1. Mobile Internet Waikato has developed a mobile site, which reminds me that ED Blog’s mobile theme is now working fine. If it’s not on when you go to it, there’s a button at the bottom of the page to switch.
2. MIT CBD Campus MIT has started building its new campus next to the Manukau CBD (and another release). This story has some photo and basic video but it also claims that the site will start with 50,000-65,000 EFTS and swell to 150,000 EFTS. Big plans indeed J
3. Flexible Building Massey’s new building in Wellington should cope well with earthquakes and has some help from Canterbury academics.
4. ITO Advocacy The ITF’s Mark Oldershaw has a good op-ed in the NZ Herald on vocational education – worth a read.
5. Extras: Massey’s Prof Robert McKibbin has won a medal for his work in mathematics.

Research & Innovation

1. Chinese Auto Parts A paper by Massey’s Prof Usha Haley has generated debate in the US with a paper on subsidies to the Chinese auto parts industry . Kudos to Massey for providing a link to the paper.
2. Dickens It’s 200 years since Dickens was born and Victoria’s Nikki Hessell has been looking into his work as a parliamentary reporter.
3. Speaking with Robots Canterbury’s Christoph Bartneck can help you speak with robots.
4. Lameness Massey’s Richard Laven reports on a student’s research on cattle lameness.
5. Extras: Otago Uni’s Jeremy Krebs on reducing obesity in those with diabetes.

Public Issues

1. Plischke Auckland’s Linda Tyler on the restoration of a house by great architect Ernst Plischke.
2. Extras: Waikato’s Prof Natalie Jackson on Waikato migration; Victoria’s Philip Morrison on home ownership rates; Russel Norman cites Auckland’s Prof Jane Kelsey in Parliament; Auckland’s Nick Shears on friendly fish in marine reserves.

Students

1. Student Fight Two Saudi students, apparently related, had a fight and one stabbed the other with a broken light bulb (NewstalkZB, ODT, Fairfax).
2. Extras: Massey education students starting; Auckland mountain biker.

Stakeholders

1. Top Photo AUT’s Ivan Laing is to represent Oceania in an international photo competition.
2. Extras: Lincoln’s Telford division to host young farmer’s regional competitions.

Teaching & Learning

1. Maori Immersion Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia helped launch Massey’s new Maori immersion teacher education course.
2. Extras: a new course that BOPP won’t be offering; Otago Uni appoints medical staff in Tairawhiti.

1. Wings Clipped The flight training school that was the focus of a bad IEAA report has closed down. The Wings Flight Training Academy owner said the students were out to get him: “RP Singh is like an innocent-looking rabbit in the forest when you’ve got 10 greyhounds trying to kill him”. I challenge people in trouble to come up with a better quote this year J
2. Glass The Wanganui Glass School’s low enrolments are stirring discussion in the town.
3. New Media Centre Whitireia has moved into a new, much more modern, space after exiting its earthquake prone Wellington Media Centre premises.
4. Treasury BIM The TEU’s Sandra Grey had a post on The Standard last week about Treasury’s BIM – it’s a good opinion piece (here’s a relevant story about mature career changers). Kerre Woodham writes a piece on the same issue claiming that elitism is good – one of her commenters says “university study is a drain on society and serves only to allow communism to find sympathisers”. Hmm.
5. Fake Quals The Commerce Commission is investigating Genesis Eight International College of Security, a security training operator that wasn’t NZQA registered (RNZ). Apparently the operator plagiarised material from Wintec and TSSL (a PTE)
6. Extras: Labour’s David Shearer visited Massey; progress on Otago Uni neurological chair fundraising (plus another story); The Press covers Rod Carr’s salary issues; proposed Christchurch heating system might involve CPIT; visit to Waikato by Chinese university partner; export education links with China; new Pasifika centre at Canterbury; an interesting piece on Asian student experiences in NZ (and a more formal article quoting Auckland’s Manying Ip).

Research & Innovation

1. Kauri Rings Auckland’s Anthony Fowler and colleagues have used kauri rings to deduce how affected we will be by El Nino/ La Nina (SMC, Stuff, NZ Herald, RNZ, AAP, TV3).
2. Storm Petrels Auckland’s Matt Rayner and others have found good evidence of NZ storm petrels breeding in the Hauraki Gulf – they’re only 35g and it’s hard to find them on land (Fairfax, RNZ).
3. Population The population research by Natalie Jackson and a student has generated stories on Waitaki population and Tararua/Waitaki along with earlier stories. It’s a good example of how to generate many stories by providing local angles.
4. Ethics Changes Various Otago and Auckland academics are concerned about changes to government ethics committees.
5. Extras: Otago Uni’s PhD student looking at time banking, Ken Hodge on master’s competitors and Jill Paris on literacy research in Southland; more on Otago Uni’s HIV research (and again and again); Canterbury links with venture capital; Massey hosting finance research conference; Victoria’s Prof Sir Paul Callaghan on clean-tech; Massey’s Steve Corbett on a story about invention; sticK on KiwiNet’s new portal.

Public Issues

1. Public Academics The NZ Herald had a piece traversing the issue of whether there are enough public academics in New Zealand. Personally, having trawled through academics’ public comments for the last two years, I can’t see any great problem at all. Many, many academics are engaged in public debate in New Zealand. In fact, I decided last month to do a monthly recognition of a public academic – first one will be in February.
2. Academic-Bashing? Auckland’s Margaret Mutu has written in Australian academic discussion blog The Conversation about her experiences of “academic-bashing”. Now she overstates it when she says she was nearly “sacked” (Auckland was appropriately supportive of her throughout) but she makes some good points about the public response to her comments about immigration. On the other hand, she did engage in an emotive issue and did not present any particular evidence to support her views (either then or in this latest post), although I imagine the people who emailed her did not present their arguments in as civil a manner as she did.
3. Brothels Otago Uni’s Gillian Abel and Victoria’s Dena Knight comment on brothel regulation.
4. Class Size Massey’s Prof John O’Neill criticises proposals to increase class sizes (Manawatu Standard).
5. Farm Sales AUT’s Rawiri Taonui on farm sales.
6. Extras: Auckland’s Rhema Vaithianathan on NZ businesses; Massey’s Ted Zorn on the Air NZ CEO; WITT’s Margaret Smith on a Waitangi Day panel; Waikato’s Jagdeep Singh-Ladhar on water allocation (Waikato Times); Massey caring for 22 Rena birds; Victoria’s Peter Thompson on public broadcasting; AUT’s Brian Broom diagnoses a columnist; Massey’s Mike Joy on fish quotas.

Students

1. Liquor Ban Dunedin City Council is considering a liquor ban in the main student area of North Dunedin.
2. Olympics Profile of Waiariki Olympic kayakers.
3. Orientation… at Aoraki and Otago Uni.
4. Bullet Problem An Otago Uni student was being held in India after 3 .22 bullets were found in his luggage (Hawke’s Bay Today).
5. High Rents Auckland students are complaining of high rents – the school leaver that is the focus has to weigh up flatting or living with his parents on the North Shore and commuting. And this is a problem how?
6. Extras: Cook Islands student off to AUT, with a recent Otago Uni grad returning; Careers NZ advice to students; Auckland student trialling macular degeneration treatment; Victoria student promoting a jet board while dressed up as a penguin.

Stakeholders

1. Army Friend Auckland won top Territorial employer for their region.
2. Extras: top game at Waikato Game Jam; Otago Uni’s Mike Harte on a local UFB trust; Massey’s museum building in Wellington is being used for a film (again); Canterbury helping with a museum display; UCOL and Massey productions have received theatre award nominations; TWOA teacher in kapa haka competition.

Teaching & Learning

1. Extras: Otago Uni forensic biology summer class; Victoria architecture guest lecture; Massey’s teacher education courses start, along with a new Maori immersion course; AUT hosting a graffiti artist.

1. BIMs Treasury’s BIM sparked media releases from NZUSA’s Pete Hodkinson (opposing interest on student loans) and the TEU’s Sandra Grey (opposing shifting funding to younger students and research money to help the private sector). It is not surprising that NZUSA wasn’t too worried about shifting funding towards younger students as most student reps are…younger students. The EXMSS VP, however, has addressed the focus on younger users in a good post. Bill English said there was nothing new in what Treasury said (NewstalkZB).
2. Rod Carr’s Pay Rod Carr, Canterbury VC, has asked for no pay rise for the final two years of his term. He has better PR sense that the Christchurch City Council CEO, although that has been obvious for some years!
3. Adventure Tourism Here’s a nice profile of adventure tourism coordinator at Waiariki, Nick Chater.
4. Academic Publishing Auckland’s Siouxsie Wiles has written on current academic publishing issues, including the Elsevier boycott (she also wrote on scientist-journalist relations). The TEU also wrote about Elsevier in this week’s newsletter.
5. Extras: Otago Poly has a $1m+ funding boost this year; EXMSS is looking to expand membership beyond Massey; Andy West’s Triumph motorcycle (adjunct at Waikato).

Research & Innovation

1. HIV Data Otago Uni’s Peter Saxton and colleagues recruited 1,049 gay and bisexual men in Auckland to undergo an anonymous HIV test. 6.5% had HIV and 1.3% of the total population were unaware they had HIV (21% of those infected). This sparked many stories from the media, including One News, TV3 (earlier story), Fairfax (and again), APNZ, AAP, gaynz.com (and here and here) and RNZ. The numbers sound terrible, but unfortunately there is no explanation in the media release about their sampling approach (which may well have introduced a bias) or their population estimate. Without identifying sampling issues and margin of error, we really have no idea of whether the research really “suggests” that 6.5% of gay and bisexual men in Auckland have HIV. So then I went to the free online journal article (refereed, but not linked, to in the media release) and found that the “community settings” where participants were sourced were “a gay community fair day, gay bars and sex-on-site venues” – the first is broad (and made up 80% of respondents), but the second and third would skew the sample. There was also a 49% acceptance rate to invitations to participate, and only 80% of those who accepted an invitation supplied a sample. The paper acknowledges that these factors are study limitations but doesn’t explore them in depth. That said, the survey provides an enormous amount of data that illuminates very real health concerns. My critique is really about whether the statistic at the start of the media release is reliable enough to be the lead, especially when the NZ Aids Foundation then treated it as gospel in their release.
2. Hot House Venture capital firm powerhouse has been running a summer programme at Canterbury to mentor students and grads towards commercialising new ideas.
3. Extras: Auckland gout research.

Public Issues

1. Facebook Canterbury’s Anne-Maria Brady on Facebook and China.
2. Extras: Canterbury’s Scott Walker on American politics; Auckland’s Jane Kelsey on loss of sovereignty; US water expert speaks at Waikato.

Students

1. Bad Work Some students allege they were paid very badly and forced to work hours beyond their visa allowances.
2. Missing Out Careers New Zealand’s CE Graeme Benny has tips for students who miss out on their first study choice.
3. Extras: Wintec students to get award for hospital history; Auckland might get a 15 year old student next year.

Stakeholders

1. Tale of Two Ports While Auckland’s Port is having strife, Tauranga’s Port is giving out scholarships (SunLive)
2. Extras: CPIT picks up $80K for its ArtBox project; winners of an Auckland Games Jam held at Media Design School.

Teaching & Learning

1. Carpentry Whitireia and WelTec have set up a joint carpentry programme in and around Kapiti – nice idea.
2. Extras: Aoraki’s Diane Turner off to NY to speak at a conference.

1. Building/Glass Wintec is finding it hard to fill its construction trades classes while UCOL is not filling the glass school in Wanganui.
2. New Professors Auckland has named 11 new professors.
3. Aviation 25^th Massey’s School of Aviation is celebrating 25 years of operation.
4. New ECE Centre TWOA has started a new ECE centre in Gisborne.
5. Costs Award A sacked Waiariki nursing manager has been awarded $11,000 in costs – this is just the final stage of a case we covered earlier.
6. Hon Docs Owen Glenn (large donor) and Hugh Fletcher (former Chancellor) were given honorary doctorates by Auckland.
7. Extras: Lincoln’s Ann Brower on her lucky quake escape; former South Australian Premier Mike Rann is a visiting fellow at Auckland; NorthTec is getting out to the small centres; EIT Tairawhiti going smokefree and design school head changes; Massey’s Lydia Lobb giving up booze for Feb.

Research & Innovation

1. Cadmium Lincoln’s Brett Robinson is looking into locking up excess cadmium on farms with lignite.
2. Wine Auckland’s Velimir Gayevskiy and Matthew Goddard have found that unique regional wild yeasts play a role in wine.
3. Rock Lobster Victoria’s James Bell is doing DNA tests on rock lobster/crayfish.
4. Traffic Lights Otago Uni’s Rachael McLean supports traffic lights labels on food.
5. Extras: KiwiNet database (ODT); Otago Uni’s Prof Gary Wilson off to the Antarctic; Auckland’s Raina Elley on Pacific adults’ fitness; Auckland’s Steve Matthewman on SUV purchases and Campbell Jones on the Occupy movement; comments on virus research and terrorism.

Public Issues

1. Politics Victoria’s Maria Bargh on Maori Party-National Treaty discussions and again (and AUT’s Rawiri Taonui and Paul Moon too).
2. Whale Death Massey’s Stuart Hunter did a necropsy on a Bryde’s whale.
3. Extras: Harvard professor speaking at AUT; Massey’s Bob Hargreaves on house prices (and in Wellington); support for Victoria’s Winnie Laban over Pacific languages; Auckland’s Prof Des Gorman on sedentary lifestyles; Lincoln’s Prof Keith Woodford quoted over land sales; Auckland’s Peter O’Connor on charter schools; Massey’s Prof Paul Spoonley on Auckland’s growth and Massey’s Mike Joy on dairy; Massey still has 17 penguins.

Students

1. Olympics Two Waiariki paddlers off to Olympics.
2. The Naked and Famous…will play at Auckland’s Orientation.
3. Post VSM Student group EXMSS is promoting its benefits as is the association at Waiarki.
4. Extras: SIT basketballer; woman who poured petrol over herself and lit it is now off to Massey; students doing summer jobs;; Victoria Summer Shakespeare.

Stakeholders

1. Jewellery Mentors Whitireia’s Peter Deckers came up with a great idea to match grads with their jewellery role models, who then agreed to mentor them. Now the grads are having an exhibition. What a fantastic idea.
2. Extras: write Helen Lowe is in residence at Canterbury; Massey pop-up garden.

Teaching & Learning

1. Oral Health AUT is expanding its oral health provision.
2. Extras: Otago Uni summer school weaving.

1. A View on Everything This opinion piece covers almost every issue in current tertiary education in short bites. Since it is probably just written to provoke, I think I will refrain from comment.
2. WITT Rockets WITT’s enrolments are up by 50% on last year, down to PEI’s demise, WITT’s own marketing and the general environment. Congrats to them. WITT has also treated PEI staff as internal for the purpose of new WITT jobs, boosting their employment chances – nice touch.
3. WEA Trouble A WEA is in trouble in Lower Hutt.
4. TEC CFO I saw the TEC is advertising its CFO position shortly after winning an ERA case – many of you were interested in that case, so here’s the judgment (you can download the full PDF there).
5. Rod to Stay As I suggested yesterday, Rod Carr is staying at Canterbury and not applying for the Reserve Bank job.
6. Extras: NBR covers Jacqueline Rowarth’s move to Waikato; Otago Uni’s neurosurgery campaign.

Research & Innovation

1. Innovation Database KiwiNet has launched an innovation database (Unlimited, Idealog) to showcase technologies on offer for commercialisation etc.
2. Tracking Albatross Otago Uni research tracking albatross made TV3 news.
3. Volcanic Lakes Waikato composers David Griffiths and Michael Williams will be at a Volcanic Lakes Festival in Italy this month directing their compositions.
4. Siouxsie Wiles’ …research on bioluminescence at Auckland is the focus of this piece in The Listener.
5. Exercise and Brains Otago Uni researchers are looking into how exercise affects brain function.
6. Extras: Auckland’s Keith Petrie et all has been looking at patients’ thoughts about illness; molecular mechano is the focus of an academic visiting Otago Uni; Massey franchising research; Victoria’s Aidan Tabor looking at emigrant couples’ experiences.

Public Issues

1. ICT in Schools Waikato’s Noeline Wright was on TV to discuss the use of digital equipment in schools.
2. Extras: WITT’s John Hudson cooks with sprouts and peas; Auckland’s Elsie Ho on Asian immigration to Auckland; Waikato’s Prof Natalie Jackson on a rural lack of young women; AUT’s Rawiri Taonui on the SOE Treaty issue.

Students

1. Celebrating Grads Competenz is celebrating its grads by creating an honour roll publication listing grads and their employers, plus producing an alumni magazine – is this a first amongst ITOs?
2. Legal Win Open Poly students won 5/7 Legal Exec exam prizes.
3. Nurse Star Profile of Unitec ad star and nursing student.
4. Bad Start A new SIT student had her parents helping her get to town and their caravan flipped.
5. Extras: Auckland student may be off to Amazon; Victoria rugby player; Miss India NZ from Victoria; profile of new Unitec dance student; a Victoria student at Occupy Wellington.

Stakeholders

1. Charming Worms Lincoln is running an ecology nature picnic for the whole family.
2. Extras: UCOL grad in top restaurant; Unison-EIT partnership; Waikato supporting Fieldays innovation competition; fire eater at CPIT; training needs in caring for the elderly.

Teaching & Learning

1. Teach First Teach First continues to stir controversy with the NZ Herald running an op-ed by an opponent and Auckland Now running a story.
2. Extras: 30 years of nursing at WITT.

Policy, Management & People

1. Rod Off? Canterbury VC Rod Carr is one of the suggestions for new Reserve Bank governor (Stuff) – I think he’ll stay because he has a big job and there are others probably better placed for the role who have stayed in the financial sector.

Research & Innovation

1. Food Waste An Otago Uni group has formed to study ways to make the most of food waste and now they’re working out how to get some money to do it.

Public Issues

1. Wilding Pines Otago Uni’s Mick Strack gets a pretty solid rebuff to his views on wilding pines.
2. Fouling Vessels Auckland and Niwa have found that noisier ships attract more fouling from barnacles and the like (RNZ). One solution might be to shift from onboard to onshore generators when in port. Nice work.
3. Pacific Languages Victoria’s Winnie Laban is calling for Nieuan, Tokelauan and Cook Islands Maori to become official NZ languages.
4. Crafar Farms Auckland’s Jane Kelsey reckons NZ could have been sued under a free trade agreement if the Chinese bid for the Crafar farms had been turned down – funnily enough they are being sued by NZ bidders for approving it (NZN, RNZ, One News).
5. Extras: Victoria’s Lance Beath on cost sharing with the Oz military; Canterbury’s Eric Crampton on the Food Bill; Massey’s Paul Spoonley on Auckland’s population.

Students

1. Extras: two Lincoln Black Caps; Otago Uni students in anthology, throwing a discus and swimming; sevens player hopes to get to Victoria;

Stakeholders

1. In Unison Lines company Unison has opened its training centre on EIT’s campus. It’s good to see a close relationship with a company.
2. Top Chef A UCOL grad is heading the chef team at a Dubai restaurant that is 422m above the ground – the highest in the world.

Teaching & Learning

1. Selling Notes An Otago Uni student has launched a site where people can give or sell study notes from lectures.
2. Chilly Link Tai Poutini Poly now has a link to Chile’s coolly-named Instituto Vertical, which also operates down in Antarctica.
3. Science Academy The future of an Otago Uni summer science academy for school students will depend on whether it helps the students’ marks.

1. King’s Education About 100 Japanese people will fly to NZ next month to mark the year since the death of 12 Japanese King’s Education students in the CTV building.
2. Tauranga Campus The local paper thinks a new Tauranga campus will energise the city.
3. User Innovation Lincoln’s Prof John Fairweather writes about support for user innovation.
4. Neurosurgery Otago Uni neurosurgery fundraising is a third of the way to target, with bikers to help next month, but the search is already on for the right person.
5. Pasifika Success Canterbury has just opened a new centre in its college of education to help raise the achievement of Pasifika school students.
6. Extras: the Crafar farm purchasers must establish a training facility; Otago Uni’s Prof Jean Fleming recognised by Science Festival; TEU cited some OECD research (NewstalkZB); Christopher Theunissen is new MIT associate dean; Prof Sir Paul Callaghan’s childhood teacher; BOPP tutor paddler; Otago Uni mountain biker.

Research & Innovation

1. Social Alcohol Victoria and Massey researchers are looking into social networking and alcohol. As one of them says “There’s quite a furore around the dangers of young people binge drinking and doom and gloom about the impact of social networking but very few people have asked those at the centre of it what they think”, which is funny, because the researchers don’t let the young people talk in the media release either (after two years of study).
2. Extras: Otago Uni flesh-eating disease research cited, as was Lincoln food miles work and AUT work on tourism for the deaf; Massey’s kicking robot off on tour; Otago Uni literacy research; Waikato student looking at population declines in some areas (focus on Gore); Auckland helping with gout (release); Auckland’s Sue Crengle looking at ethnic discrimination; Otago Uni’s Janet Hoek on ethical consumption.

Public Issues

1. Back to School Victoria’s Roseanna Bourke is interviewed about kids’ learning.
2. Babies’ Reading Auckland’s Nola Harvey comments on a US baby reading programme – the infomercials sure do the hard sell.
3. New Bible Laidlaw College’s Bob Robinson comments on a new edition of the Bible – interesting story.
4. Occupy Otago Uni’s Andrew Geddis on Occupy Dunedin’s possible eviction.
5. Obesity Deborah Coddington has a go at Otago Uni researchers over obesity causes (Kiwiblog, Keeping Stock).
6. Extras: Otago Uni’s Winsome Purnell on the size of sweet treats and other academics at a bioethics conference and Prof Richard Barker on cricket scoring; Massey’s Steve Stannard on cyclists’ nutrition; penguins at Massey but a dotterel died; Victoria’s Marc Wilson on a Timaru cat-killer and doomsday prophecies; AUT’s Andy Gibson on the future of the Internet; Otago Uni’s Hank Wolfe on cyberwarfare; Otago Uni lake expert on the best place to race a jet; academics on food prices; Auckland’s Ian Lambie on youth violence; Lincoln’s Prof Derrick Moot on lucerne; Auckland’s Rochelle Constantine on port expansion and marine mammals; Otago Uni’s Jim Faed on stem cell treatment.

Students

1. Sonny Bill…is dating an Auckland student.
2. Student Jobs Here’s some analysis of the student employment situation.
3. Quake Experience A Canterbury student reflects on his quake-riddled year.
4. Extras: Otago Uni student off to Britain to sing in a choir; Media Design School student wins Beck’s design comp; Massey student exhibiting in Kerikeri; Waiariki kayakers; Massey student’s gaming console; SIT cricketer and motor racer; Wintec student filming some home-wreckers; Massey student and family off to Parachute.

Stakeholders

1. MOU Hawkes Bay and Massey MOU.
2. Extras: support for Lincoln’s 1080 alternative research; Wintec sponsoring a Service Jam; exhibition at Auckland gallery; Lincoln young farmer competitor.

Teaching & Learning

1. Teach First The Business Roundtable says we should give Teach First a go, but the NZ Herald reckons grads might struggle for acceptance. Funnily enough, the NZ Herald storey talks about how they “revealed” Teach First’s approach last week – since it first hit the news last April, it wasn’t really a scoop.
2. Extras: Otago Uni music summer school; UCOL trades academy.

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. Flight School Buy Helipro has bought Bay Flight Aviation, a flight school that went into liquidation.
2. Fake Quals Immigrants are being caught out by NZQA for fake (overseas) quals.
3. Extras: Massey and Hawke’s Bay Region Council signed an MOU; chat with Otago Uni Burns Fellow Fiona Farrell.

Research & Innovation

1. Extras: two Otago Uni academics are publishing a book on early NZ photography while Graeme Downes is co-authoring a book on Dunedin sounds; new musical work by Otago Uni’s Prof John Drummond and an opera by Chris Adams.

Public Issues

1. Toi Moko Revival? Waikato’s Prof Pou Temara says that some Maori are thinking about reviving the practice of preserving heads.
2. Clean and Green Mike Joy of Massey had a Dom Post op-ed on our clean and green record.
3. Extras: CPIT’s open day has speakers on Christchurch’s recovery; Victoria’s Brandon Chen on food prices; Auckland’s Duncan Ledwith on validating markets.

Students

1. Fashion Comp Students from various providers are in the 2012 iD Emerging Designer Awards in Dunedin.
2. Extras: school students at Victoria summer school; Massey triathlete; state of student jobs market; Otago Uni anatomy museum visitors; goals of new Canterbury student president; Otago Poly design student.

Stakeholders

1. Extras: glass scholarships causing waves in Wanganui.

Teaching & Learning

1. Teach First Bernadine Vester writes an op-ed in support of Teach First, noting that a six week block course is followed by ongoing education and mentoring.
2. Arts Education Auckland’s Ralph Buck helped to draft a UNESCO arts education agenda.
3. Extras: Otago Uni performance coach.

1. Diving Deaths There will be no charges for a training provider, subcontracted to Adventure Education, that had two students die as there was no health and safety law breach (RNZ).
2. WelTec Precinct WelTec is moving another step towards gaining its Petone education precinct – the proposal will go out for consultation.
3. Otago Enrolments The ODT has an update on Otago Uni/Poly enrolment trends.
4. Extras: mention of Victoria’s campus hub; Massey’s Prof Jacqueline Rowarth off to Waikato; recognition of Open Poly ad; progress for Otago Uni neurological fundraising; Massey’s Major Josh Wineera to study national security in US.

Research & Innovation

1. Seals Massey’s Laureline Meynier is researching seals.
2. Extras: Auckland masters student doing eye research; Victoria’s Rodriguez Ramirez on the role of surprise in design.

Public Issues

1. Treaty AUT’s Paul Mon had an op-ed on Waitangi Tribunal reports, which must kick of Treaty-comment season leading up to Waitangi Day.
2. Dairying Massey’s Mike Joy is the focus of this piece on dairying’s dirtiness. It’s worth a read.
3. Extras: Massey’s David Tripe on bank job cuts and mortgagee sales; Otago Uni’s Bryce Edwards thinks the Occupy protests have jumped the shark (NewstalkZB).

Students

1. Country Music Otago Uni’s Jayne Evans won a Blenheim country music competition.
2. Mr March A BOPP student is Mr March in a Men at Work calendar.
3. Extras: searchers for Otago Poly student thanked; Otago Uni netballer; dodgy behaviour in Otago Uni library.

Stakeholders

1. Extras: Whitireia working with local league club; EIT’s Suzette Major on expanding the local art gallery; Massey’s Prof Setaleki Finau on helping Tonga; Massey’s Dorian Scott on Electronics-Auckland.

Teaching & Learning

1. Mentoring Waiariki is launching a new mentoring diploma.
2. Extras: Harvard professor to guest lecture at AUT; Teach First made TVNZ’s Breakfast; Massey entrepreneurship programme; restaurant modern apprentices; lecture by Otago Uni’s Catherine Fowler; UCOL Wairarapa open day.