Category: Tertiary Education

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Finance Minister tells businesses to expect a “wellbeing” budget

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Finance Minister tells businesses to expect a “wellbeing” budget

Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett, Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Massey University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas at Finance 2018.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson told the Auckland business community to expect a “wellbeing” budget at Finance 2018, an annual event co-hosted by Massey University and the Auckland Business Chamber.

In the first appearance of a Labour Finance Minister at the event, which is now in its ninth year, Mr Robertson gave a wide-ranging speech that covered housing, productivity, tax reform, education and training, infrastructure and sustainability.

He told the gathered members of the business community, academics and media that the government wanted to support the growth of human, natural, financial and social capital. 

“This will be a very different way of presenting a budget and it will be a very different set of success measures,” Mr Robertson said. “The child poverty reduction targets are the first indication of where we are going.”

The Minister also highlighted the role that universities had to play in the country’s future. He said the Government’s goal was to lift research and development spending to two per cent of GDP within a decade, and to build better partnerships between Crown Research Institutes, universities and the private sector.

“If you look at the economies around the world that do well, there are two things that stand out about them: the investment they make in education and training and the investment they make in research and development,” he said.

Massey University top finance and economics students Mia Davis and Tony Carroll receive their $1000 scholarships.

Creating an adaptable, resilient workforce

Changing technology, automation and artificial intelligence were reshaping the future of work, Mr Robertson told the audience, and that the solution was “skills training and education and creating an adaptable, resilient workforce”.

“The government has a plan for the economy that is about productivity, sustainability and inclusion,” Mr Robertson said. “If we get that right, we can build on the prosperity we have to ensure it continues and that everybody gets a fair share of it.”

Massey University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas asked the business community and government to maintain their connections with Massey.

“Those connections are what makes our qualifications relevant and out graduates work-ready,” she said, “and we need to work with you to identify the problems that we can apply our academics to so we can help find the solutions.” 

The profits from Finance 2018 go to supporting promising students and Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett announced this year’s recipients at the luncheon.

Massey University’s top first-year finance student Mia Davis and top first-year economics student Tony Carroll were each awarded with a $1000 scholarship.

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Study of smoking among doctors and nurses shows very low smoking prevalence and Smokefree 2025 goal can be achieved

Source: University of Otago

Headline: Study of smoking among doctors and nurses shows very low smoking prevalence and Smokefree 2025 goal can be achieved

A new study on smoking trends among doctors and nurses in New Zealand finds smoking has declined steadily within these healthcare professions. Researchers say this shows that very low smoking rates can be achieved in large occupational groups, suggesting that New Zealand’s Smokefree 2025 goal is reachable.

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Aviation student soars to top of her class

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Aviation student soars to top of her class

Vanessa Brill-Holland, pictured with one of the School of Aviation’s Diamond aircraft.

The sole female in the School of Aviation’s M66 cohort has been named the top student of her class. Vanessa Brill-Holland received the Outstanding Student Award at the school’s recent Wings Ceremony for overall excellence in the practical and academic aspects of the aviation programme.

She said he was “quite surprised” by the award, but pleased that all her hard work had paid off.

The School of Aviation’s Wings Ceremony takes place as each cohort completes the flight-training component of the Bachelor of Aviation degree. For most, getting their commercial pilot’s licence, or ‘Wings’, is just as significant as their graduation ceremony.

“Getting my Wings was a big milestone and represents everything the class and I have been through to get to this point in our career,” Ms Brill-Holland says.

The M66 cohort, which has just received their Wings.

Succeeding in a male-dominatd sector

She says she was never intimidated by being in a male-dominated programme. “I never felt at any disadvantage but, because there are so few women on the course, we supported each other a lot across the classes.”

Ms Brill-Holland says she dreamed about flying when she was in a desk-bound job and achieving her pilot’s licence is a dream come true.

“I knew I wanted to fly when I was sitting at my desk in an office job that overlooked all the planes flying in and out of Auckland airport,” she says.

Her most memorable experience at Massey was showing her friends why she loves flying so much.

“My highlight was the navigation flight I went on with two friends, where we flew from Palmerston North to Kaikoura to spend the day on the beach before flying home,” she says.

Like many of her classmates, Ms Brill-Holland hopes to enter Massey’s flight instructor’s course after she graduates and, ultimately, to become a pilot for a commercial airline overseas.

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New city hockey turf to soon be developed

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: New city hockey turf to soon be developed

Mr Smith, Professor Thomas and Hockey Manawatu general manager Kevin Nicholson stand at the future site of the hockey turf

The development a new international level hockey turf is soon to commence following the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Palmerston North City Council, Massey University and Hockey Manawatu.

Massey University and Palmerston North City Council has agreed to provide up to $500,000 each towards to cost the turf which is to be located at Massey University alongside the Sport and Rugby Institute and existing tennis and netball courts.

Currently the city has twin turfs at Fitzherbert Park, but with the growth in the popularity of hockey, they are operating at maximum capacity.

“Having an additional turf, with great proximity to our existing turfs in Fitzherbert Park will allow for the increase in hockey competitions and for the city to play host to significant tournaments and competitions,” says Grant Smith, Palmerston North City Mayor. “Council encourages and supports physical activity, sports and recreational activities and this location also adds value to Massey University personnel and students. It’s a win for the city for many reasons.”

The artificial turf is a dual community/university facility that will fill a gap in local hockey facility provision. It will also be available to Massey University for teaching and research, and help attract aspiring hockey playing students to study in Palmerston North.

Massey University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas says she is pleased to partner with the council and Hockey Manawatu on a facility that will greatly benefit the community.

“Hockey is extremely strong in the Manawatū region and this new facility will help Massey create New Zealand’s pre-eminent hockey development centre. It also provides students and staff with yet another recreation facility on campus, alongside the existing Recreation Centre, the Equestrian Centre, the Manawatū Athletics Track, the Sport and Rugby Institute and numerous outdoor courts and playing fields,” she says.

Andrew Bethwaite, Chair of Hockey Manawatu says, “We are very much looking forward to having the Massey turf available to accommodate the large growth in player numbers we have experienced over the last few years across both the summer and winter competitions.”

“Having a third turf in the area will provide opportunities to attract larger national tournaments to the region and we are excited by Massey’s aim of creating a high performing athlete development centre which will continue to strengthen hockey in the region.”

Design work is underway, and Massey University, Hockey Manawatu, and Council will work on fundraising for the balance of the costs. 

Ownership and the daily operation of the turf will remain with Massey University with agreed availability for Hockey Manawatu.

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NZ to host world conference on women in sport

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NZ to host world conference on women in sport

New Zealand will host the 8th International Working Group on Women in Sport (IWG) secretariat from 2018-2022.

One year on from its launch on International Women’s Day in 2017, Women in Sport Aotearoa has been instrumental in successfully bidding to host the 8th International Working Group on Women in Sport (IWG) secretariat from 2018-2022.

The announcement was made by Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson and Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter.

Women in Sport Aotearoa foundation board member Professor Sarah Leberman says the achievement reflects New Zealand’s strong commitment to gender equality, and will see the sport sector playing an important role both in New Zealand and internationally to lead positive change for women and girls.

The host flag will be handed over to New Zealand during the upcoming 7th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport in Gaborone, Botswana from the 17th to the 20th of May. Recently appointed New Zealand co-chair of the IWG, Raewyn Lovett, will accept the hand-over on behalf of New Zealand.

Women in Sport Aotearoa will be the lead delivery agent and will be responsible for meeting the IWG’s vision of ‘a sustainable sporting culture based on gender equality that enables and values the full involvement of girls and women in every aspect of sport and physical activity’. This will be undertaken in partnership with the steering group for the bid, including New Zealand Olympic Committee, Sport New Zealand, and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED).

The four year secretariat will culminate in the 8th World Conference on Women in Sport to be held in Auckland in 2022 in collaboration with IWG.

Women in Sport Aotearoa launched in March 2017 and is the first national New Zealand advocacy network devoted to bringing about positive change for women and girls in sport. Co-chairs Julie Paterson, chief executive of Tennis New Zealand, and Professor Sarah Leberman, Dean Academic, Massey University, both credit their time with women’s sport organisations in the USA as pivotal in the establishment of the entity.

“We both agree that the impact of Women in Sport Aotearoa has been far more than we could have hoped for in the short time since we launched on International Women’s Day, in 2017,” Ms Paterson. “To have the mandate internationally is an incredible privilege. We are continuing on our path to ensure women and girls are visible, valued and influential in sport.” 

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Massey staff appointed to Marsden Fund Council

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Massey staff appointed to Marsden Fund Council

Distinguished Professor Spoonley (left) and Professor White have been appointed to the Marsden Fund Council

Pro Vice-Chancellor College of Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley and the college’s research director Professor Cynthia White have been appointed to the Marsden Fund Council.

The council is responsible for developing the strategic direction of the Marsden Fund that provides funding for investigator-initiated research in the fields of science, engineering, maths, social sciences and the humanities.

In making the announcement, research, science and innovation minister Dr Megan Woods said all the appointees were highly regarded researchers domestically and internationally and had a wide range of expertise that complemented the strengths of existing members.

Professor Spoonley, who has been appointed convenor of the council’s social sciences panel, is also a principal investigator on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment-funded programme, Capturing the Diversity Dividend of Aotearoa New Zealand (2014-2020). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and of the Auckland War Memorial Museum and a research fellow of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity.

Professor White will be the new convenor of the humanities panel. She has also held an honorary research fellow from the University of New England since 2012. She is currently a member on the humanities panel and is on numerous editorial boards and advisory panels, both in New Zealand and overseas.

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Farming activity taking the best of NZ to the world

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Farming activity taking the best of NZ to the world

Professor Julian Heyes, Dr Janet Reid, Professor Steve Morriss, Mr Graham Robinson and Professor Chris Anderson with one of IFSCA’s village cattle farmer groups on Sumbawa island.

Massey University is helping farmers and educators in Indonesia to build a more sustainable and successful agriculture sector through an innovative aid programme.

The East Indonesia Innovative Farm Systems and Capability in Agribusiness Activity (IFSCA) project, which is funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme, focuses on building human capability on farms and in classrooms through the University of Mataram in Indonesia, as well as infrastructure on the ground.

A delegation of Massey University staff has been in Indonesia discussing the future of the project and the success of the collaboration to date.

The project has seen the installation of important infrastructure, with structures such as cattle feeding units already built on the island Sumbawa. This visit saw Massey’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor Operations, International and University Registrar Stuart Morriss and the Bupati (mayor) of North Lombok District Dr Najmul Akhyar lay the foundation stones for a village-level grading shed for fresh fruit and vegetables. This will assist villagers to supply high-quality fresh fruit and vegetables to high-end hotels on Lombok’s tourism coast, including lettuce, capsicum, tomatoes, chilli, cucumbers and basil.

Through the IFSCA programme, farmers in North Lombok are being trained in both horticultural production and agribusiness skills. The relationship between the universities has led to postgraduate students for Massey, joint publications and the current programme, which matches expertise between the two universities in agriculture, extension, animal science and food technology.

Massey’s Professor Chris Anderson says the programme has been gaining momentum each year.

“It has been great to get the people working on both sides of this project together as they mostly work thousands of kilometres apart. The collaboration between universities and farmers has exceeded our wildest dreams and we are starting to see real changes that will benefit everyone involved,” he said.

A key sustainability target of the programme is to build capability within the agricultural extension system operating in North Lombok. This work is led by the College of Sciences’ Dr Janet Reid. Professor Julian Heyes is leading the horticultural technical programme and Professor Steve Morris is leading the animal science technical programme, with Mr Graham Robinson of the Massey Projects Office providing project management support to the team.

While in Indonesia this week, Mr Morriss chaired the fourth advisory board meeting for the project, which reflected on achievements and lessons learned over the past 12 months, and reviewed immediate and longer-term plans.

The project is part of larger university effort known as Massey University Worldwide that aims to develop the international education market as a major export earner for New Zealand and expand Massey teaching and research activity internationally. It works within agriculture, humanities and social sciences, aviation, business, emergency management, environment, health and veterinary medicine.

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Toolkit launched to support gender equity in the workplace

Source: Tertiary Education Union – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Toolkit launched to support gender equity in the workplace

Gender equity in the workplace moved a step closer today with the launch of a new toolkit to tackle the problems holding back so many wāhine in Aotearoa New Zealand. Produced by the Tertiary Education Union (TEU), the toolkit will help people question unconscious bias in their workplace, to raise awareness of the disparities around them, and to […]

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Mural search finds missing E Mervyn Taylor work

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Mural search finds missing E Mervyn Taylor work

How the mural looked on display in the Wairoa Centennial Library before its disappearance and eventual rediscovery by a project team led by Massey University PhD candidate Bronwyn Holloway-Smith (below).

One of several missing murals made by renowned New Zealand artist, craftsman and designer, E Mervyn Taylor, has been found.

The search for 12 murals crafted between 1956 and 1964 was launched three years ago by Massey University PhD candidate Bronwyn Holloway-Smith who has edited a book honouring the work of Taylor, who studied at Wellington Polytechnic – a forerunner institution to Massey’s College of Creative Arts.

Ms Holloway-Smith, who is director of the E Mervyn Taylor Mural Search and Recovery Project, says the discovery was the “most exciting and dramatic” within the whole search project, and “we were thrilled to find it safe and sound after all this time”.

Days away from the book going to print the Project team received a phone call to say the mural by E. Mervyn Taylor commissioned for the Wairoa Centennial Library had been found at an undisclosed location.

The discovery was made in time for a photo of the work to be included in the book WANTED The Search For The Modernist Murals of E. Mervyn Taylor, which is launched today at City Gallery, Wellington as part of the opening programme for the exhibition:  This is New Zealand. It will be widely available through bookstores from 12 March or through the Massey Press website.

A generous supporter of the project team had offered to fund a reward of $5000 for the first person who provided information leading to the rediscovery of the mural.

It was through searching for online information on E Mervyn Taylor that the party noticed the publicity surrounding the search and immediately came forward. They have declined the reward money.

“The family who have the mural in their possession wish to remain anonymous, and as part of the conditions around a reward the project offered for its discovery [including its place of discovery], we need to honour this request,” Ms Holloway-Smith says.

Taylor, best known for his woodcuts, created the mural and other public works of art at the end of his career and in the vanguard of the New Zealand modernist movement. He worked with a number of materials including tiles, carved wood panels, sandblasted glass windows and paint to create these distinctive works in a truly original New Zealand language.

The Wairoa Centennial Library mural, painted in 1961, depicts a scene featuring Māori tangata whenua and colonial settlers in the Wairoa landscape. It was last seen during a library renovation in 2001 when it was successfully removed and stored. Library staff recollected a female family member visiting Wairoa and requesting the return of the work – but the artist’s family turned out to be unaware of this request.

“On discovery we can report that the painting covers nine large panels each just over a metre square and, while faded and with minor deterioration around the edges, it is in good shape,” Ms Holloway-Smith says.

“During the search process we have also discovered drawings that Taylor did for this Wairoa work, images of which are also included in the book.

The project team also made other discoveries over the past 12 months including revisiting the former Taita Soil Bureau to discover with the help of the conservators from Te Papa, that the mural paint was still beneath the layers of paint within the foyer.

Studying for her PhD at Massey University, and with the support of its Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Claire Robinson, the search led by Ms Holloway Smith and resulting book became a special project to mark the 130th anniversary of the founding of Massey’s College of Creative Arts.

The search was inspired by the earlier discovery in 2015 of one of Taylor’s few surviving murals, Te Ika-a-Māui, the story of Maui fishing up the North Island, stored in cardboard boxes in a disused cable station.

Ms Holloway-Smith made that discovery while researching the history of the Southern Cross Cable.

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Emergency grab bag buckets snapped up on Wellington campus

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Emergency grab bag buckets snapped up on Wellington campus

Campus Emergency Management team members Ruth Bulger (left) and Paula Andrade prepare ahead of the arrival of students to collect their emergency grab bag buckets.

Emergency supply grab bags, in the shape of 50 free plastic buckets, were in high demand at the Wellington campus O Week clubs day as staff from the campus emergency management team raised awareness about being prepared in the event of an earthquake.

Inside each bucket was information on how much water was needed to help get you through an emergency, a leaflet on how to plan for an earthquake and a Massey emergency contacts card. More than 200 students participated in the draw for prizes of full kit worth $130 as well as two transistor radios.

The contents of the kit and some trick items were laid out on the table. Students were asked to list the three most non-essential, or nice to have but not necessary, items on the table that they would want to put in such an emergency grab kit. 

Campus health and safety emergency management adviser Jo Fox says the engagement was extremely high with most students taking quite some time to make their choices.  The most commonly selected least essential items were ear buds and soap, though some people thought they wouldn’t cope without coffee!

 

 

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