1. What’s the biggest challenge for Universities New Zealand right now?

Continuing to build on our ability to engage with the government on the policy issues affecting universities, including university resourcing. The challenge is to achieve this through demonstrating the multiple ways the work of universities – research and innovation, internationalisation, encouraging greater participation and achievement for Maori and Pasifika peoples, etc – can help the Government achieve its goals for New Zealand.

2. How is Universities New Zealand’s new graduate survey going?

The first survey has been completed and the baseline report will be released soon. Over 65% of students invited to participate completed the survey – just under 9,000 final year students from the eight universities. This is a fantastic result that lays the foundation for the future of the longitudinal survey. Further information can be found on the GLSNZ website.

3. Steven Joyce has tertiary education, science and innovation, and economic development roles. What impact do you think that will have on universities?

There are genuine synergies between these three areas, and Minister Joyce has demonstrated he can manage multiple challenging portfolios. Universities are central to our science and innovation system, as well as the economic development of this country. Hopefully, the integration at a ministerial level will help us unlock the universities’ potential to make an even greater contribution toward helping the Government achieve its goals to the benefit of all New Zealanders.

4. What needs most attention in the research area right now?

The availability of contestable funding. While overall funding for science and innovation remained the same last year, the availability of contestable funds was significantly reduced. This is a real risk as a competitive funding model is a good way of identifying the best opportunities when you have limited resources.

5. What made you smile about the university sector this week?

The sector is preparing for the year ahead at this time and I can genuinely say I am looking forward to meeting some of 2012′s first year students. Encountering their enthusiasm for tertiary study is something that I never tire of and one of the most rewarding aspects of this job.

Policy, Management & People

1. Self-Indulgent Education? A Stuff blogger is going back to study (after having 2 degrees already) and invites her readers to comment on whether she’s being self-indulgent. She gets a few of the costs wrong, suggesting that because she’s paid back her previous loans, it doesn’t matter, but fees (even under the original loan interest rates) only covered 20-30% of costs. Anyway, have a look if you’re keen.
2. New Tauranga Campus The new BOPP-Waikato-Awanuiarangi campus in Tauranga will have free use of 0.4 hectares from the Tauranga City Council. The group is also seeking $15m from the regional council and $15m from a local energy trust. That’s a lot of money, but it’s the sort of amount that other institutions pay for themselves. Good luck to the group in finding alternative funding.
3. Rowarth Move Waikato celebrates its appointment of Prof Jacqueline Rowarth (Waikato Times). She actually gets less coverage than she deserves in ED Blog because her NBR columns are usually behind a paywall..
4. Starpath Auckland’s Starpath project, which helps to improve school performance in Auckland is expanding to a wider group of schools.
5. TEC Employment Case Former TEC CFO Rochelle Leahy lost an ERA case over unjustifiable dismissal.
6. Extras: two new Waiariki managers – Rosemary Johnson and Greg Brimmer; Auckland’s Russell Snell supports Otago Uni’s new neurological chair; steel pou being installed at Massey Albany.

Research & Innovation

1. Rat Urine Victoria’s Wayne Linklater is leading a team analysing rat urine to develop better baits for trapping them.
2. Extras: AUT’s Philippa Pidgeon has a new dance routine; Otago Uni student tagging albatrosses.

Public Issues

1. PNG Auckland’s Steven Ratuva comments on the PNG situation.
2. Extras: more dead whales to be checked out by Massey; Otago Uni’s Chris Gallavin on extradition and Bryce Edwards on teapot tapes; Auckland’s Fiona Pienaar was on Breakfast to discuss toi moko; caring for penguins at Massey.

Students

1. Aoraki’s Got Talent A new Aoraki student has done well at a talent competition. You can see the video and it’s a good song.
2. Extras: UCOL Wairarapa open day; Lincoln had a Decision Day; Aoraki baking students.

Stakeholders

1. Subway Citing Subway cited some Auckland research .
2. Extras: 2degrees and its Maori partner are putting up some big money for Auckland ICT scholarships for Maori students; Massey pop-up garden.

Teaching & Learning

1. Teach First Stuart Middleton has a thoughtful piece on Teach First – essentially he says it won’t solve the larger problems around curriculum structure facing secondary schools. There’s more from another blogger here. I think both tend to overstate Teach First’s claims, which are relatively modest, if you read them closely.
2. Science Comms Blogger Grant Jacobs opines on what should be in science communication courses.
3. CAM Teaching Blogger and Waikato academic Alison Campbell writes on whether universities should teach complementary and alternative medicines.
4. Extras: Massey’s Elizabeth Gray gets teaching award.

1. PEI Post-Mortem The Taranaki Daily News did an editorial and story on Practical Education Institute yesterday. They have finally found TEC course completion stats on TEC’s website and it’s interesting that it’s only now, exactly a month after they first broke the story, that they found those figures. It reinforces for me how poorly TEC highlights that data – it’s supposed to help students, while professional journalists can’t easily find it. Anyway, the Daily News is finally bringing some more useful context to the closure – PEI’s poor results. NewstalkZB quotes local mayor Harry Duynhoven on the closure and the impact on staff.
2. 4^th Generation Melanie Bunce is the fourth generation of females in her family to teach at Otago Uni.
3. UC Enrolments Canterbury’s Rod Carr is navigating a fine line between saying enrolments are OK, encouraging new enrolments and not suggesting they’re in trouble. I think he’s doing it well. No-one’s picked up the media release, but the messaging could just as easily be aimed at competitors and agents.
4. Extras: Michael Morrissey is new Waikato writer in residence; honours for Auckland staff; Otago Poly blokarter; extra places for EIT trades academy; EIT merger process rolls on; new EIT associate professors.

Research & Innovation

1. Corruption Victoria’s Ron Fischer and Seini O’Connor have found that corruption declines with rising incomes – anyone surprised? I would have thought a simple correlation of GDP/capita and Transparency International rankings would have told you that.
2. Extras: NMIT tutors put on an art exhibition; Victoria drug research.

Public Issues

1. Yous Victoria’s Laurie Bauer has a nice take on the difference between you and yous.
2. Smoking Otago Uni smoking research has been picked up with most focusing on high rates amongst kohanga reo teachers (ODT, NZH).
3. Generational Advantage Otago Uni’s David Fergusson has found that kids from richer families do better (ODT).
4. Extras: Otago Uni’s Bruce Robertson on sea lions and Prof Mark Henaghen on the Turangi case; dead kakapo to be checked out at Massey; Waikato’s Pawel Olsewski commenting on a really drunk person and Auckland’s Niki Harre on a similar case; Massey’s Mike Joy on fish ropes; Otago Poly’s Daniel Pfyl making beef olives; Auckland’s Julia Tolmie has chaired a group looking at family violence deaths; world’s first (?) magazine on display at Otago Uni; Massey’s David Trip on Oz banks’ staff cuts and Kiwibank’s purchase of GMI; oiled birds released from Massey; NMIT’s Alan Barnes on the building outlook; Canterbury’s Stefano Pampanin on the Grand Chancellor building (The Press).

Students

1. Debating Jargon I have a friend who is keen on debating and he’s always tweeting about teams “breaking” or “making the octo-finals” and I never really have any idea about what he’s on about. This media release from Auckland debaters uses the same jargon that detracts from their good performance in Manila. Victoria debaters did well too.
2. NZer of the Year Auckland’s Lizzie Chan is up for Young NZer of the year.
3. Extras: UCOL grad’s exhibition; Victoria Summer Shakespeare; CPIT lecturer and Canterbury student has successful blog; Waikato student did homeless shelter feasibility study.

Stakeholders

1. Extras: Massey ECE teacher does performing arts teaching; Otago Uni’s Judy Bellingham at a summer singing school; rental demand in student towns; EIT student gets Mission scholarship.

Teaching & Learning

1. Tour Course I quite like Excel School of Performing Arts’ tour course, where students spend the year touring the country (and Poland/Germany for part of it). What a great idea.
2. Extras: UCOL trades academy; NorthTec prison training;

1. PEI There are more stories on Practical Education Institute’s closure from RNZ (2,700 students and 700 EFTS, with 80% being on the course for which funding was cut), NewstalkZB and NZN.
2. Whitireia Theatre The local community paper has a story on Whitireia’s pulling out of funding a local theatre and I do love the Roger Sowry comment: “There wasn’t any public consultation because it’s not public money, it’s education money.”
3. Extras: mother and daughter maths team at Massey; story on ex Waikato Prof James Milroy;

Research & Innovation

1. Franchising Massey’s Susan Flint-Hartle has looked into conflict in franchise relationships (NewstalkZB, Idealog).
2. Extras: Otago Uni’s Prof Richard Edwards on smoking by occupation;

Public Issues

1. Fear of Bugs Massey’s Steve Trewick feature son a long story about bugs around us and how we interact with them.
2. Grand Chancellor The quake-induced problems of the Grand Chancellor hotel in Christchurch have been reviewed by Canterbury’s Stefano Pampanin (The Press, Star Canterbury).
3. Extras: Otago Uni’s Ian Jamieson on robin breeding and John Guthrie on Olympic shearing; Rena penguin update and Waikato’s Prof Chris Battershill on testing a shark; visiting Otago Uni lecturer on judicial transparency; WITT watermelon recipes;

Students

1. Discrimination? An Indian Unitec grad can’t get a job as a mechanic. A local business operator has some unfortunate comments.
2. Extras: awards for EIT cadets; Massey runner;

Teaching & Learning

1. Science Degree Aoraki and CPIT have agreed a pathway into CPIT’s science degree.
2. Extras: EIT’s new Central Hawke’s Bay trade programme; Oamaru summer school.

Policy, Management & People

1. PEI to Close Practical Education Institute in New Plymouth is going to close, with the loss of 110 jobs (initial story). PEI lost most of its TEC funding this year, after continuing low course completion rates (49% in 2009, 52% in 2010, compared to a TEC threshold of 55%). Those with a long memory will remember PEI, then named PETC, made headlines for even worse completion rates in 2000 or so (under 10% from memory), which sparked the use of completion rates as a measurement in tertiary education (and restrictions on giving away computers to entice students to enrol…). I can imagine a few people involved back then may not be that sad at this demise. For me, I’m just happy to see TEC following through on its performance messages. I only wish TEC had put out a release setting out how the money had been reallocated to more useful courses at better performing PTEs, which would provide a more balanced picture.
2. New Prof Otago Poly has made Khyla Russell a professor (ODT).
3. Zero Fees There’s a good story on SIT’s Zero fees scheme today – well worth a read.
4. Extras: interview with Labour’s Grant Robertson; AUT’s marae featured in Tamati Coffey’s wedding (I know it’s not really about tertiary education); The Manawatu Standard gets grumpy about VSM; BOPP jazz teacher; Victoria trans-Tasman rower plans to get back to work; Unitec ads; profile of TWOA’s early learning manager; CPIT lecturer standing for Council; man accused of impersonating Massey staffer to go to court today;

Research & Innovation

1. Search Engines Victoria’s Daniel Crabtree has new ideas for search engines.
2. Extras: Massey property research; Waikato and Massey scientists using fungi to reduce dioxins.

Public Issues

1. Wilding Pines Otago Uni’s Mick Strack has an interesting piece on wilding pines in Central Otago.
2. Extras: Otago Uni scientists warn about Dunedin quake risk; blogger has a go at Auckland’s Chris de Freitas over climate change denial; Auckland’s Warren Brookbanks misses the point (or was partially quoted) about a petition; Canterbury’s Ian Lochhead on heritage buildings; EIT’s Derek Lardelli is part of a group repatriating toi moko.

Students

1. Fines Down Otago Uni’s fining of students went down by $2K to about $11K. Does any other provider fine students?
2. Top Covers The cover designer of OUSA paper Critic has won international recognition. Here are some of the covers, which are pretty good.
3. Extras: student tracking albatrosses; top school student off to Auckland; Canterbury PhD grad’s award; school science students at Otago Uni; no sign of Otago Uni student missing off Porirua; Auckland Summer Shakespeare.; Massey Black Stick.

Teaching & Learning

1. Adjunct Faculty Waiariki is putting together an adjunct faculty group to give students in its Maori school better links to industry/community expertise.

Policy & Management

1. PEI There’s another story about Practical Education Institute but no new details.
2. Destiny Uni The TEU complained about Destiny Church’s uni plans yesterday, but framed it in relation to the threat of trade agreements enabling bad overseas unis to come here (such a risk seems very low). The TEU and NZEI made a news story about Destiny’s educational plans.
3. Unitec Ads Unitec is now airing the final ads in its major series looking at 3 students across a year. I might write about this later in the week.
4. Extras: Otago Uni’s summer school is getting underway.

Research & Innovation

1. Artists Residency WelTec’s Rita Angus Residency recipient has made the most of the experience.
2. Extras: Massey funded this exhibition (I dunno why).

Public Issues

1. Extras: Waikato’s Brenda Midson on reparation to victims.

Students

1. Google Vision A Waikato student’s software that controls a wall of monitors was picked up by Google and is now being used by NASA.
2. Orientation OUSA will have Shapeshifter playing at Orientation. Meanwhile, the University Union building redevelopment is going well.
3. Extras: Otago Poly design grads in iD Dunedin Fashion Week.

You’ll notice a few differences in 2012, including a transition to a new design look for ED Blog and ED Insider. Please excuse some slow site loading and a few design tweaks that will occur over the next two weeks.

Policy, Management & People

1. Destiny University? Destiny Church is planning a new campus (in the broad sense of the word) in Auckland that may incorporate a university (TVNZ, TV3, RNZ). The RNZ article should have a health warning as it has 2 big errors: that a private university would need CUAP approval for programmes and that International Pacific College is a university now. I’ll publish a post at 11am about the options for Destiny.
2. PEI Funding Cuts Practical Education Institute in New Plymouth may have lost up to 80% of its funding due to a poor course completion rate in its main course.
   They are having a staff meeting today to announce next steps – up to 60 jobs could be at risk.
3. Student Bar Canterbury’s student bar has had its foundations laid, despite opposition from parents of the school next door.
4. Extras: Bay of Plenty Poly kaumatua retires; CPIT is staying largely closed until Wed while it checks out buildings after recent quakes.

Research & Innovation

1. Kids’ Playgrounds Otago Uni’s Robin Quigg has found that kids don’t need fancy new playgrounds to stay active.
2. Extras: Victoria student gets dune research award; up and coming writers, several with links to Victoria; Auckland’s Prof Siah Ang on Auckland tourism.

Public Issues

1. Being Positive Fairfax asked 50 Kiwis about what they were optimistic about in 2012 – a few have tertiary links but why not read the lot? If this is your first day back, no-one really expects you to be hard at work J
2. Tolkien’s Nobel Victoria’s Prof Harry Ricketts comments on Tolkien being turned down for a Nobel Prize for Literature in place of Ivo Andric – I actually have books from both in my library, but did find the Andric book hard going (hmm, I may even have tossed it out).
3. Nude Swimmers Auckland’s Darrell Turner on nudists and moral panic in Auckland.
4. ICT Challenges Otago Uni’s Brendan McCane comments on the biggest challenges for ICT in 2012.
5. Extras: Victoria’s Prof Phil Lester on killing Argentine ants; Otago Poly’s Jo Wakelin on stonecrop; more penguins at Massey after Rena spills; Otago Uni’s Brian Cox on breast-screening; Canterbury’s Timothy Rowe on empathy.

Students

1. Ballooning Deaths The young couple who died in the ballooning accident seem to have studied at Massey, with one also studying at Victoria.
2. Extras: Victoria student off on a ship; Massey vet students’ calendar; group of American students here on an NZ experience; AUT student’s water bottle artwork on tour.

1. Whitireia Buildings Whitireia has pulled out of a $3m contribution to a performing arts development in Porirua, both because they’ve moved their course into Wellington and approved a $20m development at Porirua for classrooms etc to replace prefabs. It’s upset some people in Porirua, but it’s hard to fault the priorities.
2. Industry Training The MOE will be getting a strong submission from Horticulture NZ on the industry training review.
3. Congrats Richard Richard Handley, WITT CE, has been congratulated by iwi on meeting Treaty responsibilities.
4. Titles Race? Ha ha, last week I suggested that Auckland’s appointment of 13 Distinguished Professors might start an arms race around titles and now Lincoln has named one! To be fair, the decision would have been made before Auckland’s release, but it does look like a developing trend anyway.
5. VSM Hearing Te Mana Akonga has apparently gained a Waitangi Tribunal hearing into its claims about VSM legislation.
6. Tough Competition The Spirit of Adventure is running a special trip for unemployed 17-20 year olds.
7. Raukawa App Te Wananga O Raukawa has had some bad news recently but I just came across this cool app they have, eWai, that has waiata tawhito on it. If I have it correctly, they are the traditional chants heard on marae.
8. Extras: Victoria now has the triple crown of business school accreditation; Methven summer school enrolments; new construction and student facilities at UCOL Wairarapa.

Research & Innovation

1. Food Science Lincoln’s first professor of food science, Charles Brennan, sees a bright future in the area for NZ.
2. Extras: Auckland cigarette research; three Canterbury researchers to give papers at human-computer interaction conference; new Victoria climate change book.

Public Issues

1. Aviation Oddity The person who allegedly impersonated Massey’s Frank Sharp, head of the aviation school, in an email that was entered into evidence at a coroner’s inquiry into an aviation accident has been revealed. It turns out that Peter Kirker, a CAA employee (he resigned last week), may have sent the email but the charges will be defended. This is very odd, but has got media coverage from RNZ, NewstalkZB, APNZ, APNZ, One News, NZN, Dom Post, Fairfax and Fairfax.
2. Summer Reading Massey’s Prof Tom Nicholson has devised a kids summer reading programme, funded by a donation, to stop kids falling back in reading ability during the break.
3. Charter Schools Auckland’s Peter O’Connor gets a swerve from Karl Du Fresne over charter schools views.
4. Extras: Unitec’s Keith Rankin on the global debt crisis; Massey’s Chris Wilkins on the war on P; Auckland’s Michael Littlewood on KiwiSaver; Otago Uni’s Najib Lafraie on an Otago Museum exhibition; Waiariki’s Narissa Bayler on social media tribute pages; WITT’s Robyn Trewern making salads.

Students

1. SVA Nelson The Student Volunteer Army is heading off to help in Nelson.
2. Glacier Art Auckland student Amelia Hitchcock collaborated with Massey’s Martin Brook and Rob Dykes to create art on a glacier lake.
3. EIT…fashion end of year show (nice pics) and art exhibition.
4. Extras: Canterbury grads get fire safety design awards in Singapore.

Stakeholders

1. Squid AUT is showing off its giant squid at Auckland Museum this summer.
2. Rowing Lincoln’s Martin Berka is rowing across the Tasman (with a group) but is battling a bad foot infection (release).
3. Extras: Unitec’s Jamie Lane is also a top snowboarding coach/selector; Otago Uni’s Dave Gerrard moonlights as the chair of the Drowning Prevention Council; Waikato’s Prof David Hamilton helping improve lake quality; Massey is supporting a new Wellington Fashion Week.

Teaching & Learning

1. Extras: ATITO’s first carding technician grad; EIT’s new music programme.

Policy & Management

1. PEI Job Losses Job losses are on the cards at New Plymouth’s Practical Education Institute, after the TEC has threatened it with lower funding due to poor completions (and has probably pretty much finalised its decisions). It is sad to see job losses but I’m happy to see TEC taking a hard line over performance across the country. More jobs will be created at other organisations with money reallocated for poor performing organisations.
2. No Raukawa Pay Cut Well, it seems that the Te Wananga O Raukawa CE has not had a pay cut – RNZ has corrected an earlier report. Meanwhile, Tariana Turia wished them well.
3. Flight Training Problems A flight safety consultancy has given advice to the Civil Aviation Authority about safety for trainee pilots. It turns out that there are quite a few deaths and near misses – many more than in the 90s even after correcting for extra training being done.
4. WelTec Precinct WelTec will have some planning certainty under a proposed education precinct by their Petone campus – the proposal will be out for consultation next year.
5. Extras: NMIT Chair Ross Butler is chairing a new AMI-related Crown company (release); Dame Malvina Major joins Waikato staff.

Research & Innovation

1. PM’s Science Prizes The PM’s Science Prizes were announced on Friday (Stuff, idealog, RNZ), with the $500K top award going to a NIWA-Otago Uni team working on climate change (ODT, NZN, Hot Topic, Otago release). Victoria’s Rob McKay won $200K for his work as an emerging scientist on glacial deposits (release, NBR). The $100K science media communication prize went to Canterbury’s Mark Quigley, for his quake work (release). Nina Huang won the secondary student’s $50K prize and will go on to study at Auckland, where she found supervision for a science project this year.
2. Signage Research I love this story about UCOL photographers going on a road trip to check out signage in 43 towns around NZ. I’d love to read the full analysis, if there is one.
3. Robots Auckland Uni’s big robotics study is going to get underway with 31 robots being part of six separate projects at a retirement village. They are doing some seriously interesting stuff.
4. Performance Stunt Auckland’s Chris Harvey is planning a performance work involving people laid off by government or otherwise feeling vulnerable. This will make news next year when it runs.
5. Bar Smoke Otago Uni’s Nick Wilson and Richard Edwards have found that second-hand smoke still gets you at bars even if you stay inside.
6. TV=Dole? AUT’s Erik Landhuis has found that TV watching as a child is correlated with later unemployment.
7. Extras: Victoria’s Devon Polaschek busting psychopath myths (RNZ, NZ Herald); Lincoln-CBRE survey on Christchurch office space; Massey’s Phil Broadhurst has a new jazz album; Otago Uni research cited on male grooming and on alcohol; Massey’s involvement in WW1 history project; Otago Uni’s Peter Saxton has done an HIV survey; Otago Uni’s Bruce Robertson on sealions; Otago Uni’s Prof Brian Cox wants Fonterra research money.

Public Issues

1. Politics Otago Uni’s Bryce Edwards does some interesting analysis of Dunedin South’s voting pattern at the election; AUT’s Prof Rawiri Taonui on Maori party leadership;
2. Extras: Otago Poly’s Jean Ross on community nursing; Auckland’s Charles Clifton on buildings’ earthquake resilience; Otago Uni’s Miles Lamar on Wellington jellyfish; Otago Uni emeritus Prof Air Alan Mark on opencast mining; AUT’s Grant Schofield on living a healthy life; Auckland’s Prof Bill Hodge on a league player’s name suppression; AUT’s Prof Max Abbott on stingy men; Lincoln’s Caroline Saunders mentioned for her role in a climate change roadshow.

Students

1. Otago Fees Homepaddock complains about the Otago Uni-OUSA fees deal (RNZ), which sparked off many comments, while Steven Joyce offered a toothless warning, as he knew this would happen when he set his regulations. Meanwhile, Orientation will have big events at the new covered stadium (release), but will also feature some more academic elements as the Uni exercises its new financial power over the students’ assn.
2. Floods NMIT managed to put together a small graduation for its international students, after floods caused the cancellation of the main event. Meanwhile two Otago Uni students got married regardless of flood complications – here’s a pic of the happy couple.
3. Piper A Japanese student piped herself to her own graduation.
4. Extras: editorial about EIT art graduate exhibition; Auckland hockey player; profile of Victoria scriptwriter; Waikato busker, with kilt; Miss Hawkes Bay off to Massey; Media Design School has four films in a Bondi competition; Auckland student with cochlear implants.

Stakeholders

1. Sculpture Win Auckland’s Michael Parekowhai has won a Queensland sculpture competition. Here’s the Queensland release and the proposal image is below.
2. DHB Support Taranaki DHB offers 24 scholarships worth $85K to health students;
3. Extras: grads of AUT course run by The Heart Foundation; Lincoln award to Margaret Evans; Auckland and AUT jointly hosted the launch of a Pacific book; AUT involvement in Pacific media research website.

Teaching & Learning

1. Extras: UCOL sport students working with primary schools.

1. ITO Costs/Benefits The ITF has released research they commissioned from BERL on the costs and benefits of industry training (Dom Post, Stuff).
2. Extras: Aoraki-Lincoln articulation; AUT’s top managers turn to iPhones; new Canterbury Chancellor; Raukawa head takes pay cut; new NZUSA president.

Research & Innovation

1. Bienniale Massey’s Heather Galbraith will be deputy curator for NZ’s 2013 Venice Bienniale entry.
2. Extras: Waikato electric car.

Public Issues

1. Seal’s Home Visit The cute story of the baby seal that came into someone’s home was commented on by Otago Uni’s Bruce Robertson and Massey’s Brett Gartrell.
2. Commuting FITEC and Auckland commuters discuss their experiences while AUT’s Profs Charles Crothers and Grant Schofield analyse it all.
3. Domestic Violence Waikato’s Ruth Busch reflects on her specialty of domestic violence as she retires.
4. Extras: Massey’s Nick Cave on dogs’ health; Otago Uni’s Prof Jennie Connor on alcohol research (release); Otago Uni’s Winsome Parnell on food guidelines; Canterbury’s Mark Billinghurst on invisible computing.

Students

1. Abseiling Graduate The AUT grad who had an abseiling accident last week recovered enough to attend the graduation ceremony yesterday.
2. Posthumous PhD AUT has granted a posthumous PhD – have a read.
3. Student Growth Here’s a lovely story of a student’s development at UCOL.
4. Architecture Overall results from an NZIA architecture competition for top students.
5. Extras: NMIT business student award; SJS in Otago (ODT).

Stakeholders

1. Whale Win Auckland’s Mazdak Radjainia has won the 2011 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year Award for the Wildlife Category for the whale photo below. Wonderful.
2. Japan NZ Massey has helped develop a logo to mark 60 years of NZ-Japan diplomatic relations;
3. Extras: finance conference at AUT.

Teaching & Learning

1. Extras: new counselling course at Vision College.