2016

    Spring 2016

  • The behaviour of business

    It’s hardly business as usual at Victoria Business School, where an eagerly awaited behavioural research laboratory is set to open.

  • Giant robotic arm prototype

    Experiencing future first-hand

    Architecture students and staff are keeping their finger on the pulse with a new digital research laboratory that comes complete with a giant robotic arm.

  • Dr Jeremy Owen and Associate Professor David Ackerley in the research lab looking at a specimen in a jar

    War on superbugs

    The key to fighting one of the biggest threats to humanity could be found in your backyard.

  • Architectural historian Elizabeth Cox inside Old Saint Paul's on mulgrave street in Wellington.

    Bringing stories out of the woodwork

    A fascination with Old Saint Paul’s has turned creating a history of the church into a labour of love for one Victoria University alumna.

  • Senior Lecturer Inbal Megiddo and Professor Donald Maurice playing stringed instruments together.

    Music's connection with history

    Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) is drawing in a range of students across the University to learn about music in Europe during World War II.

  • Dr Cliff Atkins, Provost Professor Wendy Larner and Dr Rebecca Priestley discussing plans for Antarctica online.

    Massive step for online global courses

    In a first for a New Zealand university, Victoria has partnered with edX, which delivers online courses and classes from some of the world’s best universities.

  • Chris Ward at the New Zealand Defence Force offices.

    Cyber man

    Cybersecurity is about so much more than IT, says Chris Ward. And he should know.

  • The 'less' said the better

    Professor Miriam Meyerhoff first grappled with the intricacies of New Zealand English aged six after migrating from California after her mother married a Kiwi.

  • Collaboration for cancer detection

    Detecting complex cancers could become easier with the development of a new device by a Victoria University spin-out company.

  • Associate Professor Nancy Bertler.

    Curiouser and curiouser

    Associate Professor Nancy Bertler felt a little like Alice in Wonderland during her first visit to Antarctica.

  • Professor Rawinia Higgins sitting in her office in front of her wall of bookshelves.

    Showing the way

    Professor Rawinia Higgins was a shy, nervous 16-year-old girl straight out of boarding school when she came to Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in 1990.

  • Dr Azra Moeed winner of the Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award.

    A teacher's learning

    Dr Azra Moeed says it’s been a lifetime of learning–not a lifetime of teaching–that led to her receiving an Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award (TTEA).

  • Capturing a portrait of our time

    A study which started in 2009 has developed into a tool for measuring all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives.

  • Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of Commerce Bob Buckle in a corridor in Victoria's Law school.

    The business of business ... and government

    Victoria’s innovative capital city-based Victoria Business School is committed as much to “the business of government” as to “the business of business”.

  • How ethical is ethical

    We live in a world where Western consumers are increasingly concerned about the integrity of what they buy.

  • A trans-Tasman first

    In a trans–Tasman first, from next year Victoria will offer a new international trade degree that brings together expertise from four faculties.

  • A profile image of Professor Siah Hwee Ang.

    In Asia we trust

    Doing business in Asia requires time and investment but the potential rewards are well worth it for New Zealand businesses, says Professor Siah Hwee Ang.

  • Dr Pala Molisa outside Victoria's Law School with the Wellington Beehive in the background.

    Accounting, "no innocent thing"

    Human rights atrocities and accounting is not a pairing that naturally springs to mind. But for Dr Pala Molisa, the two couldn’t be more entwined.

  • Raising a viewpoint

    Victoria’s Asia Pacific Viewpoint climbed to fourth out of 69 Area Studies journals in the latest ranking by the Journal Citation Reports of the Institute for Scientific Information.

  • Group of student on pier.

    Learning English, making friends

    Victoria University’s relationship-building English language training for Asian and African public officials is “like a mini-United Nations”.

  • Understanding Asia-Pacific

    “The Asian century” is well underway. Two Victoria academics discuss the issues and opportunities for New Zealand in the Asia–Pacific region.

  • Sample fossils from in Te Urewera.

    Fossicking for fossils

    Professor James Crampton explores whether the mountains of Te Urewera be hiding dinosaur fossils and knowledge of ancient New Zealand?

  • Senior lecturer Emily Perkins standing in front of a wall of books.

    Drama, novels, film and free rein

    It all came down to collaboration when co-writing the screenplay for New Zealand film The Rehearsal, says senior lecturer Emily Perkins.

  • Paddy Gower and Jack Lockhart in student accommodation room G18 - Victoria House.

    Who's in my room?

    NewsHub political journalist Patrick (Paddy) Gower returns to his hall of residence Victoria House to meet current resident Jack Lockhart.

  • This blazer was donated to Victoria’s J.C. Beaglehole Room in 2012 by John Mahan’s wife, Jill.

    From the archives

    An abridged excerpt from Salient—Victoria’s student magazine—volume 17, dated 3 September 1953

  • Alumni profiles

    Graduates of Victoria University are doing impressive things across the world. We caught up with four alumni who shared their advice, experience and memories.

  • Chinese printing types used in a traditional printing press.

    Unearthed treasure at new Chinese Scholars' Studio

    New Zealand’s original Chinese printing types—used in a traditional printing press—will be the jewel in the crown of a new Chinese Scholars’ Studio at Victoria’s Wai-te-ata Press.

  • A lasting conversation

    Alumna Catherine Chidgey’s new novel, The Wish Child, tells the story of two German children caught up in World War II.

  • Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Dr Andrew Butler authors of A Constitution for Aotearoa New Zealand

    A new constitution

    Sir Geoffrey Palmer believes New Zealand needs a modern written constitution that will keep governments accountable.

  • Lance Weller in the cockpit of a plane while he is flying.

    Flying high

    Lance Weller has spent his life asking himself “How can I contribute?”

  • Victoria PhD graduand Jesse-Lee Dimech standing in the Hub on Kelburn campus.

    Victoria graduand takes off

    Almost 50 years after the first seismometer was placed on the Moon, a PhD graduand is heading to NASA to take up a post-doctoral fellowship.

  • Connecting alumni and students

    Victoria’s Alumni as Mentors programme connects students in their penultimate or final-year at university with alumni in the workforce.

  • Ruth Buchanan is renowned for her innovative use of display mechanisms in her work. Or, a building, installation view, Badischer Kunstverein. Karlsruhe, 2015. Photo: Ruth Buchanan.

    Three-generations unified in art

    The work of three women artists of different generations  is presented in the Adam Art Gallery’s latest exhibition, Bad Visual Systems.

  • Autumn 2016

  • Professor Lionel Carter in his office at Victoria

    Understanding what's under the ocean

    As a self-professed terrible sailor, Professor Lionel Carter says it’s ironic that he’s spent a large part of his career at sea.

  • Judith Silau, human resources acting director, receives her certificate from Papua New Guinea's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Hon. Rimbink Pato

    Advancing better government

    The diplomatic skills of Papua New Guinea’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Immigration will be improved at a programme led by Victoria Business School.

  • Seminar held in the honour of social justice advocate Celia Lashlie organised by the Stout Research Centre

    Celebrating Celia

    Victoria’s Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies has helped honour the legacy of social justice advocate Celia Lashlie.

  • Student walking in the Tim Beaglehole courtyard outside Old Kirk Building and the Hub on Kelburn campus

    Striving for a greener future

    Victoria continues to ‘walk the talk’ in environmental responsibility through an agreement with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

  • A true-blue green university

    Victoria’s status as a champion of the environment has been enhanced with the appointment of an internationally respected ecological economist.

  • Victoria's new Provost Professor Wendy Larner

    Leading academics

    Provost. The word conjures up some arcane, mysterious and unchanging position of authority.

  • Victoria's new chief operating officer Mark Loveard

    At the front line

    Victoria’s new chief operating officer Mark Loveard believes in getting to the coalface to see how the University ticks—including peeling potatoes and mopping floors if need be.

  • A virtual walk on the wild side

    Cancel the plane tickets and put away the safari hat. You now need just one thing to learn about wildlife—an internet connection.

  • Aftershock design proposes a network of inner-city parks in central Wellington that could be adapted into post-disaster recovery spaces.

    Shaking up city spaces

    Victoria Landscape Architecture students have taken out the top spot in an international competition for their re-imagining of the idea of urban hangouts.

  • Kirbati's President Anote Tong presents at Victoria's Pacific Climate Change Conference

    Pacific nations unite on climate change

    Victoria’s Pacific Climate Change Conference organisers say the region needs to weave together and act now to fight the devastating effects of global warming.

  • Nobel Peace Prize nomination

    Alumnus Professor Roger Clark, a 2014 Victoria honorary doctorate recipient, is part of an international legal team nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • Michael Macaulay in out recently refurbished ground floor of Rutherford House located at Pipitea campus

    Endowment to enhance public policy research

    An endowment to the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies (IGPS) will build research into New Zealand’s public policy and the transparency of government.

  • Victoria academic and senior lecturer in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Rob Keyzers working in one of our science labs.

    Upping the ante

    A Victoria academic will use a prestigious Fulbright scholarship to build the University’s expertise in micro-organisms for antibiotics.

  • Nigel Isaacs holding building act books outside Victorian style homes in Wellington

    Cracking the code

    What do the rules set for building houses in the United States just after World War I have to tell us about how to build in New Zealand today?

  • Installation of artwork in Kelburn campus relocated from Karori campus

    New home for Karori art

    Staff and students weren’t the only ones needing a new home when Victoria’s Faculty of Education moved from Karori to the Kelburn campus at the start of this year.

  • An out-of-this-world lecture

    Victoria alumnus, geophysicist and astronaut, Dr Alexander Gerst, returned to Victoria in early 2016 to share his experience in space.

  • Professor Grant Guilford with Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae

    The Governor-General visits Victoria

    In February, the Governor-General, Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae visited Victoria as part of his nationwide tour.

  • Professor Mike Wilson, Victoria's Pro Vice-Chancellor of Science, Engineering and Architecture and Design with director of the ICT graduate school Rees Ward

    Silicon Welly

    Wellington’s status as a technology hub will be enhanced with the opening of the Wellington ICT Graduate School, in which Victoria is playing a key role.

  • Dr Nicole Moreham with her book

    Privacy and the media

    With cameras on phones and drones, and ever-growing media platforms, anyone’s privacy can be invaded any time.

  • The science of creativity

    Two academics from ostensibly disparate disciplines discuss how their areas of expertise intersect when it comes to cultivating creative capital.

  • Where creativity collides

    Having more questions than answers feels just right for a group focused on creativity, says Professor Jennifer Windsor.

  • Womens face with hand painted in abstract bright colours

    Victoria's creative clout on show

    The artistic abilities of some of Victoria’s current and former staff and students were on display during the 2016 New Zealand Festival.

  • Bethany Cheesman and Kesia Kurian presented with their prize cheque for winning the 2015 Moving Words translations competition

    Connecting through translations

    “They could forgive—that’s an important message,” says a John Paul College of Rotorua student when reflecting on the translation of a Victor Hugo poem.

  • War and Peace battlefield remains in Eastern France. Photo credit: Mathew Knight

    War and peace

    A collection of musicians—including a Jewish rabbi and a Moroccan soul singer—came together on World War I’s battlegrounds as part of an epic global orchestra.

  • Masters students from the New Zealand School of Music students sitting outside on the Hunter building steps

    A masterful musical experience

    Being involved in the epic No Man’s Land project turned into a once in a lifetime opportunity for three Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) Master’s students.

  • Danyl McLauchlan outside a store front in Aro Valley

    A novel focus on mathematicians

    Danyl McLauchlan rises early every day to write before he heads off to his day job as a computational biologist at Victoria University. His early-morning discipline has paid off.

  • At Mansfield's villa

    The 2015 Katherine Mansfield Fellow, Dr Anna Jackson, will be taking up residence at Menton in France this year for three months.

  • Love's labours Lost poster designed by Master's graduand Elle Beeden

    For the love of Shakespeare

    This year marks 400 years since Shakespeare’s death, and what better way to commemorate the famous writer than to showcase his work to the public?

  • Professor Neil Dodgson in the Media Design lab at the School of Design on Te Aro campus

    Designs on the future

    Anyone dreaming of following in the footsteps of Sir Richard Taylor can get a step closer to achieving their goals through a new programme offered by Victoria.

  • Professor John Pratt with John Barrington reading The prison diary of A.C. Barrington: Dissent and Conformity in Wartime New Zealand

    The prison diary of a conscientious objector

    Sitting in a prison cell at Wellington’s Mt Crawford Prison in 1941, A.C. (Archie) Barrington scrawled in the margins of two books on religion and history.

  • Nathan McDonald and Jonathan Gee inside a room in Weir House student accommodation

    Who's in my room?

    In this ongoing series, we ask an outstanding Victoria student to return to their old room at their former hall of residence and share stories with the current resident.

  • Dr Daphne Rickson in a classroom.

    Classrooms alive with sound of wellbeing

    Understanding how singing in the classroom can increase wellbeing is the focus of an innovative research project at Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM).

  • Employers' wish list revealed

    The top ten skills organisations are looking for when hiring university graduates or students are revealed in a Victoria Business School-commissioned survey.

  • Artist interpretation of the interior design of the new Gateway building

    Building for collaboration

    A state-of-the-art building is taking shape in Kelburn, to be ready for science research and teaching in 2017.

  • Inside the classroom at Victoria's Te Aro campus

    Flipping the classroom

    Lecturers Kevin Sweet and Michael Dudding are turning the architecture classroom upside down by doing away with lectures and implementing a different approach to learning.

  • Sarah Jane Moon standing in front of one of her artworks

    Always inspired

    Bachelor of Arts graduate and now London-based portrait painter, Sarah Jane Moon shares her favourite memories of Victoria and of Wellington.

  • Judge Peter Boshier, Victoria Alumni

    The job that never loses its appeal

    Chief Ombudsman Judge Peter Boshier reflects on his student days and his varied career in law since graduating from Victoria.

  • Emeritus Professor George Baird in his office at the School of Architecture

    Four decades of architecture

    The office of Emeritus Professor George Baird speaks volumes about the long and distinguished career he has had at Victoria’s School of Architecture.

  • Richard Shirtcliffe, Victoria Alumni

    From BA to brewery

    Risk it all—the advice to current students from Victoria alumnus Richard Shirtcliffe.

  • A new take on 'BMI'

    Otago and Victoria University researchers use a fat simulation suit to help healthcare workers better understand and care for their patients.

  • Members from the Samoan Students' Association performing at the Welcome festival in February 2016

    Warm welcome for new students

    Members of the Samoan Students’ Association performed at the Welcome Festival in February for first-year Victoria students.

  • Balint Koller and Edith Palliat from the Language Learning Centre present their new teaching resources

    Breathing new life into teaching resources

    Kōhanga reo, Samoan kindergartens and schools around the country have access to a rich online audio teaching resource, thanks to restoration work by staff of Victoria’s Language Learning Centre.

  • Children enjoying the open day at the Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory

    VUCEL making a splash

    In celebration of New Zealand Seaweek, the Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory (VUCEL) in Island Bay opened its doors to the public on Saturday 5 March.

  • Vase from the late-Roman antiquities in the University's Classics Museum

    Something old, new, gifted, blue and terracotta

    A unique collection of more than seventy late-Roman antiquities is a treasured addition to Victoria’s School of Art History, Classics and Religious Studies and the University’s Classics Museum.