Victoria welcomes visiting Fellow
Victoria University of Wellington has welcomed the inaugural Paul Callaghan Visiting Professorial Fellow, Emeritus Professor Leon Sterling.
Victoria University of Wellington has welcomed the inaugural Paul Callaghan Visiting Professorial Fellow, Emeritus Professor Leon Sterling.
The Paul Callaghan Visiting Professorial Fellowship was created to carry forward Paul’s vision of New Zealand as a country that respects the natural environment, cares for the sick and elderly, and offers exciting opportunities to retain talented young New Zealanders.
“Sir Paul Callaghan was one Victoria’s most illustrious scientists, and a distinguished alumnus. The establishment of the Visiting Professorial Fellowship in his name recognises his contribution to both scientific knowledge and Victoria University, and enables us to carry forward Paul’s vision for New Zealand. This vision is underpinned by an awareness that we cannot afford to continue to rely on traditional economic activities, and must move towards high-earning, low-impact, creative knowledge-based industries,” says Victoria University Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Mike Wilson.
“We are pleased to welcome Emeritus Professor Sterling as the inaugural holder of the fellowship. He is someone whose reputation, expertise and personal attributes epitomise those for which Sir Paul was so well known and widely respected.”
Professor Sterling, a computer science researcher, was, until recently, the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Digital Frontiers) at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. In this role he provided leadership for Information Technology across the university in research, teaching and IT innovation.
While visiting Victoria University this month, Professor Sterling will meet with a number of academics from across the University to share his expertise utilising Information Technology to support and increase research, teaching and innovation. He will hold a seminar on ‘Driving IT innovation across a university’.
Drawing on Professor Sterling’s experience as the first eResearch director at the University of Melbourne, and in his recent role at Swinburne, discussions will focus on the challenge of achieving IT innovation in universities.