restructuring of its library - more on this in a later post.
8. Entry Criteria to Uni The Dominion Post has a story on how universities are free to set their own criteria for entry by international students. It may not seem like news to those of us in the tertiary sector, but it’s a reflection of the growing interest in entry criteria as caps come on.
9. Aoraki Builders Aoraki carpentry students have done a good turn by contributing to a community project to help a local couple made homeless by a combination of earth movement and bad insurance.
10. UCOL & Whips UCOL’s performing arts head won a local council grant for a play that canvases the topics of whips, prostitutes, aphrodisiacs, and sodomy. OK, the Massey student newspaper editor also got money for a short film, but where’s the headline in that?
11. Student City Palmerston North’s Student City brand is getting some questions but still has support of its partners – the council and local institutions.
12. Cheese Rolls…are a big thing in the South and now the University of Otago’s Food Science team is judging a cheese roll competition.
13. Clean Streams Victoria Uni’s commercialisation arm Viclink is promoting a new product that helps to break down organic waste and could help keep our streams clean. Sounds like a great idea.