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. 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.

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. Enrolment Trends Aoraki is bursting its seams in Ashburton. Canterbury’s enrolment release was covered by RNZ and The Press.
2. Massey HB Visit VC Steve Maharey and other Massey honchos are off to Hawke’s Bay to meet the locals.
3. Extras: students have a new GP visit fee at Auckland (One News); Loons at CPIT Open Day; top UCOL jiu jitsu fighter Vaughan Antonio.

Research & Innovation

1. New Lab Surgeon Swee Tan to set up cancer/birthmark research lab at Victoria this year.
2. Antarctic Victoria’s Rob McKay is going to use a $200K PM’s science prize to fund students and some work in overseas labs.
3. Toi Moko Dating Waikato’s Nicky Cameron might be able to use possum’s tooth enamel to date toi moko – preserved heads (NZH).
4. Motorway Stormwater Auckland’s Elizabeth Fassman is involved in a test of stormwater management in Auckland – I though it was quite interesting.
5. Smoking and Booze Otago research on smoking by occupation generated stories on doctors smoking (NewstalkZB) and teachers. It led on to a story with Otago Uni’s Prof Nick Wilson making some partisan statements about smoking and booze (NZN).
6. Extras: Auckland academics comment on a new meningococcal vaccine; Massey franchising research.

Public Issues

1. Vitamin C Sir Paul Callaghan’s trial of Vitamin C to treat his cancer has not shown any positive effects.
2. Waka Auckland’s Dilys John checks out Southland waka.
3. Extras: Massey autopsy of painted hawk and checking of 50 dead birds around Rena; Auckland’s Bill Hodge on an immigration case; Massey’s David Tripe on interest rates and KiwiSaver; Otago Uni’s Prof Charlotte Paul on synthetic oestrogen; Canterbury’s Jim Tully on that poverty doco stoush.

Students

1. Vampires A Victoria student has written a vampire book with her mother.
2. Shapeshifter…to play at Unitec’s Orientation.
3. Extras: SIT cricket scholarship winner; top scholars recognised at Waikato; the body of drowned Otago Uni student has been found; Korean equine students in Christchurch’s National Trade Academy; jargon-free Auckland debating release.

Stakeholders

1. Android Phones Google gave Victoria 50 Android-based phones and they’re been used extensively by students for developing Android apps.

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.

1. Aviation Liquidation Bay Flight Aviation closed just before Xmas, apparently leaving 20 staff and 60 students in limbo. A buyer is being sought and a deal could be signed soon. The current owner blamed bad weather and “something in behind the scenes” for the liquidation. I wonder whether they lost EFTS funding due to the TEC reduction of pilot training EFTS, as Bay Flight Aviation was apparently an NMIT subcontractor. The first liquidators’ report doesn’t tell us much.
2. Ag Skills Some agricultural occupations were added to the skills shortages list, so Massey’s Jacqueline Rowarth said agriculture was undervalued and Labour’s Grant Robertson said it was the government’s fault.
3. Christchurch Enrolments CPIT international student numbers are down – domestically, Canterbury is down 5% for first years and CPIT down 25% (but they closed for an extra week due to Dec quakes)
4. Want an Honorary Degree? Maori Research Institute people are heading off to India and their Indian partner wants to award a Maori Elder an honorary degree while they’re there. So, the Institute is calling for nominations, which I think is much more democratic than just brainstorming in the VC’s office or the marketing department…
5. Extras: UCOL trades academy enrolments; more from the Herald on workforce literacy, with Workbase’s Katherine Percy; Indian Newslink published old industry training stories from Steven Joyce and the ITF; Otago Uni’s Najib Lafraie features in an exhibition.

Research & Innovation

1. Drug Addiction Victoria’s Bronwyn Kivell is looking into anti-addiction compounds (RNZ).
2. Predator Diets Massey’s David Raubenheimer has been looking into the discriminating diet of predators (SMC).
3. Storm Petrels Auckland’s Mark Rayner is trying to find storm petrels – it’s an interesting story.
4. More Regulation Otago Uni’s Prof Janet Hoek wants more regulation on product marketing after a research study.
5. Extras: Massey home affordability research gets criticised in Hawke’s Bay; Canterbury’s Michael Albrow on astronomy finds; Massey’s Phil Broadhurst releases a new jazz CD; Otago Uni research on counting pigeons; Canterbury’s Prof David Schiel on Christchurch’s estuary post-quakes; Victoria research on psychopaths.

Public Issues

1. Internet Addiction Otago Uni’s Prof Dough Sellman has branched out to Internet addiction.
2. Sea Monster? Otago Uni’s Prof Ewan Fordyce thinks he’s identified a basking shark but the guy who found it still thinks it’s a dinosaur.
3. Rena Birds There’s 1 dotterel left with Massey, but more penguins are coming in.
4. Turangi Attack Auckland’s Prof Warren Brookbanks and others provide useful context on the judge’s comments in the Turangi attack case.
5. Extras: Otago Uni’s David Orlovich on a mystery smell, Prof Mark Henaghen on consent over newborn bloodspot cards and Winsome Parnell on soft drink labels; Canterbury’s Stefano Pampanin on quake risk during construction while Ian Lochhead is at the end of this long story on quake-hit heritage buildings; Canterbury’s Jarrod Gilbert is non-committal on Christchurch crime; BOPP’s Dean Tully on bluebottles at the beach; Victoria philosopher Dan Weijers on summer weather disappointment; Massey’s David Tripe on the European downgrade.

Students

1. Drowning Death An Otago Uni student may have drowned while swimming at Titahi Bay, Porirua (Dom Post, TVNZ).
2. Great Restaurant BOPP’s training restaurant has received an award again (SunLive).
3. Extras: Massey triathlete; Auckland student identified whale bones; Waikato student working with kids over summer; Victoria cricketer; cyclist off to Massey; science school for secondary students at Otago Uni; Otago rower; Auckland student coordinating a music contest; Canterbury’s Sam Johnson up for young NZer of the year award.

Stakeholders

1. South Dunedin Otago Poly students are helping to rebrand South Dunedin.
2. Extras: Profs Caroline Saunders and Paul Dalziel from Lincoln are speaking in Selwyn; savaged penguin treated at Massey.

Teaching & Learning

1. Private Tutors Samantha Berry is launching a website to match university students with tutors at Otago Uni. She wants to expand it to other universities and I wish her luck – nice idea.
2. Extras: Massey’s new international security course.

Policy, Management & People

1. Otago Clocktower The ODT has done a series on towers around town, including Otago Uni’s Registry Building Clocktower.
2. VSM Impact OUSA’s Darel Hall, a good friend of ED Blog, has opined on how the VSM Bill will make students associations even more accountable and then goes on to diss his beloved old uni, Canterbury, in favour of his new employer J.
3. Whitireia Buildings An ex-Whitireia council chair has criticised the Poly’s decision not to fund a local theatre, but I find it hard to fault Whitireia’s decision-making.
4. Honours Stories on Auckland’s Merata Kawharu and ex-Victoria’s Peter Walls. Canterbury notes 15 alumni received honours.
5. Extras: Kiwiblog criticises the TEU for conflating Destiny Church and trade policy (RNZ covered the original release); BOPP’s Lesley Mochan and her Xterra challenge;

Public Issues

1. Food Bill Otago Uni’s Gabrielle Jenkin has written a lobbying/research piece on the Food Bill, analysing whether food industry or public health groups had their views accepted (RNZ).
2. Balloon Crash Effect AUT’s Prof Simon Milne is commenting on the impact of the balloon crash on tourism – just before Xmas he was commenting on the attack on the Belgian girl in Turangi. Is he the go-to for disaster assessment in tourism?
3. Sahel Auckland’s Chris de Freitas on desertification of the Sahel in Africa.
4. Sea Lions Otago Uni’s Bruce Robertson reckons that DOC research contradicts MAF advice on the effects of squid fishing on sea lions (ODT).
5. Extras: Massey’s wildlife unit is back on standby for Rena oil spill victims;

Students

1. Balloon Crash Victims Media statements from families of balloon crash victims show that Johannes Jordan was an ex-Victoria and current Massey student, while Alexis Still was a Massey student.
2. Extras: Otago Uni Orientation; school leaver gets ready for flying school; 60 English language students starting at CPIT; Otago Uni MBA team does well in Montreal.

Stakeholders

1. African Stats Otago Uni’s John Harraway helping stats education in Africa.
2. Extras: Whitireia has been supporting a youth theatre company; Otago Poly and CPIT staff judging Wanaka art; Auckland’s Dilys John to check out a Southland waka;

Teaching & Learning

1. Pacific Music The NZ School of Music is starting up two new Pacific Islands Performance courses.
2. Extras: Waikato’s Summer School for Year 12 students;

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.