Finance Minister Bill English was challenged about the Government’s level of investment in tertiary education today at Finance 2012, an annual business event organised by Massey University and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce.

Albany Students’ Association president Stephan van Heerden asked Mr English about New Zealand’s newest export industry – graduates – and how tertiary education funding fits into the government’s overall plans for creating a sustainable economy.

“Tertiary funding has gone down in the time that National has been in government and student debt is now at around $16 billion,” said Mr van Heerden. “I understand that the Government’s priority right now is strengthening the economy, but I would like to see education move up the list of priorities as an educated population goes hand in hand with a productive economy.”

Mr English stressed it was important to not “over engineer” the education process because 60 per cent of people end up in jobs that have nothing to do with their qualification. But Mr van Heerden said later that graduates may be taking any job they can get, simply to pay off their debt, and others are heading overseas for the same reason.

Mr van Heerden put his question to the finance minister, following Mr English’s keynote address where he told 160 invited business leaders that running up more debt was not the answer to the government’s finances.

Mr English said the rationale for offering New Zealanders minority stakes in four energy companies and Air New Zealand was to allow the government “to invest in other public assets like modern schools and hospitals, without having to borrow in volatile overseas markets”.

“Our political opponents need to honestly explain to New Zealanders why it would be better to borrow $5-7 billion from overseas lenders at a time when the world is awash with debt and consequent risks,” he said.

But according to Associate Professor David Tripe, a banking specialist from Massey’s School of Economics and Finance, the government has taken the wrong approach to selling the merits of its privatisation plans to the public.

“Part privatisation would boost volume and activity on the New Zealand share market, it is a way for New Zealand businesses to raise funds. I don’t understand why the government is only telling half the story because it makes it much harder to sell the idea.”

Mr English praised Massey and the chamber’s initiative of bringing together academics and business leaders to share ideas about improving the nation’s prosperity.

“Eighteen years ago you wouldn’t have had a university turn up to a business conference, let alone organise one,” Mr English said. “It’s important for universities and business to get together to make practical plans about issues like filling the skills gap.”

Massey Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey said there was a 25 per cent gap in the skills currently needed in the Auckland region’s workforce. Chamber chief executive Michael Barnett said his staff were working with the Auckland Council to provide work experience for up to 500 young people each year – an idea he hoped would spread.

New Zealand must embrace science and integrate it fully into all aspects of society to be a truly innovative nation, Massey University Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey told a conference in Wellington today (Wednesday).

Mr Maharey, presenting the keynote address at the Science Communicators Association of New Zealand conference, told delegates that, despite their efforts, science is still not integrated into all aspects of society.

“We are entering the second industrial revolution,” he said. “The pace of scientific and technological change is accelerating and an increasing number of people want new goods and services to enable them to respond to the enormous and challenging problems of our age. The answers will come from work in areas such as genetics, life sciences, robotics, energy, health, education, virtual reality, nanotechnology, transport, water use, biotechnology, information technology – to name a few.”

But apart from a number of notable exceptions, New Zealand has been slow to embrace this new thinking. “I think this is our problem when it comes to achieving the goal of having science not just communicated and appreciated but embraced by all New Zealanders. We have not yet answered the question of why science is so important to all of us.”

New Zealand is a nation struggling to keep its head above water, he said. “Our economy is underperforming, social problems are mounting and New Zealanders are frustrated by their inability to build a better country. New Zealand needs to create a society in which institutions and organisations can and do respond to markets, customers, company needs and opportunities. This is the knowledge economy we have talked about but not yet realised.”

Advances in these disciplines are amazing but even more so are the connections between disciplines. “Nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive sciences are all working together. The point I am making is that we are on the threshold of amazing times. The nations that are prepared to create the environment for people, institutions, technologies and businesses to be a part of this are going to find the future a wonderful place.

“Scientists need to be hungry to see this happen and the rest of society must be equally hungry to apply new thinking. A society that understands this point will 'get' the importance of science because they will experience it.”

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey has announced the first stage of a $57 million project to relocate the College of Education from the Hokowhitu site to Turitea on the Manawatu campus and substantial construction and upgrading of buildings.

The total project, over five years, will involve approximately $57 million for major refurbishments, including seismic strengthening, of the Sir Geoffrey Peren and Refectory buildings, the likely construction of a new multi-storey building and alterations and upgrades to several others.

The first stage, which has a $5.6 million budget approved for this year by the University Council, will involve construction of temporary villages on Colombo Rd and Collinson Rd to house College of Humanities and Social Sciences and College of Education staff, reconfiguration of teaching spaces in various buildings, design work for the restoration and upgrade of the Sir Geoffrey Peren Building and Refectory and relocation of the College of Education into buildings on the Turitea site by the end of the year.

Mr Maharey says directly affected staff and student representatives have been briefed on the plans in recent days. The aim is to achieve most of the initial relocations before the end of the year. "We aim to provide the very best working and learning environment for our staff and students and this project – actually a series of inter-related projects – will do just that," Mr Maharey says. "Plans have been worked on for several years and it is already generating a great deal of excitement among staff and students. It will not only bring staff from the five colleges together on one site for the first time, it will also provide greater opportunities for College of Education students to join the main student body and more readily consider a wider range of study options as part of their qualifications."

The College of Education relocation, with associated construction projects, is budgeted to cost $33.2 million, including $10 million for a new multi-storey building between Business Studies Central and Refectory, overlooking the Oval. The restoration and seismic strengthening of the heritage buildings is expected to cost about $23 million.

Mr Maharey says the major capital works developments are not confined to the Manawatu campus. "This year we are opening a new $20 million College of Creative Arts building on the Wellington campus that will enable us to proceed with plans to recruit new international postgraduate students. At Albany we are about to open a $15 million student amenities centre that will become a hub for student services, dining, shopping, clubs and social activity."

The Sir Geoffrey Peren building, constructed 1929-31 was the original base of the Massey Agricultural College incorporating science laboratories, lecture theatres, library and office space for staff. In 2010 it was re-named after Massey's first principal. Under a conservation plan developed in 2009 it will be restored largely to its original condition as well as earthquake strengthened.

The Refectory building, built at the same time but completed in 1930, was originally the dining hall and lounge for students living on campus but later converted to teaching and office space. It will also be returned largely to its original design and a mezzanine floor, built in 1963-64, removed. College of Business staff in that building will be the first to be relocated, by the end of next month. Staff in Sir Geoffrey Peren will be relocated in July.

About 350 staff will be affected by the relocations and a similar number of College of Education students will move from Hokowhitu to Turitea for lectures. Staff and students from Te Uru Maraurau, the College of Education's School of Maori and Multicultural Education, will be co-located with Putahi a Toi, the Collger of Humanities and Social Sciences' School of Maori Studies.

It is planned to have the seismic upgrade of Refectory completed by mid-2014. Sir Geoffrey Peren should be ready for Humanities and Social Sciences staff to move back into by the start of 2015.

Some University operations will need to be temporarily relocated from Turitea to Hokowhitu while the construction work is being completed.

Relocating the College of Education will enable the New Zealand Defence Force, which already leases space at Hokowhitu to increase its presence. Negotiations are continuing with other parties interested in purchasing parts of the 10.1ha site on Centennial Drive.

Immigration Policy in France and Europe was the topic of a public lecture given by the French Ambassador Francis Etienne today on the Manawatu campus.

Mr Etienne gave a French perspective on what, he said, is a pan-European issue.

He said while France has long been a nation of immigrants, the nature of the immigration has changed.

“We are used to migration from neighbouring countries since World War Two, but the trends over the last 20 years have changed dramatically. There used to be regional migration in greater Africa until 2000-2001. Now it is global. People from Africa, Libya, the Middle East have started to come to Spain, Italy, France…The (most populous) nationally to come to France between 2001 and 2010 was Iraqi. This is not something we are familiar with.”

While the Schengen agreement, ratified in 1985, commits 27 European countries to cooperate on immigration matters, there is no contiguousness between the nations involved, nor consistency in the way they handle legal and illegal immigration, he said.

Mr Etienne said managing the immigration problem in Europe faces many challenges: political in the form of inconsistency between laws and regulations across borders; the need for greater dialogue between EU countries but also with third countries not included in the Schengen agreement, and countries of origin; judicial in the form of lack of regulation globally about returning illegal immigrants to their home countries and the complexities involved in trying to do so; and the need for practical solutions to manage the growing number of people moving around the world.

Better communication was essential and practical solutions such as biometrics to control and manage the increase in global passenger movements were required, he said.

Professor Cynthia White, head of the School of Linguistics and International Languages, which co-hosted the visit with the Vice-Chancellor, says the talk continued the French Embassy’s close connection with the University. The Embassy sponsors the French Embassy Medal - awarded to the University’s top French student, and the Ambassador recently hosted Bastille Day Celebrations in the Great Hall on the Wellington Campus.

Vice-chancellors from five prominent Indian universities were welcomed to the Manawatu campus yesterday. The visit is part of a New Zealand tour in which the delegation is visiting universities across the country to learn more about the New Zealand tertiary education system.

The vice-chancellors – Professor Dinesh Singh of the University of Delhi, Dr Rajan Welukar of the University of Mumbai, Professor Ramakrishna Ramaswamy of the University of Hyderabad and Professor Surabhi Banerjee of the Central University of Orissa – were led by Professor AN Rai of North Eastern Hill University.
 
The five universities have more than one million students in total.

After a campus tour, introduction and presentation about Massey University they met Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey and other senior staff. Key objectives of the meeting were to establish vice-chancellor level relationships and explore New Zealand’s approach to indigenous/Mäori-centred education.

Mr Maharey described the meeting as very positive and offering considerable opportunity for Massey to support and contribute to tertiary education in India. “The headline of the day was that India is anticipating huge numbers – some 200 million – coming into the tertiary education system in the near future and they have to have the capacity to provide education for them. We [Massey] want to be one of the providers. Massey has lots of areas of expertise – from teacher education through to issues of food production – and this is a huge opportunity for us to provide that sort of expertise”.

In terms of indigenous and Maori education, Massey’s experience offers a wealth of knowledge, Mr Maharey says. “We have something to offer. We have 20, 30 years of experience to offer in terms of bringing people who have traditionally not entered the tertiary education system into the system. "

Professor Rai was equally positive. “The indigenous people in India have been deprived of education. We have similar problems and so we are looking at how to develop that and transfer what we see in New Zealand into the Indian tertiary education system.”

The delegates are looking forward to developing on-going partnerships with Massey University.  “With New Zealand, we are looking at exchanges of teachers, of students, of researchers and looking at much more interaction between tertiary level education," Professor Rai said. "There are hundreds of millions of people in India coming into the system and there are lots of opportunities in New Zealand for Indian students.”

Leading New Zealand band The Phoenix Foundation headlined a successful concert at Massey University Manawatu campus oval yesterday afternoon.

Three groups performed in bright sunshine from 3pm to 7pm and a crowd of about 500 enjoyed a picnic atmosphere at the rarely used venue.

The free concert was the first of three summer concerts in a series organised by the Palmerston North City Council and supported by Massey and several local businesses.

Support acts were Ryan Edwards and the Soul Collective. Food stalls were set up around the Oval, including by Massey's Wharerata function and catering company and beer brewed in the campus microbrewery run by the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health was sold.

About 100 staff, students and supporters attended a dawn blessing for the new student amenities centre and steel pou at the Albany campus on Wednesday.

The $15 million building, dubbed Student Central and designed by architects at Warren and Mahoney, will provide a campus heart and hub for students.
 
The blessing was led by local kaumätua Pat Ruka (Ngäpuhi, Ngäti Porou, Ngäti Whätua), who took the crowd through the building’s two floors that house student facilities and services, including club rooms, retail, banking, food outlets, study support, health and counselling, and Mäori and Pasifika student services.

Albany Students’ Association president Stephan van Heerden says the centre will provide a highly visible and accessible permanent home for the association, and will help to foster a sense of community at the campus. He says this is “good timing” in light of the Voluntary Student Union Bill being passed last year, which has created uncertainty about the continuation of some student services, such as advocacy and class representatives.

“Student Central will be a great for students to meet and hang out. It means they have a place to stay on campus, rather than just leaving after their lectures.”

The steel pou forming a circle in the outdoor plaza area in front of the building add a distinctive Mäori presence to the campus in the form of contemporary art representing the learning philosophy and ideals of the University, says campus kaiwhakaruruhau (regional adviser Mäori) Donald Ripia says.

“It’s been a vision of mine to have pou on the campus, so it’s a great thrill to see them in such a prominent place ready for when the students arrive for the new semester later this month,” says Mr Ripia says.

He says the pou provide a visible reminder that Albany is a place where Mäori students, staff and visitors feel welcome. The innovative design features and materials reflect the University’s focus on innovation in teaching and learning. Six pou are five metres high and 300mm in diameter, and the seventh is 6.5m and 400mm wide. Each has a meaning, with wording and designs digitally polished onto the surface, while the remaining area has been bead-blasted to give contrasting textured and matte surfaces.

The first pou has the word Kakano to represent the seeding of a thought, and the seventh and tallest has the words Tiki Tiki o Rangi, or the highest place in the heavens to represent ultimate achievement, in this case academic excellence.

Pou designer, Whakatane artist and carver Katz Maihi of Toitu Design says they reflect the University’s principles of inclusion and achievement embracing all ethnicities and cultures represented in the student population.

“Each of the seven pou is a stepping stone of progression, acknowledging the personal and academic achievement of the students.”

The new centre will be open on February 20 for Orientation Week, with food stalls, market day, free sausage sizzles and live music, and an official opening ceremony will be held on March 23.

Massey University has been given five-star ratings for its research, teaching, innovation, infrastructure and internationalisation.

Educational benchmarking agency Quacquarelli Symonds, known as QS Stars, evaluated the University's performance in a variety of criteria and gave it an overall rating of four stars out of five.

It received maximum scores for academic reputation and for the number of internally recognised academics on staff in the research criteria.

In the teaching criteria Massey received maximum scores for student satisfaction with teaching and overall student satisfaction.

Sporting facilities, medical facilities, student societies, IT infrastructure and Library facilities were awarded maximum scores in the infrastructure criteria.

In the advanced criteria of internationalisation – the number of international academic staff members, the number of institutional research collaborations, support systems for international students and the diversity of the international offering at Massey – each was awarded maximum scores.

In the innovation category of the advanced criteria Massey scored maximum points for having at least 50 current patents registered, five spin-off companies established in the past five years that are still operating successfully and independently, and at least 10 joint research projects with distinct non-university corporations in the past five years.

Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) Professor Ingrid Day, who commissioned the evaluation, says it is a strong first-up result that demonstrates to students and research partners that Massey's core strengths – its teaching, research and the reputation and quality of its academic staff  – are not only world-class, but also supported by a multi-campus infrastructure of superb facilities and student support systems.

"Those qualities of our staff, those facilities and support systems and the people behind them are the reasons our student satisfaction ratings top 80 per cent and we are leading winner of teaching awards and research prizes," Professor Day says.

The benchmarking measures the University not against other universities but against a set of standards QS Stars has devised for the sector. Professor Day says it has identified areas for improvement and several of these are being addressed in the overall Road to 2020 strategy and in the Internationalisation Strategy launched in November. Some of these are simply a matter of introducing ways to measure things that are already occurring, such as regional and community engagement and participation by staff and students in community activities. The evaluation is updated every three years. Professor Day says the University was close to achieving five stars in its first evaluation and she is confident it will attain that goal in 2014.

More information about the QS Stars ratings system is here.

A healthy crop of silver beet, lettuces and radishes is the result of work by green-fingered staff and students who have created the first community garden at the Albany campus.

The raised vegetable bed is the first of several planned by the group who worked last spring to build the garden behind the library. They hope it will inspire more students to learn how to grow their own food.

Campus chaplain Ricky Waters spearheaded the project after he was inspired by an established community garden he visited at Canterbury University when he was there for a conference in 2010. He was also motivated after he heard of students living nearby lamenting the fact that they could not grow or get access to affordable fresh vegetables. Others he has met through his role tell him they have no idea how to grow vegetables.

“The campus garden provides an opportunity for them to learn these skills,” he says. “The idea was to produce food for those students who felt they didn’t have access to fresh vegetables. I was aware of students who don’t eat well. They were complaining they couldn’t grow vegetables living in urban accommodation.”

He and fellow chaplain Britt Kusserow put out the word around the campus and attracted about 60 people. Three working bees later, the first vegetable bed was completed with the help of donated seedlings and materials, and advice from people at the long-established Devonport community garden. They used a sheet mulching method, comprised of layers of cardboard, clay, compost, seaweed and topsoil.

While weeds have not been a problem, keeping peckish pukeko off the vegetable patch has been a challenge, Mr Waters says. Chicken wire covers the coveted crops to deter pukeko living in nearby bush. With an abundance of green leaves ready for harvesting right now staff, students and their families are being invited to harvest produce in return for carrying out a small task, such as weeding or watering.

New students will have a chance to see the garden during Orientation Week, which starts on February 20, and to become involved. Mr Waters hopes the project will expand over time to include more vegetables and herbs, and fruit and olive trees.

Facebook group: Community Garden at Massey, Albany Campus

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey met with United States Ambassador David Huebner on Thursday to discuss mutual areas of interest including scholarships, the Ambassador’s informal student ambassador programme - and Vox Robotic championships.

The Vice-Chancellor invited the Ambassador to visit and speak on the University’s campuses so students could meet and talk with him. “This is a valuable opportunity as Mr Huebner has an awful lot of offer,“ says Mr Maharey.

Mr Huebner says the lunch was an opportunity to inform the Vice-Chancellor about the Embassy’s extension programmes in the education sector. One programme, where students engage informally with the Ambassador over dinner or drinks whenever his is in town, is a free exchange of ideas with no agenda, which he says, benefits both sides.

They also discussed scholarship programmes offered through the US Embassy, including the Fulbright program, which he is trying to raise awareness off.

A high-level Massey delegation travelled to Hawke’s Bay last month cementing links built over several years.

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council met with Massey’s senior leadership team and key staff to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and formalise a longstanding relationship with a focus on agri-food research and teaching.

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says Hawke’s Bay is strategically important for Massey. “We want to be the university of choice in the Bay and we are seeking to strengthen our presence by formally partnering on projects with industry and local government to develop the region, as well as on initiatives involving schools.”

Mr Maharey says local boards and industry can benefit by partnering with Massey. “We live in a knowledge-based world, and the region is faced with a whole series of issues, including young people leaving, land use and managing water – regions have the opportunity to call on our experts in these areas. “Hawke’s Bay has significant links with Massey, particularly through our research and teaching in areas such as food science, agriculture, veterinary science, horticulture, environmental management and business. These areas are integral to Hawke’s Bay’s economy”.

Mr Maharey says the senior leadership team enjoyed meeting with local leaders in Hawke’s Bay, and also held a successful two-day strategic planning workshop in Napier.

?

A new four-year Māori immersion teaching degree will help to fill a critical shortage of expert Te Reo teachers and help halt the decline of the language, says Massey University Associate Professor Huia Tomlins Jahnke, who led the development of the course.

On Tuesday at Te Kupenga o te Mātauranga marae at the Manawatu campus Hokowhitu site, the University will welcome 27 new first-year students and their whanau to its intense Māori immersion teaching course, Te Aho Tātairangi, the only course of its kind in New Zealand.

Dr Jahnke, who heads the University's School of Māori Education, says the redesigned and extended course aimed to supply 200 Maori immersion graduates into the teaching profession by 2020. “There is a shortage of teachers nationally, and in the Māori sector that shortage is critical and our graduates will help to build a bigger talent pool. It will also help the long-term rejuvenation of Te Reo Māori, which is currently classified as an endangered language."

Lecturers include experts and current practitioners from leading kura kaupapa Māori known for their strength in Te Aho Matua, including Dr Kathy Dewes, who was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in last year's Queen's Birthday Honours and who is the principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata in Rotorua, Rawiri Wright, principal of Hone Waititi in Auckland and chairman of Te Runanga Nui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori, and Toni Waho, principal of Mana Tamariki in Palmerston North.

One important aspect of the course is that all students are supported by – or assigned to – a kura hāpai (mentoring school), a unique requirement that ensures distance learning undertaken through the programme is married with daily practice.

The programme is being delivered through a new partnership between Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori and Massey and is firmly based on the principles of Te Aho Matua, the foundation document which sets out the ethos behind the formation and running of Māori-language immersion schools. “This approach will ensure the ethos of the kura kaupapa Māori movement is upheld in the preparation of teachers who will teach in the total immersion sector,” Dr Jahnke says.

Ms Waho, who is also a member of Te Rūnanga Nui, says: “We are happy to be working closely with Massey to ensure our teachers are properly prepared. The inclusion of Te Aho Matua in the design, content and delivery of the programme is the key.

Graduates will qualify with a Bachelor of Teaching Māori Medium/Diploma Maori Education.

The first Massey students for semester one will be welcomed at the Manawatu campus Hokowhitu site on Tuesday.

About 415 new College of Education students will be starting their initial teacher education classes at Manawatu and Albany, three weeks ahead of semester one commencing for the rest of the University, on February 27.

The college has an earlier start to the semester to more closely match the school year and enable students to get practical experience in classrooms as part of their study from next month. In addition to the Manawatu students the college welcomes it’s 400 distance learning students.

College Pro Vice-Chancellor of Education Professor James Chapman says the students underwent a comprehensive process to be accepted into Massey's various initial teaching programmes. “We do not simply select on grades, we look for that significant factor of passion and enthusiasm for changing lives," Professor Chapman says.

Catherine Irving (Nga Puhi) began her Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary) two weeks ago using the University's online learning system, Stream. She and students in her cohort will meet up with those enrolled in the other initial teacher education programmes for graduates, which are for those planning to teach early years, primary and secondary, as well those starting the four-year Bachelor of Education degree.

Ms Irving is excited to be on campus with her cohort. “Teaching has been a long term goal of mine,” she says. As a New Zealand salsa champion, she has taught dancing to children. “I love the age, I discovered it’s not so much about teaching them the content, it’s about teaching them to learn." She has completed a Bachelor of Communication at Massey over the past three years and during that time represented New Zealand in the Miss Earth World environmental beauty pageant in the Philippines, where she visited schools and orphanages.

“Through the visits and talking with the pageant entrants from other countries I realised how lucky we are with our education system in New Zealand. It cemented my belief that I can make a difference." She is also employed by the University as a student accommodation events coordinator and will be involved in running the Let's Get Going programme for new students at the start of Orientation.

Massey University School of Aviation is marking a milestone this year when it celebrates 25 years of producing “aviators with a difference”.

The school will hold its silver jubilee in April with a two-day celebration culminating in a gala dinner.

Aviators, alumni, enthusiasts and experts will reunite to mark the school’s anniversary, with a chance to check out the $8 million fleet of Diamond training aircraft at the Milson Flight Systems Centre in Palmerston North.

Chief executive of the school Ashok Poduval says April is an ‘aviation’ month on the New Zealand calendar with the school’s silver jubilee celebration, the 75th anniversary celebration of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Wings over Wanaka air show.

“We are extremely proud to have reached this milestone and even more proud of the achievements of our graduates who are employed in the industry all over the world,” he says. “The school is focused on contributing to the future of aviation through excellence in aviation education, training and research.”

Massey aviation students move on to careers as pilots, air safety investigators, airport managers, flight dispatchers and airline managers. The School of Aviation has recently been chosen by the national carrier Air New Zealand as a preferred training provider.

“Massey is making a global contribution from our base in New Zealand,” says Mr Poduval who has led the school since 2005. “We have networks with individuals and organisations around the world and we are hopeful that a number of them will join us for the celebrations.”

The keynote speaker at the dinner will be the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand Nigel Gould.

Massey School of Aviation commenced in 1987 with 28 students on the first course. This year, 326 students are studying towards a Bachelor of Aviation Management, 130 are studying towards a Bachelor of Aviation – Air Transport Pilot, 37 are pursuing postgraduate degrees and six are working towards doctorates.

Mr Poduval says the school has since grown to occupy a unique place in New Zealand and globally. “Our school is one of the few tertiary education institutions in the world that provides professional training for pilots embedded in University accredited academic qualifications,” he says.

“We believe it takes more than stick and rudder skills and flying hours in the log book to produce a high-calibre aviator.”

The purchase of two twin-engine Diamond DA42 and 12 Diamond DA40 single-engine aircraft in 2009 established Massey at the forefront of professional pilot training in New Zealand. The first graduates to complete their training on these aircraft received their Wings in November.

The aircraft, which replaced the Piper Warrior single engine and Piper Seneca twin-engine aircraft, have state-of-the-art Garmin 1000 cockpit display systems to enhance safety and improve training quality.

“The Diamonds are technologically-advanced aircraft with digital instrumentation, moving map displays, terrain awareness warning and traffic avoidance systems,” says Mr Poduval.

They are also fitted with Spidertracks, a device developed with the aid of Massey University mechatronics graduate James McCarthy that enables real-time tracking of the aircraft position from the flight operations centre.

The jubilee dinner will be held on Saturday April 21 at the Palmerston North Convention Centre. For more information, or to book your boarding card, email aviation@massey.ac.nz and follow the school on Facebook.

Seven contemporary stainless steel pou (sculptured poles) were installed at the Albany campus this week. The pou, which will provide a distinctive Maori presence and cultural symbol for students' educational journey, will be blessed along with the new student amenities centre at a dawn ceremony on February 8.

Six pou are five metres high and 300mm in diameter, and the seventh is 6.5m and 400mm wide. Each has a meaning, with wording and designs digitally polished onto the surface, while the remaining area has been bead-blasted to give contrasting textured and matte surfaces. The first has the word Kakano to represent the seeding of a thought, and the student, and the seventh and tallest pou has the words Tiki Tiki o Rangi, or the highest place in the heavens to represent ultimate achievement, in this case academic excellence.

Made by Hamilton firm Stainless Design, they were welcomed to the campus by local kaumatua as well as the man who designed them, Whakatane artist and carver Katz Maihi of Toitu Design. Mr Maihi says his design reflects Massey’s principles of inclusion and achievement embracing all ethnicities and cultures represented in the student population. “Each of the seven pou is a stepping stone of progression, acknowledging the personal and academic achievement of the students.”

Campus kaiwhakaruruhau (regional advisor Māori) Donald Ripia says the pou provide a visible reminder that Albany is a place where Maori students, staff and visitors feel welcome. The innovative design features and materials reflect the University’s focus on innovation in teaching and learning.

They were unloaded by crane and positioned in a circle to embody the core principle of the University’s Maori learning philosophy, Te Kunenga ki Purehuroa – from inception to infinity.

The new $15m centre, dubbed Student Central and due to open in Orientation week starting February 20, will be a hub for the 7000 Albany students, with an outdoor area encircled by the pou, a food hall with an indoor/outdoor social and dining space, cafes, shops, students' association offices, Maori and Pasifika student centres, clubs, and health and counselling services.

Massey University’s ecentre is encouraging entrepreneurs to tap into its expertise about potential markets for their ideas and save start-up time, money and effort.

The business innovation centre, on the Albany campus, will run free advice workshops next month.

Steve Corbett, chief executive of ecentre, says tough economic times are a paradise for entrepreneurs who have the courage and capability to exploit opportunities and seek out support.

“There are support systems in place,” he says. “Incubators such as the ecentre are a great first point of contact. Incubators help entrepreneurs to develop their capabilities, fast track their business and overall de-risk the process, especially if you are not quite sure whether your idea is worth pursuing.

“To make this decision easier, you need to figure out whether someone is willing to pay for your offer. We call this process market validation.”

Mr Corbett, who chairs the industry association Incubators New Zealand, says entrepreneurs can spend months or even years developing a “good” idea for which there is no market. “The concept of solving a real market problem is simple, but is often overlooked,” he says.

The ecentre will run free Business Idea Workshops around Auckland, with the first on February 8 at the ecentre.

In addition, ecentre is now enrolling for the next 12-week ecentreSprint programme, which will start at the end of February.

Entrepreneurs receive market feedback, gain access to mentors and investors with different points of view, pitch to investors and receive encouragement with others going through similar challenges.

Alexei Dunayev, chief executive of TranscribeMe, a smartphone-to-text transcription service, which went through the programme, says the support from the ecentre had been “leading edge” and helped the company to focus on the customer.

“We see a lot of entrepreneurs who have an idea but simply can’t afford to quit their day job to figure out whether their businesses will take off,” adds Sabrina Nagel, programme manager for ecentreSprint.

“And it is a good way of testing whether one can be an entrepreneur.”

For more details, go to the ecentre’s website www.ecentre.org.nz.

Massey University’s National Oiled Wildlife Response Team has partially re-opened its facility at Te Maunga in Tauranga in anticipation of any newly affected wildlife as a result of the breaking up of the container ship Rena.

Wildlife veterinarian Kerri Morgan, who co-ordinates the team, says Maritime New Zealand believes oil may wash up on the Bay of Plenty coast this evening.

“We have field teams out on a large area of the coast, focusing on Maketu, Little Waihi and Pukehina, where there are populations of the endangered New Zealand dotterel,” she says. “However, it is important to note that the amount of oil that was left on the Rena is significantly less than what was released last year – we’re talking tens of tonnes not hundreds.”

So far seven oiled little blue penguins have been taken to the facility since Monday, while there are 22 little blue penguins, two fluttering shearwaters and one dotterel in care at Massey University in Palmerston North, where they were taken when the Te Maunga facility was wound down.

Ms Morgan says dotterel expert Dr John Dowding is monitoring the situation along the coastline, where the birds are breeding at the moment. “We pre-emptively captured 60 dotterel when the Rena first ran aground and that was successful so if required we would do that again. Any chicks found would be brought in as well.”

Booms are in place to protect estuaries from oil and debris but Ms Morgan warns they are not guaranteed to be effective.

She says it is uncertain what effect, if any, the debris from the Rena will have on wildlife but teams will monitor birds closely in affected areas.