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.

1. Youth Unemployment The Reject Youth Unemployment coalition wants to meet Paula Bennett to discuss youth unemployment issues – given it is a leftwing coalition that launched a few weeks out from the election, complained about “the last three years” and is now inviting Bennett to meet via media release, I suspect they may not be that successful in their meeting goal.
2. $500K Waikato has gained a $500,000 bequest from Zena Daysh – and her ashes will be interred in New Plymouth today. Read the releases – she was quite a woman.
3. Taratahi Profile The Taranaki Daily News has written a long profile on Taratahi’s presence in the region and you should read it (NB I work with them but it’s still a good article).
4. Extras: Young Nats dislike Otago Uni student services fees but the Uni and OUSA are getting on with Orientation; Education NZ’s future; ITF research on industry training benefits (Idealog); new IBM storage system at Canterbury; Stuart Middleton on (non-tertiary) education Ministers; the NBR Editor has some research funding suggestions for Steven Joyce.

Research & Innovation

1. Smart Crows Auckland researchers have found out how smart crows are, which we largely knew already, but this time they have video to share.
2. Extras: Canterbury PhD student looking at impact of snow on rural areas; Victoria PhD student on learning languages in a pleasurable way; Waikato Tauranga harbour study (SunLive); Auckland tobacco research; Otago Uni’s Maori research report.

Public Issues

1. Cyber Bullying Waiariki’s Narissa Bayler on cyber bullying.
2. SOE Sales Victoria’s Jason Young questions whether preference for NZers in SOE share sales might breach trade agreements.
3. Extras: Otago Uni’s Nick Wilson on turkey tails; AUT’s Grant Schofield on NZers’ health; Auckland’s Michael Littlewood on savings.

Students

1. Murderer Sentenced Honglin Yu will serve at least 17 years for the murder of fellow Chinese student Jiayi ‘Kiko’ Li (3 News, 3 News).
2. Cancelled Graduation NMIT decided to cancel today’s graduation, given all the bad weather around Nelson.
3. Disliked Graduation Canterbury’s Eric Crampton isn’t a fan of graduations so analyses why people do and don’t go.
4. Extras: Victoria rowers; Massey student’s road-inspired exhibition; Canterbury students win national accounting awards; school principal retires to attend Waiariki; Otago Uni equestrian.

Stakeholders

1. Maori Trade Training Hawkins Construction will join with Ngai Tahu, CPIT, BETA and others to support trade training for Canterbury Maori (The Press).
2. Dr Richie McCaw Lincoln will give Richie McCaw an honorary doctorate next year (and I know that doesn’t make him a Dr) along with some other lesser celebrities with decades of professional work behind them (NZN, Stuff).
3. Extras: Victoria creative writing prize and literary journal; WelTec students upgrading ferry air-conditioning; Massey’s Jan Dixon testifies in a fraud case; Game Jam at Waikato; Canterbury artist in residence Fata Feu’u.

Teaching & Learning

1. Extras: Open Poly’s new science qual for primary school teachers; Waikato’s Holly Thorpe off to teach on a Fulbright.

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.

1. Lincoln Closures Lincoln is moving staff out of its Hilgendorf and Student Union buildings due to poor seismic ratings (FAQ, campus map – Hilgendorf at bottom left, student union in middle – NewstalkZB, The Press, ). They’re doing a space audit to find new places for displaced people and are confident they can find the space. But Hilgendorf is a big loss in size, while the Student Union has their cafe. Big call and reading between the lines, these buildings may not be repaired, but demolished.
2. Auckland Prof Sir Peter Gluckman spoke on research and innovation needs for NZ and also touched on tertiary education issues in Auckland. He seemed to suggest IRL would be in the new Wynyard Precinct.
3. WelTec Precinct WelTec is seeking to have a Tertiary Education Precinct designation in their area to avoid endless fights with the locals about parking and other issues.
4. School Closure Wellington Business School has closed – I might write more about it.
5. Extras: WITT’s Richard Handley calling for Taranaki buses to lift South Taranaki enrolments; Victoria marae gateway; the busy life of Massey’s Lisa Strathdee; the ITF’s Ian Elliott on system complexity.

Research & Innovation

1. Musical Law Canterbury’s Prof Stephen Todd is developing lyrics for 26 law cases set to Gilbert and Sullivan music and will soon have an illustrated songbook and CD. Why, you may ask. Why indeed. The media release has copious information, but does not answer why.
2. Dioxin Waikato’s Prof Roberta Farrell has found that fungi can reduce toxic dioxins in soil.
3. Marsden Grant Canterbury’s Michael Plank has received a late Marsden grant for work on cell invasion.
4. Personal Bacteria Otago Uni’s Prof Greg Cook has had a bacteria named after him.
5. Electric Car…from Waikato has reached Invercargill.
6. Extras: an oyster farm restoration project will provide research opportunities for Auckland students; PhD by Whitireia’s Sue Chard on 3D web-based learning environments.

Public Issues

1. Charter Schools Auckland’s Peter O’Connor and Massey’s John O’Neill don’t support charter schools.
2. Fightback Labour’s Clare Curran hits back at criticism by Otago Uni’s Bryce Edwards.
3. Google Searches Victoria’s Marc Wilson and Massey’s Robert McLachlan comment on Google searches for NZ – the Google lists are better.\
4. Moreporks Waikato’s Dai Morgan is looking for moreporks.
5. Extras: Auckland’s Paerau Warbrick on Maori voter turnout; Auckland’s Denise Conroy on retail therapy; Auckland’s Helen Cooper Thomas on networking; Victoria’s Prof Martin Manning on giant sunshades for the earth; Mana seems to want Auckland lecturers to be trespassed; Victoria’s Graham Hassall on Fiji.

Students

1. Autism Success Here’s a story of a student with autism who was well behind other students early on at school but is now studying at university.
2. Cool Fashion The ODT profiles some work by an Otago Poly fashion grad who will appear in the iD fashion show (release). Plus CPIT had their fashion show.
3. Extras: Otago Uni rowers and bank grad job; Wintec and WITT journalism grads off to Taranaki; WelTec student’s cricket coaching; UCOL golfer (and an EIT one and a Waikato one); school students’ tertiary plans in Marlborough (and again); AUT grad’s abseiling fall; Victoria student wins scriptwriting prize; OUSA club grants; Lincoln student’s water use study; Canterbury students painting pianos.

Stakeholders

1. Dealing Liquor Otago Uni’s Doug Sellman is opposing a liquor license for a supermarket in his local area and has said that New World are “probably the single biggest drug dealers in New Zealand” (RNZ, TV3).
2. Extras: Canterbury hosting a management conference; Massey’s Prof Paul Kenyon on sheep farming; AUT’s Anil Narayan on NZ CPA board; WITT’s Graeme Cawsey cooking with asparagus; leisure studies conference at Otago Uni; TWOA’s Pererika Mahika’s waka ama work; film based at Canterbury to screen; Victoria student’s design win; successful farm purchase for an AG ITO training adviser; UCOL ICT industry placements.

Teaching & Learning

1. Top Unitec Lecturer Unitec students have voted for their top lecturer and for the FIFTH year it has been won by Susan White of the Dept of Nursing. The Unitec Student Union also had a 5 minute interview with the winner, which was a nice touch – more people should do this sort of thing!

Unitec’s CE Rick Ede is the new Chair for the Metro Group of ITOs (whoops! Should be “ITPs”, as Rick pointed out in comments…). He’s picking up from WelTec’s CE Linda Sissons, who has chaired the group since 2009. The note I got said that the Metro Group’s aim was unchanged, being “contribute to the overall improvement in the country’s economic performance through being an efficient, effective and relevant driver of economic success”. Now I’m actually not sure what the Metro Group does to achieve that – the individual ITPs certainly do contribute, but I thought the Metro Group was just a lobby group for its members. I’m happy to be proven wrong. Anyway, I’m sure Rick will do a good job with the lobbying.

Mark Oldershaw is the new CE of the Industry Training Federation. He started on Monday and has formerly been involved with Network PR, the National Party and the NZ Hotel Council. As a sidebar, I had been providing some assistance to the ITF during their gap between CEs, but that’s now done (bar a last couple of things by the end of the week). Given my involvement over the last couple of months, I’ll be unable to speak freely on some ITO matters for a while yet.

Victoria’s VC Pat Walsh is the incoming chair of Universities New Zealand. He’s starting on 1 January, taking over from AUT’s VC Derek McCormack. Pat will focus on the serious underfunding of NZ’s universities and threats to their autonomy, if he’s like all his predecessors…J

1. Canterbury Loss Up Canterbury’s projected loss for 2012 is up from $10m to $15m, but it drops to $9m once insurance comes in (presumably the earlier $10m figure also dropped after insurance).
2. Skill Shortages The ITF’s new CE, Mark Oldershaw, has made the news in week 1 – talking about skill shortages.
3. Extras: prosecution due to a workplace accident at Victoria (by a contractor); big Council investment in carpark to help MIT; a letter to the editor about night classes.

Research & Innovation

1. Fire! Canterbury’s Prof Charles Fleischmann has received a US award for fire engineering research. He’s researched furniture flammability, which I would have thought more of an Otago Uni specialisation…
2. Ant Cycles Victoria’s Meghan Cooling and Phil Lester have found out about the life cycles of Argentine ant colonies.
3. Extras: Waikato legal research centre focusing on Maori governance; Victoria’s Melanie Johnston-Hollitt helping with Square Kilometre Array software; Waikato solar car at the beehive; KiwiNet workshop.

Public Issues

1. Lucky Christchurch Canterbury’s adjunct Prof John Cookson is writing a five-part series on Christchurch in The Press.
2. Turkey Tails Otago Uni’s Nick Wilson comments on the impact of turkey tails in Samoa (don’t you love the variety of tertiary education!).
3. HIV Otago Uni’s Nigel Dickson has reported on late diagnosis of HIV (gaynz.com).
4. Rents Massey’s Prof Bob Hargreaves on rent and wages.
5. Extras: Massey symposium on nutrition and brain development in babies plus fish oil research by Prof Welma Stonehouse; Waikato’s Natalie Jackson on population trends; AUT’s Vernon Rive on climate change discussions.

Students

1. Fashion Whitecliffe’s fashion show looked pretty good. CPIT’s fashion show is on Saturday.
2. NZ’s Top…gymnast is at AUT.
3. Extras: one of Unitec’s TV ad stars is part of the grad exhibition; a bit on Auckland student activism in this piece on Occupy; ambulance officer student; NorthTec students’ visual arts display; UCOL acting student off to Unitec.

Stakeholders

1. Oxford Donation A Canterbury scholarship to study at Christ Church, Oxford, has been boosted by a Trust’s donation.
2. Extras: Intergen’s Otago Poly/Uni links; Massey’s Terry Stewart being a hillbilly; winner of Massey Maori book awards;

Teaching & Learning

1. Sustainable Course This release is a bit of a promo but it’s an interesting one about an Otago Poly sustainable practice course and how its students have done.
2. Pasifika Trades Training…is being offered at CPIT to help rebuild Christchurch (release).

Now I’m not the most neutral person here, as Jeremy and I have been working together and/or business partners for the last 20 years (and I was a referee for this role), but I think this is a good move and Jeremy has done a great job at the ITF.

I know the three executive directors of the ITF to date very well – they’re all close personal friends – and each have added something new. Jeremy brought a policy focus from his work at the DOL and a vision that propelled the ITF into the higher levels of government decision-making. The ITF’s engagement in the Skills Strategy was certainly a high point. The ITF also utilised sector funds to develop projects and boost its expertise. Extra work on literacy and on secondary school transitions will pay off for some years to come. It was a great model of what an industry group could do with a united membership.

The ITF has plateaued the last year or so as TEC has rationalised project funds and as the depth of ITO non-performance has become clear. The ITF remains in a good position and has good organisational capital – they’re still the best national body in town in my view – but it’s not going to be as strong a force again until its members show that they have improved performance. They’ll probably need a new Minister too. In that light, it’s a good time to have someone else come in and build for the next cycle, while Jeremy can leave with his head held high.

And I’m happy for Jeremy that he is going to a role with a more operational focus, rather than the policy and lobbying roles he has held recently. I’ll look forward to what he does, and the 1-page grand strategy diagram that he will inevitably show me in a few months… J