Year in review

How research is thriving and the University is working to ensure a sustainable future are among the things captured by our review of the year.

Research for transformative impact

  • Professors Claudia Geiringer, John Townend, and Bastiaan Kleijn were named 2022 Ngā Ahurei hou a Te Apārangi Fellows elected to the Academy of the Royal Society Te Apārangi for their distinction in research and advancement of mātauranga Māori, humanities, technology, and science.
  • Dr Deborah Harris from the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice was part of a team awarded the prestigious Prime Minister’s Science Prize, recognising her work on neonatal hypoglycaemia and preventing brain damage in newborn babies.
  • Professor Winston Seah was one of only three recipients of the James Cook Research Fellowship, for his research on designing new protocols for the Quantum Internet—a network of quantum computing devices, future generation ‘supercomputers’.
  • Five researchers received 2022 Research Honours Aotearoa Awards for their contributions across a wide range of fields from climate change and health to plate tectonics, sustainable energy, and equity in academia. They are Professor Colin Simpson, Professor Rod Badcock, Professor Rupert Sutherland, Dr Chris Cornwall, and Dr Tara McAllister.
  • With a total external research revenue of over $88 million, University researchers were successful in securing funding to address key questions of global relevance. The funding included over $7 million from the Marsden Fund for 12 projects, and four out of the 12 Rutherford Discovery Fellowships awarded in 2022.
  • The University welcomed the establishment of two new research centres, He Whenua Taurikura— The National Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Te Hau Kori—Centre for Physical Activity and Wellbeing.

Preparing students for an extraordinary life

  • The University underwent an academic audit by the Academic Quality Agency (AQA) with the report now publicly available. This was part of AQA’s Cycle 6 academic audit of all New Zealand universities.
  • A new learning platform, Nuku, was launched, anchored by Canvas―a system that enables the delivery of online and blended learning, including content delivery, assessment, tracking of student progress, and engagement between lecturers and students.
  • The University has recently completed a multi-year application and enrolment project, aimed at delivering a seamless experience for students. This includes the creation of Pūaha, a single student-facing portal, which is dynamically linked to Kurawai, our new Customer Relationship Management software.
  • The teaching-intensive pathway continued to grow and become more diverse, with over 30 academics employed across seven faculties. Professor John Randal (Wellington School of Business and Government) and Professor Peter Adds (Te Kawa a Maui) were the first staff members appointed to the role of Professor (Teaching) on the pathway.
  • The University continued to meet changing market trends with the introduction of new programmes including the Bachelor of Global Studies and the Master of Urban and Regional Planning, and majors in Artificial Intelligence and Space Science, all of which commence in 2023.
  • Associate Professor Christian Schott and lecturer David Cox won 2022 Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards in the Innovation in Learning, Teaching and Curriculum category.

Deepening relevance and impact

  • The University ̕s 125th anniversary was marked with events and activities throughout the year, including the successful Whakanuia Celebrate 125—Heritage Open Day, which celebrated our rich history and connection to the capital city.
  • Professor Beverley Lawton, director of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine—the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa, won the Innovation, Science & Health category in the 2021 Women of Influence Awards.
  • Further consolidating its relationship with Wellington city, the University sponsored the Youth Award category at the Welly Awards ceremony and the New Thinking Award at the Wellington Gold Awards.
  • An inaugural seminar series to honour the legacy and work of Emerita Professor Lydia Wevers was hosted by the Stout Research Centre, addressing themes that were central to the late Professor Wevers’ work.
  • Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Māori) Professor Rawinia Higgins (Ngāi Tūhoe) was appointed to the Board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
  • Master of Architecture (Professional) student Eloise Blewden was named Future Thinker of the Year 2022 by the New Zealand Green Building Council.
  • An event held at Parliament celebrated the 50-year legacy of Professor Stephen Levine from the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations.
  • Books from Te Herenga Waka University Press received two awards in the prestigious 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.
  • The University’s Facilities Management team, along with the Kingfisher Group, was named Facilities Management team of the Year by the Facilities Management Association of New Zealand (FMANZ).
  • $14.4 million was received in philanthropic donations.
  • The University continues to enhance its international profile with new educational partnerships and research collaborations confirmed with institutions in Vietnam, India, China, Switzerland, and the United States of America.

Growing our iho

  • Further to a detailed Tiriti self-review process undertaken in 2022, 32 recommendations were made towards ensuring that activities across the University meet the eight principles in Te Tiriti o Waitangi statute. Implementation of the recommendations will be completed by 2025.
  • An event was organised by Te Hōhaieti o te Reo Māori (Te Reo Māori Society) and Ngāi Tauira (Victoria University Māori Students’ Association) to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Te Pētihana Māori with original members of the Te Reo Māori Society.
  • Four hundred and thirty scholarships were awarded to tauira Māori. This equates to an investment of over $718,000 towards Taihonoa scholarships and Summer Internships.
  • The Te Herenga Waka Māori Postdoctoral Fellowship 2022 was launched to attract, retain, and employ early-career Māori postdoctoral research fellows into the University.
  • Construction of the Living Pā continued, and a blog―He Pā Kaiao―was initiated to keep the community updated on key construction milestones, events, design, and construction team strategies and innovations.
  • A specialisation in Māori Design and Environments was introduced as part of the Bachelor of Architectural Studies degree, enabling students to focus more deeply on mātauranga Māori.
  • Over 300 staff members attended our Te Hāpai programmes―which include sessions on Te reo Māori, Tikanga, Te Tiriti O Waitangi and Applying Te Tiriti in the Workplace―this year.