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.

1. Canterbury Woes Canterbury will have an $11.4m budgeted loss next year, based on their media release – different figures were reported in media yesterday (TV3, BusinessDesk, NBR, RNZ, TEU). 24 staff have been given voluntary redundancy at Canterbury (39 applied).
2. New HSI CE The new HSI CE is Ken Harris – you can find out more about him here. He is appointed on a fixed term, which is sensible given all the merger discussions going on in ITO-land.
3. Unitec Sold Now before Rick Ede tells me off, I should note that the only thing that has been sold is a building that Unitec leases on the North Shore. I mentioned it a little bit ago and the offer sold in 3 weeks.
4. Reinstatement? A former Waiariki manager wants reinstatement, rather than just the compensation awarded by the ERA.
5. Extras: Auckland Council member Jan Dawson is the accountant of the year – TWOA’s Jo Hanita was outstanding new member of the year; update from last week on Auckland-TEU negotiations.

Research & Innovation

1. Baby Sex Victoria’s Diane Ormsby has been looking into the effect of heat on the sex of babies (and hasn’t found any).
2. Microscope Massey’s new digital microscope is being tested by leading palynologists around the world. What’s a palynologist, I hear you ask? Well, it’s someone who studies pollen and other organic microfossils, which are a key part of climate change research.
3. Extras: Auckland’s Prof Ross Lawrenson on prostate cancer research; Māori research projects; cellphone towers don’t affect house values according to Auckland’s Olga Filippova and Michael Rehm; Waikato environmental law centre.

Public Issues

1. Climate Change Here’s a rather negative view of Auckland’s Chris de Freitas’ work in the climate change area.
2. Takahe Massey’s Steve Trewick on a takahe eating a duckling.
3. Gangs Canterbury’s Jarrod Gilbert on the brotherhood of gangs.
4. Battery Car…made by Waikato people gets to Marlborough.
5. Earthquakes Canterbury’s Stefano Pampanin proposed a national earthquake strengthening policy. Massey’s David Johnston on the Christchurch exodus.
6. Extras: Victoria ant research covered by Waikato Times and RNZ; Massey investigating a painted hawk (long story); Auckland’s Rochelle Constantine on humpback whales; Auckland’s Alex Macmillan got some OIA papers; Auckland’s Bill Hodge on arson charges; Otago Uni’s Andrew Geddis on teapot tapes; Victoria’s Guy Marriage on refitting buildings; Media Design School’s Mason Herber on CTRL-F; CPIT’s Bruce Russell judges website quality.

Students

1. Top Chefs WelTec, AUT and CPIT trainee chefs won a chef competition (AUT).
2. Student Elections OUSA president Logan Edgar won an SJS council spot but an NZUSA president candidate couldn’t gain the two-thirds vote required.
3. Extras: NMIT student prez on summer jobs; MIT sugar creations; Otago Uni student’s column; Unitec student’s shopping app; Victoria student rescued; mentoring at Auckland’s Liggins Institute; BOPP art student.

Stakeholders

1. YMCA Massey marketing students have been helping out the YMCA with a marketing plan.
2. WITT & Māori WITT’s te reo courses may expand to the South Island.
3. Extras: fiction winner in Massey Maori book awards (main release); Victoria’s science writing prize winner; Māori farming operation keen to help young Māori study farming; Auckland’s Icehouse and its Māori focus; Xmas shopping at AUT.

Teaching & Learning

1. Street Art…courses involving The Learning Connexion and WelTec.

1. Rally Here’s some coverage of the TEU-NZUSA rally last week.
2. Ashburton Challenges…in literacy provision, that is.
3. Extras: Labour’s
   David Cunliffe mentions defence college at Massey and Carol Beaumont on a skills strategy; end of CPIT-TEU dispute; NorthTec has naming rights for a Whangarei building; Otago Uni alcohol ban continues and doctoral scholarships go up; NZUSA on minor parties; Waikato student director on National’s polices; Stuart Middleton on party policies.

Research & Innovation

1. New Centre Waikato has a new Centre for Environmental, Resources and Energy Law.
2. Extras: Victoria sludge recycling scheme for Palmie; accolades for Waikato Maori tattoo book; ex-Waikato’s John McCraw writes river book (Waikato Times); Waikato’s Vic Arcus looking at old bacteria.

Public Issues

1. Election AUT’s Ella Henry will be on Maori TV on election night; Victoria’s Maria Bargh on the Maori seats and the Maori party; Auckland’s Jennifer Lees-Marshment thinks we don’t have a healthy democracy because half of people don’t completely identify with a party (that’s crazy, as it really shows that people aren’t separated on tribal political lines!); profile of Victoria grad (and my very good friend) Greens candidate James Shaw (vote for him in Wellington); Auckland’s Prof Ray Miller on John Key; Victoria’s Steven price on the teapot tapes; Auckland’s Joe Atkinson on last night’s debate; Otago Uni’s Bryce Edwards on bans on election day media coverage (which I really must look into);
2. Solar Eclipse There’s a partial solar eclipse on Friday, according to Canterbury’s Alan Gilmore.
3. Rivers Here’s a good column by top farming journalist Jon Morgan on Mike Joy’s (of Massey) river quality proposals.
4. Extras: Roger Sutton speaks at Canterbury lecture; Victoria’s Jon Johansson campaigns for MMP (he did it on debate analysis last night too).

Students

1. Top Hairdressers The Hairdressing ITO had its annual awards on Sunday night.
2. Voting Tool The Massey On the Fence voting tool (release).
3. Food Bank Student fines at Massey are filling up food banks.
4. Bamboo Bike AUT student designs bamboo bike.
5. Fashion Show The ODT has Otago Poly’s grad show for fashion students.
6. Extras: mentored students hoping to get to uni; EIT scholarship winner gets exhibition; Auckland software experts in NYC; AUT fashion grad interview (with pics); tracking female architecture grads; WITT student art show.

Stakeholders

1. Periodic Table I’ve been following the knitted periodic table for some time and it will be unveiled this week at Waikato for a Chemistry conference. Fabulous.
2. Scholarship Money MFAT has funded 25 geothermal energy scholarships at Auckland;
3. Pork Schnitzel …with Otago Poly’s Daniel Pfyl.
4. Extras: trial of Victoria’s Yvonne van Roy and she was found guilty; AUT sports conference; upcoming DEANZ conference; Corrections picks up te reo Māori award; Auckland and Vic professors on Hastings architecture.

Teaching & Learning

1. Bread Aoraki students got a master class in breadmaking.
2. Extras: successful NMIT students; robot dragon.

1. Great White Sharks Auckland Uni (with NIWA and Doc) has been tagging great white sharks and showing they come back to NZ (NZ Herald) The coverage was partly due to a marine studies conference down at Stewart Island – covered by The Southland Times, Otago Uni will be building a lab on the island (well, converting a house), while the conference has had a good economic impact.
2. Otago Students Otago Uni’s student paper, Critic, has a good piece on the media narrative around the Uni’s students (going by this story on burglaries, maybe locking their doors might help).
3. Unit Standards Degrees…had some brief coverage this week.
4. Quake Stuff Timaru Girls High School is blocking its girls from coming to Canterbury Uni’s open day today for health and safety reasons – how dopey! The redesign challenge at Lincoln. Canterbury quake lectures. A blind uni student’s post-quake experiences.
5. Capital Gains Tax Labour’s tax proposals, drip-fed to media, has had some academic feedback. Victoria’s Bob Buckle weighed the pros and cons (and here). Massey’s Bob Hargreaves thinks it won’t raise much money and might raise house prices. Auckland’s Craig Elliffe says it’s a good opportunity for debate. Some AUT academics say the tax is necessary.
6. Music Education Robin Maconie has a say on NZ music schools.
7. ITOs As noted in a post yesterday, ITOs that had to hand back money were named.
8. VSM Andrew Little endorsed voluntary unionism in a final speech as EPMU Secretary. ACT’s Heather Roy took that as an endorsement of the VSM Bill, but Little later said they were different issues (Roy blogged about that). Meanwhile, Labour’s Clare Curran thinks it could all be solved by a compromise (which seems exceedingly unlikely). Also check out EXMSS VP, Big News and Clint Heine.
9. Ranking Quality Eric Crampton nicely points out some of the unlikely results in the latest QS rankings.
10. iPredict…backed down on fee increases (it’s owned by Victoria). Also on Kiwiblog.
11. Trout The head of Fish and Game NZ defends trout against the charge that they’re worse than dairying for the environment. But he protests a bit too much – trout don’t cause higher nitrogen levels but they have eaten just about everything else in waterways. (A few academics get quoted along the way.)
12. Filling the Gaps…by Stuart Middleton.
13. Isotopes Waikato PhD student Michael Pingram is doing some interesting work tracking isotopes to work out the food web in the Waikato River.
14. Salt Various academics were rounded up by the Science Media Centre to look at research on salt intake (Stuff).
15. Going Digital Waikato Uni, BOPP and Bethlehem Tertiary Institute comment on online learning usage.
16. Alcohol A study on binge-drinking and violence gets reviewed by Eric Crampton.
17. Open Poly Study National MP Colin King reminisces about his Open Poly study.
18. Short Bits Victoria: Winifred Bauer on the Maori language; Prof Jonathan Gardner gets a trip to London; kids; the international economic order conference. Otago Uni: Hotere exhibition (plus longer story); international students welcomed; infertility in Otago-Southland women. Auckland: Prof Innes Asher on welfare reform; Zain Ali on veils; involvement with Waterview design changes (with Unitec). UCOL: top joinery apprentice; dairy cleaning system award; exhibition on world views (media release); chefs ready to compete. Lincoln: subterranean clover’s benefits. Waikato: Alison Campbell is off to a Biology Olympiad; Natalie Jackson on the ageing workforce; Jacques Poot on census changes (plus Richard Bedford on the same issue); computer donations to schools. Massey: professors still like phonics; Sally Casswell on booze and social networking; David Tripe on esoteric but important banking regulation (Stuff); Karen Stockin on orcas. Otago Poly: Japanese curry recipe. AUT: free Maori classes; Kamrul Ashan won a project management award; sleeping rough challenge (TV3). EIT: staff in exercise challenge. Aoraki: cooking competition; hospitality team leader. Canterbury: student arsonist? Unitec: tree planting day for film/TV students; overseas accountancy accreditation. NorthTec: students up for glass prize. Ag ITO skills day. Waiariki: issues discussed at Maori journalism reunion. HSI: Modern Apprentice competition.