HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to Semester 2, the big run to the end of the year! It’s great to see all the activity around campus. Please give a warm welcome to all our new and returning students, and especially keep an eye out for the lost ones. Starting out at Uni can be a daunting experience; your friendly greeting can make a big difference.

It’s consultation time. The faculty has kicked off its annual strategic planning exercise and we have 4 weeks to submit our school 3-year Strategic Plan. This plan sets out our objectives and resourcing requirements. Over the next two weeks the Chairs of the various committees and Academic Programme Heads will be drawing together material for the draft plan that will be circulated for comment to staff and PG students in the next edition of P-cubed. There then will be a one week opportunity for consideration and feedback after which the plan will be finalised for submission on 16 August. If you would like to contribute to the 2020 plan, please engage via committees and/or disciplinary groups, or send individual comments directly to me. For reference, our 2019 plan is here.

In developing the strategic plan, we would like to include a short mission/values statement, one that we can develop further over the next 12 months. If you are interested in contributing to this, please see below for further information.

Now is the time to think about short projects or qualifying purchases that need some $$ and which can be receipted before 31 December. If the budget is looking flush as we get late into the 3rd quarter we will start funding these items. ‘Underspend proposals‘ are open to all committees, disciplinary groups (incl. student experience committee) and individual staff. Please see here for details.

Have a great week!

Ngā mihi – JR

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For Your Diary

Deadlines	Date & Location
ENV morning tea – farewell for Vanessa	Wednesday 24th July, 10.30am, Level 6 common space
FRDF grants -contact RPC Ivana Mlinac i.mlinac@auckland.ac.nz for more information.	Wednesday 24th July
NZ Association of Scientist Medals	Wednesday 31 July, 2019
Draft content for ENV strategic plan to JR please, Values content/ideas to Larry please	Friday 2 August
Promotion applications (excluding Professorial applications) – send to JR- Discussion with JR before the deadline is required	Thursday 15  August
Proposals for short-term funding (Underspend proposals) due to JR	16th August
UOA Teaching Excellence Awards	Due Friday 6th September

 

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Whakawhanaungatanga – communities

Shaping our vision and values

The School of Environment sits within a broader organisation with defined missions and values; our mission and values must map onto these broader frameworks, though they can reflect our unique identity.

• What is our mission
• What are our values?

Larry is building a short mission/values statement for the 3-year strategic plan, one that we can develop further over the next 12 months. If you would like to contribute ideas or opinions, please get in touch with him before Friday August 2.  l.murphy@Auckland.ac.nz

The University’s core values are:

• Excellence in teaching, learning, research, creative work and administration
• Respect for each other and for our shared commitment to excellence, collegiality, academic freedom, equity, and the principles of the Te Tiriti ō Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi).
• Service by our staff, students and alumni to high quality learning, the advancement of knowledge and to our local, national and international communities

DRAFT FACULTY OF SCIENCE VALUES

Our Mission: Excellent science – local impact – global leadership

We undertake excellent scientific research and education that are valued for their contribution to evidence-based global discourse and for the way they underpin and support New Zealand and New Zealanders to:

• Understand the processes that shape our physical, natural and social environments and their implications;
• Be responsive and responsible in addressing challenges that might affect them or their environments;
• Live lives that are healthy in mind and body in habitats that are rich and diverse;
• Transform our economy to one that is environmentally and socially sustainable and which is founded on evidence-based research
• Grow a population that irrespective of background is well educated in science, including mātauranga Māori, and its ethical application;
• …and which, through our local actions, provide global leadership.

Our Values

Within this framework we are committed to:

• Quality – valuing quality over quantity in our teaching, research, relationships and cultures.
• Te Tiriti ō Waitangi – respecting its principles, and meaningfully engaging with Māori and Pacific approaches and values in all that we do.
• Equity – supporting all students and staff to reach their potential, irrespective of background.
• Inclusivity – providing an inclusive work and study environment that promotes wellbeing and celebrates diversity.
• Pedagogy – ensuring our teaching programmes respond to international best practice and to the diverse and changing needs of our students.
• Research – promoting thriving research communities, including those based on interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Stakeholders – strengthening our engagement with, and our relevance to, our stakeholders and their communities.
• Sustainability – investing in sustainability in its broadest sense: ethical, emotional, environmental and financial.
• Professionalism – encouraging core values: Integrity, Efficiency, Credibility, Compassion, Passion, Helpfulness.

Promotion Applications 2019 (excluding Professorial applications)

If you are considering applying for promotion, please make sure you are familiar with the content of the Academic Promotions webpage (it contains links to all promotions forms, policies and the standards) and email Samantha (Samantha.huang@auckland.ac.nz ) to schedule a meeting to discuss with JR before submitting your complete applications to her. The deadline of submitting applications is Thursday 15 August. Click here for more details.

Space

Multi-use Laboratory Room 302-586

The ‘document’ lab has been reconfigured to provide a multi-use facility that is suitable for microscope work or small meetings/seminars. Several specialist microscopes are positioned on the back/side walls. Window screens, fold-up chairs and a large smart TV are available.

If you want to book this room please see Farnaz or Lynnette in the main office, Level 6. They will record your booking and have a key that you can collect when you need it. All staff and PG students can book this space.

The space is available for use without a booking but obviously bookings take precedence.

IMPORTANT:

The new release of the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) Policy:

The H&S policy is now the Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) policy, and replaces all previous versions. The HSW policy includes Governance and Leadership statements, breaks down responsibilities by role, and describes how we manage HSW at The University.

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/the-university/how-university-works/policy-and-administration/health-and-safety/health-and-safety-policy.html

Accident and near miss reporting:

You should be reporting injuries, near misses, potential incidents, vehicle incidents and anything else of concern.  If in doubt, ask one of the HSW committee members.  Reporting from the School has been a bit slow over the last few months, but we have had a couple of interesting potential incidents reported.

• A cheeky seagull has been stacking pebbles on the 302 L6 building ledge.  This has the potential to cause some harm if one fell off and hit someone below.  This was reported, investigated and is now sitting with property services to rectify (bird netting? Scarecrow?)
• A couple of live shotgun shells were accidentally sent back to the School with some field equipment.  Reported, and shells dropped off to the police.

Reporting procedure can be found below.  Pretty easy, fill in the form and send to a member of the School HSW committee.

https://www.staff.auckland.ac.nz/en/human-resources/health-safety-and-wellbeing/accident-reporting-and-investigation/reporting-procedure-and-purpose.html

Events

Farewell

Morning Tea for Vanessa Castro’s farewell – 10:30am, 24 July, L6 Breakout Space

Cumberland Lecture

Save the date! The Cumberland lecture will be on 22 August, 5 pm, PLT2. Kennedy Warne – Writer, Photographer, and co-founder of New Zealand Geographic – is our Cumberland lecturer. Further details coming soon.

The Earth Sciences Bickie briefing

The Earth Sciences Bickie briefing runs every Thursday morning at 10.30am in the Level 6 Breakout space- B302. All post grads and staff welcome.

Volcanology, Geochemistry, & Petrology Research Group

The volcanology, geochemistry, & petrology research group (VGP) meets every other week during the semester. Our next meeting will be on 25 July from 12 to 1 in 302-130. (Note the time and location change from last semester!) Geoff and Jan will be giving talks about his recent experimental work in Munich and the Resilience to Nature’s Challenges- Urban Phase 2 research programme, respectively. For more information, please see our website: vgp.blogs.auckland.ac.nz See you soon!

FoS Postdoc Society

The Faculty of Science Post-Doctoral Society is a society for Postdocs and Early Career Researchers within the Faculty of Science that has the following objectives:

1. a)            To promote excellent science by providing a community for FoS postdoctoral staff and early career researchers that facilitates networking and collaboration both in and out of the lab.
2. b)            To facilitate training and career development amongst FoS postdoctoral staff and early career researchers; and
3. c)            To promote the interests of and provide a voice for FoS postdoctoral staff and early career researchers within both the School and the University of Auckland.

We are always open to new committee members so if you know any postdocs or early career researcher who are passionate about helping other postdocs/early career researchers and interested in becoming committee members or if you are that person, please contact us at  fos-res-fellows@auckland.ac.nz.  Alternatively, if you would like to find out what it is like being a committee member, please come along to any of our committee meetings held on the first Tuesday of each month at 3pm in the Building 302, 6th floor breakout space (next one is Tuesday 6^th August).

Unfortunately, we don’t currently have an automatic notification when a new postdoc joins the Faculty. We manually add a new person to our emailing list when we can identify one, but it is tricky to track everyone.  So please let us know by emailing at fos-res-fellows@auckland.ac.nz if you would like to be on our mailing list. We run a range of events throughout the year ranging from panel discussions to skills workshops and use this list to advertise events and let you know what’s going on within the society as it happens.

Best regards,

Lena Weissert

Student Levy Consultation

The Student Levy, or Compulsory Student Services Fee, is open for consultation from Monday 1 July – Friday 2 August. There is five $50 Westfield Shopping vouchers to be won.
Complete the Student Levy Survey and tell us how you think the compulsory fee should be spent at the University in 2020. The survey can be found here
Please find the Flyer here

Open Day 2019 – ambassadors

UOA is looking for 200-odd student ambassadors (including UniGuides) to help for a full day on Open Day, doing tasks such as transport coordination, help desks, lecture support, SkyBus help and other misc. tasks. As a thank you for volunteering your time and support, you will be provided with lunch on the day and a Westfield voucher.
More information and sign up form for students: https://forms.gle/aQUr7vCWB66ncKSy5

Datamine graduate recruitment information evening:

Wondering where your degree in science, statistics, computer science or technology can take you? Datamine is on the search for Auckland University students and near-graduates to join their growing team.
Date: Tuesday 6 August
Time: 5pm
Place: 23 Symonds Street, MedChem Lecture Theatre, Science Building.
Spaces are limited. Please book your spot through our website or by contacting Datamine at grads@datamine.com.

Please find the Flyer here

Thank you!

INCREDIBLE SCIENCE DAY 

We would like to thank all of our outreach volunteers from AUGA, DEVORA, QuakeCore, Rū, and UOA geography who helped with several tables at The University of Auckland’s Incredible Science day on July 2nd. There were over 500 students, teachers and parents from around the Auckland region. It was a successful day enjoyed by all. Anna and Shannen.

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Rangahau – Research

PhD student Kate Cocker working with Phil Shane using the electron microprobe at Victoria University in Wellington last week. She is analysing crystals in andesites from Ruapehu volcano. The aim to understand how magma ascends to the surface.

Financial Reports

 The Budget Availability Report (BAR) sent to researchers each month will be retired at the end of July. An enhanced report is available through Strategic Management Report (SMR) research dashboards.

The dashboard provides detailed reports of the HOD and RDA accounts and all research projects that you are a PI on. It has updated data from the previous working day.

An eLearning module entitled ‘Research Funding Dashboards for Researchers’ has been created – with a PI specific view.

The school’s RPCs can help if you have any questions, how to access and interpret the dashboard.

Meetings, seminars and events

Registrations for Exposure 2019 open 29 July

Get ready for Exposure 2019! The University’s biggest postgraduate research expo is back this October. Whether you want to compete in the Poster Session or Oral Presentation Session, prepare your abstract and be ready to submit when registrations open on 29 July.

 In 2018, Science students won first and second place in the poster competition and won second place in the oral presentation.

With a total prize fund of $7,500, can you afford to miss it?

 Find dates, details and resources at auckland.ac.nz/exposure.

‘Ken Cumberland and Historical Geography – (or why I’m an ambivalent social scientist)’

Tuesday 6^th August at 4.00pm in the Ontology Lab on Level 5 of Building 302

Speaker: Professor Michael Roche, Massey University, Palmerston North

Please find the flyer here.

Research Ideas Seminar – Our World and Universe

You’re cordially invited to the second in the series of Our World and Universe seminars on Wednesday 14 August at 2-4pm.

The focus of the seminar will be for YOU to present YOUR current research project ideas – whether it be for MBIE, Marsden, industry or for internal funding. Any project idea is welcome, no matter how new or developed it may be! The main aim is for all of us to share our interests and connect to others outside of our immediate disciplines.

$$$$! – Anyone who gets involved in the session and presents will be eligible to receive SEED MONEY for their project idea: There are two prizes worth $4K (for research staff) and two prizes worth $2K (for postgraduate research students).

And if the money isn’t enough of an incentive, we will have free food and drinks too!

Any topic that relates to the theme in any aspect is welcome. As a reminder, the theme has three main focus areas:

• Earth. The study of our oceans, climate and geological systems; Life and it’s development, from mitochondria to megafauna.

• Space. Remote sensing and space technology; Exploration of the stars, galaxies and supernovae; All things ‘Astro’.

• Fundamental Questions. The origins and evolution of life; The philosophy of biology and enaction; Complex networks and machine learning.

The format of the session will be for you and other members come by, create a quick write up of your idea on a whiteboard on the day, and present these to the room. We ran this format in April in a similar session, and had a great response – if you’d like to take a look, click here to find out more about the talks.

Please RSVP to this email to sign up, with a few words that describe your idea/talk.

Journal Editors Workshop – Auckland Monday 26 August

The Journal Editors Workshop will be held across 2 locations: (View online)

AUCKLAND
Monday 26 August
9.00am – 11.30am
Auckland University of Technology

WELLINGTON
Tuesday 27 August
9.00am – 11.30am
Victoria University of Wellington

Featured speaker: Dr Anthony Dona

What you will discover at the workshop:

• Journal Selection Criteria and Improving your Publication – Understand how journals are selected and analysed in Web of Science.
• Enhancing your Impact Factor and the State of Open Access – Understand how to use the Impact Factor Metric, and its limitations. Learn about other valuable bibliometric indicators and the trends of these in open access journals.
• Find Peer Reviewers and Publons Profiles – Discover where academics are editing and reviewing journals like your own.

Please register here.

Marine Geosciences Talk

 Wed 24/7, 1-2 pm

CAG01/114-G01 (Commerce A)

 Fish predators maintain estuarine biodiversity and benefit a critical ecosystem engineer

 Joseph Reustle
Smee Marine Ecology Lab
Texas A&M University

A Prognosis on Privacy: Are We Equipped for Emerging Challenges?

 David Swanlund is a visiting PhD Candidate from Simon Fraser University in Canada. He will be giving a talk on modern Geo Privacy issues and solutions next week. David’s excellent work has been published in Progress in Human Geography and the Annals of the AAG, and his has most recently won an award for his talk at the Spatial Knowledge and Information conference in Canada.

 The abstract for his talk is as follows:

Whether it’s Cambridge Analytica, revelations about government surveillance, or the seemingly endless breaches of corporate databases, privacy is often marked by scandal. As a result of this constant exposure, surveys show that members of the public are increasingly worried about their privacy and are feeling less confident that they understand how corporations and governments are collecting, analyzing, and sharing their data. But what exactly is privacy anyways, where are its edges, and why do privacy scholars so often disagree over these seemingly basic questions? Moreover, why might we look at privacy through an explicitly spatial lens (i.e. geoprivacy), and what does spatial data reveal about us that other forms of data do not? Finally, what can we as researchers do to better protect the spatial privacy of the individuals in our datasets? This presentation will explore each of these questions, and in doing so will outline emerging problems in the study, protection, and even conceptualization of privacy.

 Hope you will be able to join us in the Ontology Lab for a talk that is sure to be of interest for all of the school of environment as we all have data that requires security and has privacy considerations. If you think others outside of the school would be interested, please feel free to invite them as well. There will be cookies! 

Details:

Thursday, July 25. 

Talk 2-2:30, discussion thereafter.

Ontology Lab,B302, Level 5. Rm. 551

Funding Opportunities

RSNZ Rutherford Foundation 2019

The objectives of the Rutherford Foundation Fellowships and Scholarships are to support the education and development of promising excellent early career researchers with the potential to excel in a research environment.

Due to Funds & Submissions by 5pm Tuesday 23 July 2019.

Information and guidelines : Rutherford Foundation

 FRDF

 The updated documents for the 2019 Round are now available on the Faculty of Science intranet

https://www.sciencestaff.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/research/faculty-research-development-fund.html

Applications are due by 5pm on Wednesday 24^th July and should be submitted via the RFM – contact your RPC Ivana Mlinac i.mlinac@auckland.ac.nz if you have any queries.

Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Development Fund (VCSDF).

Applications must support the University’s Strategic Plan and have sufficient impact to justify immediate funding. Applications can be made by any individual staff member or group of staff, academic unit or service division.

VCSDF applications close at 5pm on Friday 16th August.

More information and an application form are available on the staff intranet at Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Development Fund 2019

New publications

1. Simon-Kumar, R., Collins, F.L. & Friesen, W. (eds) (2019) Intersections of inequality, migration and diversification: the politics of mobility in Aotearoa/NewZealand. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
2. Friesen, W. (2019) ‘Quantifying and qualifying inequality among migrants’ in R. Simon-Kumar, F.L. Collins, & W. Friesen (eds), Intersections of inequality, migration and diversification: the politics of mobility in Aotearoa/NewZealand. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 17-42.
3. Shirley, G., Wylie, E., & Friesen, W. (2019) ‘The branding of post-conflict tourism destinations: theoretical reflections and case studies’, in A. Neef and J.H. Grayman (eds), The tourism-disaster-conflict nexus. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Ltd, pp 119-139.
4. Underhill-Sem, Y, Marsters, E., Bedford, R., Naidu, V. & Friesen, W., (2019) Are there only winners? Labour mobility for sustainable development in the Pacific. New Zealand Institute for Pacific Research, Auckland. 48 pp.
5. PhD student Megan Tuck has just published a paper in Geology. The paper has been covered by various media organisations. Link to one piece below.Tuck, M. E., Kench, P. S., Ford, M. R., & Masselink, G. (2019). Physical modelling of the response of reef islands to sea-level rise. Geology.https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/114265809/some-islands-get-higher-migrate-as-sea-levels-rise-storms-intensify-auckland-university-researchers

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Ako – Teaching and Learning

Teaching Excellence Awards

Applications are being called for The University of Auckland Teaching Excellence Awards. There are five Teaching Excellence Awards available, in the following categories:

• Sustained Excellence in Teaching (two awards)
• Early Career Excellence in Teaching (two awards)
• Leadership in Teaching and Learning (one award)
• In the 2019 round, applications are invited for formal leadership in teaching and learning*

In a particular year, if an award is not made in one or more of the categories, an award may be re-assigned to another category if the next best ranked application in that category is of sufficient merit. The Awards are contestable across the University and carry with them a medal and a monetary prize of $6,000.

Selected recipients of University of Auckland Teaching Excellence Awards will usually be considered for nomination by the University for the national awards. The University, however, reserves the right to approach other staff to nominate for the national awards.

The ‘Information to applicants’ and application forms are available on the University’s Teaching and Learning website at:

http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/excellence-innovation/

For guidance and advice on preparing a teaching portfolio, potential applicants can:

–       view the portfolios of the University’s national Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award winners as an example of best practice

–       consult the online resources available on the Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education (CLeaR) website

–       submit a request for a consultation with CLeaR

The closing date for applications is Friday 6 September 2019 with the Teaching Excellence Awards Secretary, Susan McDowell-Watts, s.mcdowell-watts@auckland.ac.nz

For any enquiries – contact Claire Walters, Academic Reviews Manager, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, c.walters@auckland.ac.nz

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Classifieds

Free 3-seater sofa

In great condition, except for the cat damage to the arms and the base :-(. Don’t take it if you’re allergic to cats. But, if you  need a couch for the flat this could be a goodie. Email JR.

Are you good at graphics? Want some work?

If you make great visual posters and want some paid work, I’m keen to have a chat to you. Email JR.

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Copy deadline for next edition of P-cubed: Friday 12:00 2nd August, to Farnaz: f.sheikh@auckland.ac.nz

HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

It’s Matariki –  Māori New Year – a time for remembering those who have gone before us, celebrating new life and planting new crops. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the care that has been shown since the Christchurch massacre, and the efforts that have been made to reassert the values that we would like to underpin our society. Teaching semesters are a demanding time for staff and students alike, with no end of work from start to finish. This one has been harder than most but we are almost done, with just a few exams left. As we move beyond Matariki, I hope everyone finds time to recharge ready for a productive and rewarding Semester 2.

In amongst the hard work it is always great to find joyful moments. The Pecha Kucha presentations (and MC) at the recent ENV staff retreat were a highlight – who knew dogs could be so versatile? Special thanks to our brave presenters – you were brilliant and most assuredly have alternate careers in stand-up comedy. For those interested, I have collated the ‘framing’ responses from JC’s activity here. If you have comments or corrections please send them through to me – there will be misinterpretations of intent so do set me straight where I have strayed. We will follow up on some of the priorities over the next few months.

If you are in the office on Wednesday 3 July please join me at 10.30 am for a morning tea to celebrate the end of Semester 1 and to welcome Sonia Fonua, our new PTF in Pacific pedagogy and Environmental Science, into the school.

Ngā mihi – JR

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For Your Diary

Deadlines	Date & Location
Nomination of Examiners for Masters students- to m.johannisson-wallman@auckland.ac.nz	28th June 2019
Application to be on the Rhodes selection panel	end June – to j.harding@auckland.ac.nz
Distinguished Visitor Awards- contact RPC Ivana Mlinac i.mlinac@auckland.ac.nz for more information.	1st July 2019
Professorial promotion applications – send to John Hosking, see here for info	1st July 2019
Feedback due on draft Code of Conduct – see here	14th July 2019–to claire.hall@auckland.ac.nz
Approved staff unavailability form (AS-87) for 2020- to m.johannisson-wallman@auckland.ac.nz	15th July 2019
Māori & Pacific Welcome, Semester 2	Wednesday, 17th July, 9-10am Waipapa Marae
FRDF grants -contact RPC Ivana Mlinac i.mlinac@auckland.ac.nz for more information.	24th July
NZ Association of Scientist Medals	31 July, 2019
Other Events
“Demystifying research support in the Faculty of Science”. –  room 423-340	2nd July  (Tuesday) 11– 12pm

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Whakawhanaungatanga – communities

Spaces and systems

IMPORTANT: Environment Vehicle Hire booking 

The vehicle booking site has been moved to the new URL. Please start using the new URL.

https://carscience.fos.auckland.ac.nz

New multi-use room

The new multi-use room, 302.586 (formerly Document Analysis Lab) is available for use. While microscopes are set up in this space permanently, the School has an ad-hoc booking system for other users. There is a whiteboard on the door where anyone can book the room. The room has blockout curtains, chairs (10) and a mobile smart TV. If you have any questions about using this space please direct them to Blair (b.sowman@auckland.ac.nz). Please leave the room tidy and clean.

Events

The Earth Sciences Bickie briefing

The Earth Sciences Bickie briefing runs every Thursday morning at 10.30am in the Level 6 Breakout space- B302. All post grads and staff welcome.

University of Auckland Senior Common Room (aka the Staff Club)

School of Environment staff that participated in the recent School retreat at Old Government House (OGH) will be familiar with the facilities available. However, few are probably aware that the facilities are maintained by the Senior Common Room (SCR). Membership of the SCR is open to all staff (professional and academic) and PhD students for the price of $4.43/fortnight for the former and $25/year for the latter. Given the cost of the subsidized (to members) beverages on offer your membership dues will be recouped in a few visits. Note that membership also entitles you to 10% discount on food and drinks purchased from the Montana Café (sorry, not the Buttery Bar).

To ease the process of joining the SCR please find the Staff and PhD membership forms.

Staff: simply type in your details and decide whether to pay automatic fortnightly deductions of $4.43 from your salary by emailing the completed membership form to: scradmin@auckland.ac.nz. Alternatively you are welcome to pay the annual subscription in full at the SCR bar.

PhD students: pay the annual subscription at the SCR bar. The completed form can be handed over to the bar staff with the receipt signifying payment, or, email copies of both to: scradmin@auckland.ac.nz

The SCR looks forward to welcoming more ENV staff and PhD students as members.

Congratulations

PhD success

On Friday 14th Linda Madden successfully passed her PhD oral examination. Her thesis is Pet Names: A critical Geography of Non-human Identity Construction in Auckland City – Linda Madden (supervised by Robin Kearns and Ward Friesen)

Outreach

Linking with secondary schools

The PORO lab hosted Danielle Meek, a year-12 student from Carmel College. Danielle contacted Mila to have a 2 day work experience opportunity in an area she is passionate about pursuing. We measured physical properties a few of rocks from Bothers Volcano and she met with PhD students: Jonathan, Shreya and Steve. She hopes to become an undergraduate student in geophysics/earthscience in a year and a half!

Volunteer position

The DEVORA (Determining Volcanic Risk in Auckland) and AUGA (Auckland University Geoscience Association) are participating in the Incredible Science Day held at The University of Auckland on July 2nd and we are looking for volunteers. We will be showing groups of intermediate-aged school kids the wonders of volcanoes, earthquakes, rocks and fossils, and even some geography! No experience is required, and we will teach you what you need to know.
The event runs from 10-2, so please get in touch (contact smil265@aucklanduni.ac.nz) if you have a spare couple of hours!

Our website content

Over the last few weeks, the Comms and Marketing team have been working with JR to migrate the School of Environment website content to the new University format. The first section of this work is now complete and Emily Gordon has added the Environment homepage to the Faculty of Science main menu.

You can find the new homepage by navigating to Science on the University website (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science.html ) and clicking the Environment link from the About the Faculty drop-down menu.

Our next step is to set up redirects to link the classic pages to the new content. This change will affect several pages on the old site including, our department, our people, future undergraduates, future postgraduates, and current students. It will not affect the research section or course pages at this stage.

Once the redirects are in place, you may find that some of your bookmarks automatically redirect to the new content.

Please be aware that, due to the nature of the new site many pages will look different and some content may be located in a different place from where it was historically. We have done our best to ensure that all pages are redirected to the most appropriate alternative.

If you have any problems finding something try using the website’s search function in the first instance. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, or you notice any inaccuracies, please contact Emily Gordon (emily.gordon@auckland.ac.nz) or Cate Hennessy (c.henessy@auckland.ac.nz), who looks after the School of Environment web pages.

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Rangahau – Research

Funding Opportunities

Faculty Research Development Fund (FRDF)

The updated documents for the 2019 Round are now available on the Faculty of Science intranet
https://www.sciencestaff.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/research/faculty-research-development-fund.html 

Applications are due by 5.00 pm on Wednesday 24th July and should be submitted via the RFM – contact your RPC Ivana Mlinac i.mlinac@auckland.ac.nz if you have any queries.
Note the application form is not the same as last year so please use the 2019 version.

Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Development Fund (VCSDF)

Applications must support the University’s Strategic Plan and have sufficient impact to justify immediate funding. Applications can be made by any individual staff member or group of staff, academic unit or service division.
VCSDF applications close at 5pm on Friday 16th August.
More information and an application form are available on the staff intranet at Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Development Fund 2019

RSNZ Rutherford Foundation 2019

The objectives of the Rutherford Foundation Fellowships and Scholarships are to support the education and development of promising excellent early career researchers with the potential to excel in a research environment.
Due to Funds & Submissions by 5pm Tuesday 23 July 2019.
Information and guidelines : Rutherford Foundation

Kate Edger Post Doctoral Awards 2019

To assist women who have qualified to graduate with a doctoral degree within the last two years to carry out research on a specified, independent project at an approved Institute in the Auckland area.
Due to Funds & Submissions by 5pm Tuesday 11 July 2019.
Information and guidelines: Kate Edger

Undergrad students Scholarships

The closing date is on 30th June 2019

Dulcie Bowman Memorial Scholarship

A Scholarship of $4,500 to support women students with a hearing disability who are enrolled in undergraduate or postgraduate study.

For more details please click HERE.

Professor Michael Walker Scholarship for Māori and Pacific Students
A $3,000 Scholarship for Māori and Pacific students currently enrolled in their final year of undergraduate study and who are enrolling full-time or part-time in postgraduate study in the following year.

Fore more details please click HERE

Meetings, seminars and events

“Demystifying research support in the Faculty of Science”.   Jan Lindsay, Associate Dean Research

Learn more about funding and support available for researchers. Get to know the ‘RPC’s – SoE research support team (Vanessa Castro, Ivana Mlinac and Amy Weir) and how they can assist you.

2nd July  (Tuesday), 11– 12pm, Room 423-340 (across the road from 23 Symonds street)

 #SummerOfSolutions United Nations initiative

This global call-to-action invites young technologists, designers, entrepreneurs, and other creative minds to imagine and build open-source technology solutions for tackling global challenges. The 2019 focus is on climate change, and solutions are expected to enable circular economies, develop ethical fashion, and improve climate information.

This initiative is organized by the United Nations Secretary-General ‘s Envoy on Youth, the United Nations Technology Innovation Labs, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Unite Ideas platform of the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology.

The best #SummerOfSolutions will be featured at the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 (New York, USA), 23 September 2019, and may have the potential to receive support to become real enterprises.

Participation can range from simply submitting an idea to developing full fledge solutions, but in every case, getting involved should prove rewarding for both students and faculty.

Details, registration information and challenge deadlines are available through the Unite Ideas platform: https://uniteideas.spigit.com/.

The three challenges have already kicked off and the competition is ongoing! The first deadline is this July 3rd. 

PhD submission seminar

The PhD Student Committee invites everyone to the Research Seminar by Paul Oluwunmi presenting the work of his PhD after thesis submission. Come along and learn about “Numerical modelling of the response of marine gas hydrate bearing sediment to dissociation after depressurization; case studies for tectonic uplift, sealevel lowering, and gas hydrate production.” and celebrate Paul for this great achievement.
Please see details HERE.
Tuesday, July 9th at 4-5pm in 302-G20

Also, one of his publications has now been published online. It is open-access available at: https://www.sci-dril.net/25/47/2019/

Publications:

Towards characterising rhyolitic tephra layers from New Zealand with rapid, non-destructive μ-XRF core scanning

LeoniePeti, Paul C.Augustinus, Patricia S.Gadd, Sarah J.Davies

You can read the full paper HERE

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Ako – Teaching and Learning

Ako Innovation Committee: Teaching & Learning Fund

The purpose of this fund is to promote the development of innovative teaching and learning practices within the School of Environment which promote a culture of teaching excellence. These funds will be distributed in one contestable round, with grants of up to $6000. The total pool of funds available in 2019 is $12000. Grants to individuals or groups of teaching active staff will be used to fund small-scale teaching initiatives that have an impact on teaching practice for the benefit of learners.
All applications should be received by 15/07/2019.
See Ako Innovation Committee Teaching & Learning Fund: Grant Guidelines and 2019 Application Form for AKO Teaching and Learning Innovation Grant.
https://www.coursebuilder.cad.auckland.ac.nz/flexicourses/4101/publish/1/14.html
Any questions please contact Mel Wall.

IODP Expedition 386: Japan Trench Paleoseismology

Applications are invited from scientists in countries participating in IODP to join the Science Party for IODP Expedition 386: Japan Trench Paleoseismology.

Scientists with expertise relevant to the objectives of the proposal may apply. DEADLINE 5 July 2019

For more information and to apply HERE

Computer lab. images for semester two:

If there are any requests for software titles to be added to the Science Computer lab image for semester 2 2019 could we please have these forwarded to Sean Davidson directly , s.davidson@auckland.ac.nz , by 4pm, Friday the 28th June
with me (Ingo Pecher) on cc (i.pecher@auckland.ac.nz)

We will then make a test image available for acceptance testing between the 8th and the 12th July.

Information Required:
* Software name and version
* Environment in which the software should be installed (i.e. Windows/Linux/)
* Exact location that the installer and any support files can be accessed from
* Any customization’s required in installing the software (We will run the installer and select all default values unless advised otherwise)
* Licensing details of the application (is it a site license or are there a certain number of licenses? If the latter, who/where can it be used?)
* Contact details of the staff member who will test the application once it is installed and be notified of changes and updates. Additionally please provide the name of any person who can assist  with the install/configuration
* Instructions on where to download/obtain any additional custom made/home-made files needed – for example URLs
* (optional) Courses these applications will be used in
* (optional) Rooms that these applications will be used in

CALL FOR GEOSCIENCE SOCIETY OF NZ AWARD NOMINATIONS

For specific details on each award and nomination templates, visit:

http://www.gsnz.org.nz/information/awards-i-101.html

Send nominations and applications to: james.scott@otago.ac.nz by 19th September 2019.

 

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Copy deadline for next edition of P-cubed: Friday 12:00 5th July, to Farnaz: f.sheikh@auckland.ac.nz

HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

Well done everyone getting to the end of the teaching semester. Once the marking and exams are done I hope everyone gets the chance to have a good break before Semester 2 kicks-off. If you are an academic, a research fellow or a research assistant on contract, you will be accruing annual leave. If you are not saving it up for later in the year, this is a great time to take a few days off to recharge the batteries. If you a PG student with exams coming up fast, good luck and study hard.

I’m pleased to announce that Dr James Muirhead has accepted the Earth Sciences post and will be starting in mid-January 2020. We had a high number of applicants (103) for this position and a good share of excellent ones. In making the selection, the committee prioritised early career and expertise in structural geology and tectonic geomorphology. These attributes were in addition to collegiality, potential or demonstrated ability in teaching, and good values around diversity and inclusivity. James’ track record is outstanding for an early career academic and I’m delighted that he has accepted our offer. Unfortunately we have been unsuccesful in securing a new Professor for the Environmental Management position. Annie will call a meeting for those with an interest in this position to discuss options for moving forward.

Can you save our bacon? Today is the deadline for confirming the School’s contribution to ‘Incredible Science’, the annual Faculty of Science showcase for 10-12 year olds to be held on Tuesday 2 July. Usually Kate Kenedi and Neville Husdon run the day, but both are on leave this year. Mila has put her hand up to participate but we need a volunteer to coordinate the day. If you are a motivated and well-organised PG student or staff member and can devote a bit of time to this worthy cause I would love to hear from you today.

Two opportunities to ‘tautoko’ your colleagues are in this edition of p-cubed: please think about encouraging applications for the NZ Association of Scientists awards, and for the positions on the Rhodes scholar selection panel. Sometimes a little encouraging nudge can help someone have the confidence to step forward.

Lastly, the deadline for feedback on the draft ‘code of conduct’ is coming up fast. The purpose for of this code is to clarify and maintain a standard of behaviour of all members of the University of Auckland. I encourage everyone to read this document and provide feedback as appropriate.

Ngā mihi – JR

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For Your Diary

Deadlines	Date & Location
Feedback due on draft Code of Conduct – see here	14 July 2019 – to claire.hall@auckland.ac.nz
Application to be on the Rhodes selection panel	end June – to j.harding@auckland.ac.nz
Professorial promotion applications – send to John Hosking, see here for info	01 July 2019
NZ Association of Scientist Medals – applications due	31 July, 2019
Other Events
Workshop: The Writing Habits of Successful Academics, click here to register	18 Jun, 1pm in 302-140
Ako Innovation: Blended Learning Workshop	18 Jun, 10-12pm in 302-140
ENV Staff Retreat – see agenda and background info here	12 June, 8.30-5pm, Old Government House

 

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Whakawhanaungatanga – communities 

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Tom Baker who has been elected to the Council of the Royal Society Te Apā​​rangi for a three-year term as Councillor representing early career researchers.

PhD Student Megan Tuck won one of the top student paper awards at the 2019 Coastal Sediments Conference at St Pete Beach, Florida. There were over 60 student papers from around the world presented at the conference.

Mighty congratulations to Mary-Anne and Sam, and welcome Rhett Robert Clive, who arrived on 5 June, healthy and happy at 2.85kg.

News

School of Environment Dodgeball Tournament

Team Geography managed to dodge, dip, duck, and dive its way to winning the recent School of Environment Dodgeball Tournament. While geography took the honours, defeating a combined GISCI-ENVSCI team in the final, the highlight of the tournament was the performance of JR. Representing AUGA there was a moment when she found herself as the only person left on her side of the court. Completely outnumbered, JR used her knowledge of fluid flow and her ability to identify vectors, to dodge a barrage of red missiles. After lasting a remarkably long time she eventually took a hit, but not before she had gained the respect of everyone present. It would be wonderful if more staff would follow JR’s example and join in on these sports events. It really does help to foster healthy relationships between staff and students within the school.

Competition results after two events: Geography 5 points, Geospatial Club 5 points, AUGA 2 points, ENVSCI 2 points.

Geography Association Quiz

On Wednesday 5th June, 13 teams battled it out for glory in the Geography Association Quiz. In a close fought contest, the very serious  “Finalfinalteamnamev2.tif” (66 points) held on to win, finishing just ahead of “GA QUIZ: a comprehensive analysis of Joe Fagan’s ability to teach” (65 points). Taken for Granite (60 points) came in third. Hampered by their lack of youth, the two staff teams finished well off the pace. A big thank you to the GA crew for organising an excellent event and to everyone who came along.

On telly: Beneath New Zealand

Beneath NZ II started screening on prime last night – about volcanoes. Episode 3 is about Auckland and features Jan Lindsay.
https://www.primetv.co.nz/beneath-nz

National awards and service opportunities

2019 Science Medals – nominations open

Applications are invited for the following 2019 Science Medals from the New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS)

Marsden Medal – awarded for a lifetime of outstanding service to the cause or profession of science, in the widest connotation of the phrase.

Shorland Medal – awarded to an individual or to a team in recognition of major and continued contribution to basic or applied research that has added significantly to scientific understanding or resulted in significant benefits to society.

Hill Tinsley Medal (formerly known as the Research Medal) – awarded for outstanding fundamental or applied research in the physical, natural or social sciences published during the year of the award or the preceding three calendar years. Applicants will normally be within their first 15 years after graduating PhD as at 1 January 2019, unless career breaks extend this period.

Cranwell Medal (formerly known as the Science Communicator Medal) – made annually to a practising scientist (or group of scientists) for excellence in communicating science to the general public, in any area of science or technology. Nominations are sought from scientific organizations, scientific associations and individuals.

How to apply:

• Interested applicants should apply directly, rather than seek a nomination.
  • Please submit electronic applications. See the guidelines from the links below and email applications to: awards@scientists.org.nz and tobuchananp@LandcareResearch.co.nz by 31 July, 2019.
• Individuals or Scientific Teams (of up to five people) may apply for the Shorland and Cranwell Medals
  • Applications submitted in previous years will remain valid for five years from the original submission date (except for Hill Tinsley Medal applicants if the 15 year post-PhD limit is exceeded), but a previously submitted application should be updated annually using the current format.

For instructions and guidelines, please see:https://scientists.org.nz/2019-awards-applications or the guidelines attached to this email.

NZ Rhodes Scholars – nominations open for selection panel

See here and here for detail. Please send nominations directly to Jane Harding as NZ Secretary for the Rhodes Trust – j.harding@auckland.ac.nz.

Meetings, seminars and events

How the other half lives: A round-table discussion on collaborating across the social/natural science divide

Geography Auckland (NZGS Auckland Branch) newsletter

Please note the June Dialogues:

Date:     Tuesday 18 June

Time:     4.00pm to 5.30pm

Place:    Building 302, Room 551 (Ontology Lab)

Who:     Tom Baker and panel (Jan Lindsay, Richard Le Heron, Mark Dickson, Nick Lewis)

HR Services- Open Day (for staff)

The HR Services Team will be hosting an Open Day on Thursday, 18th of July 2019 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM in Building 302, Room 140.

This drop-in session is for employees who may have any questions in regard to things like staff benefits (superannuation), leave, retirement or anything else relating to their employment with the University.

The HRS team may also be able to assist staff and shed light on some other HR processes and workflows.

They will also have a Recruitment Consultant on hand to answer any Advertised Recruitment related queries.
For future details please click here

EAP Services e-flyer

Topics in this edition include:

• Learn encouraging tips for self-motivation
• How to improve the quality of your sleep
• Sharing happiness and the value of a smile

See here.

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Rangahau – Research

Funding Opportunities

RSNZ Rutherford Foundation 2019

The objectives of the Rutherford Foundation Fellowships and Scholarships are to support the education and development of promising excellent early career researchers with the potential to excel in a research environment.

Information and guidelines : Rutherford Foundation

 Kate Edger Post Doctoral Awards 2019

To assist women who have qualified to graduate with a doctoral degree within the last two years to carry out research on a specified, independent project at an approved Institute in the Auckland area.

Information and guidelines: Kate Edger

Pacific research, Consultancies, Teaching, Supervision

Request for information (Urgent, rather than gentle, reminder!)

I am working on a report which includes a section on the involvement of School of Environment in the Pacific islands in relation to research, consultancy, teaching and any other linkages. This includes the pre-ENV departments of Geology, Geography etc. By “Pacific” I am meaning Pacific islands i.e. NOT including NZ, Australia, Philippines etc.
Specifically it would be good to have information on you and/or colleagues in relation to:
1) Research: location, topic, how funded, dates, resulting publication(s) .
2) Consultancy: with what agency in the Pacific? location, dates, resulting reports
3) Teaching: Is there any “Pacific islands” content in the courses you teach? or in earlier versions of courses you or your predecessors taught? What is the nature of content? Were there many Pacific students in these courses?
4) Supervision: Masters and PhD theses supervised on a Pacific topic; student name and topic
5) Other linkages: with institutions not covered in the above categories? Nature of linkages etc.
As well as research etc. in the Pacific itself, please include any involvement with Pacific issues in Aotearoa NZ, and with Pacific communities in Auckland/ NZ. Also, if you are old enough to remember the 1990s, 1980s, or even the 1970s, are you aware of the Pacific work in these eras (not necessarily involving yourself)?
I appreciate your help in this; please forward this information directly to me w.friesen@auckland.ac.nz
Cheers,
Ward

Dr. Wardlow Friesen
Associate Professor of Geography
School of Environment
The University of Auckland

Meetings, seminars and events

Marine Geosciences Group meeting

Tue. 11 June, 12-1 pm (note, new time), 303-G14

Francesco Turco, who is visiting us from the University of Otago, will give a presentation on “Geostatistical methods applied to seismic data: trace interpolation and seismic inversion”

Doctoral Morning Tea | International Student Life by School of Graduate Studies

If you’re an international doctoral candidate, the next Doctoral Morning Tea is for you! Our panel of candidates from across the globe (and University) will discuss what it’s like to study for a doctorate as an international candidate. Come along on 20 June for networking, snacks and to hear and share stories, struggles, tips and tricks. Book now!
https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/doctoral-morning-tea-international-student-life-tickets-56769430896
Date and Time
Thu., 20 June 2019
9:30 am – 11:00 am
Location
iSpace (Kate Edgar Bldg Level 4)
UoA City Campus
9 Symonds Street

Towards the unbiased processing of temporal location data using machine learning

Kamil Smolak is visiting us from Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Poland. His talk is titled ‘Towards the unbiased processing of temporal location data using machine learning’.

Thursday 13 June, 11:00am in Building 302, Room 551 (Ontology Lab)

He will discuss the ways of predicting human mobility using geo-located data (data from mobile phones and GPS) as well as the limits of existing human mobility models.

If you are interested in meeting him for a more detailed discussion, he would be happy to do so at any time before his talk. He is based in the room 302:430.

Learning from our lakes
Biological community shifts resulting from natural and anthropogenic disturbances

Katie Brasell (PhD Proposal) Tuesday, 11th June · 12 pm · Room 302-130

 

Introductory R Workshop

The second Introductory R Workshop for 2019 is being run on July 8th and 9th. This will be led by Kevin Chang and supported by other Statistical Consultancy Centre staff.

The workshop is limited to a maximum of 40 participants. Therefore if you would like to attend please register ASAP.

As per our previous Introductory R workshops, the cost is $300 for UoA students and staff; you can pay using your PRESS account, research grant, or other UoA account. You can also opt to use a debit/credit card (however we would have to also add GST, sorry). You can find the payment authorisation form here.

The cost for non-UoA attendees is $500 + GST.

Location: Building 302 room 190.

Time and schedule:  9am till 5pm. For more details please click here

Computers: We will be using a Faculty of Science computer lab. You are also welcome to use your own laptop, however please make sure that you have downloaded R and RStudio onto your machine before the workshop (they are free to download).

Colombian National Geothermal Meeting

Research and Development to Action- November 25-28

Please click here for more details.

Publications:

Nano-enabled strategies to enhance crop nutrition and protection

Melanie Kah , Nathalie Tufenkji & Jason C. White
Nature Nanotechnology 14, 532–540 (2019)

This link should bring a pdf of the paper (https://rdcu.be/bFEMx) please try as it may be associated with some personal rights.
The two following links should redirects to the issue page where the cover appears: https://www.nature.com/nnano/ or https://www.nature.com/nnano/volumes/14/issues/6

Hartley Travers Ferrar (1879-1932) and his geological legacy in Antarctica, Egypt and New Zealand

Martin Brook and Susanna Ferrar

Earth Sciences History 38, 43-58 (2019)

See here for a copy of the paper

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Ako – Teaching and Learning

Academic matters

Masters Thesis Examiner Nominations

All staff supervising Masters Students submitting in July are requested to nominate the examiners. An AS-512R, examiner nomination form needs to be completed for each submitting student by Friday the 28th of June 2019 and submitted to Mick Johannisson-Wallman at m.johannisson-wallman@auckland.ac.nz
If you or potential examiners are going to be away in the preceding weeks, please ensure that you submit your nominations early.

You can access via the following link: AS-512R Masters Thesis or Research Portfolio worth 90 points or above (PDF)

Meetings, seminars and events

Examiners’ Meetings

For details on Semester 2 Examiners’ Meetings, and advice on preparing for these and submitting final grades, please see the ENV Academic Guide.

Blended Learning Workshop

The Ako teaching and learning innovation committee will be hosting a workshop on “Blended Learning” on the 18th of June from 10-12 in the 302-140 (MDL lab). This session is dedicated to sharing ideas on how to effectively integrate various teaching and learning tools and strategies within your courses. Topics covered include: blended learning resources available at UoA, enhancing motivation, using analytics, Canvas hacks, managing group work online, among others.

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Copy deadline for next edition of P-cubed: Friday 12:00 21st June, to Farnaz: f.sheikh@auckland.ac.nz

HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

It’s Graduation Week! Congratulations to all our Graduands. We are looking forward to our School of Environment Celebration afternoon tea on Wednesday, where we will see all our Science graduates and Arts graduates in their finery. Sadly the processions have been cancelled but do make the most of wearing your academic gowns to our afternoon tea. In total, we are awarding 31 BA, 4 BA(Hons), 126 BSc, 16 BSc(Hons) and 11 MSc degrees, and 31 PG Diplomas in Science.  We are proud of you all! Special congratulations to our Science Senior Scholars, Linore Brav-Cubitt (Envsci/Geog), Hanna Ettles (Geog/Stats), Danielle Newton (Envsci/Geog) and Emma O’Brien (Earthsci/Stats), whose GPAs place them amongst the Faculty of Science’s top 30 graduating students in the BSc. With something of the order of 1000 students completing this is an exceptional achievement! Also congratulations to our Arts PG Scholars, Holly Meese, Caitlin Neuwelt-Kearns and Salene Schloffel-Armstrong – exceptional results! We have four new Doctors graduating this week: Dr Evert Duran Quintero in Geology, Di Jianan Wang in Geography, and Dr Xiaoqing Li and Dr Dorothy McCoubrey in Environmental Science – our hearty congratulations.

I am delighted to announce that Sonia Fonua has accepted the PTF position we recently advertised and will be starting with us on 17th June. Sonia is a specialist in Pacific pedagogy and will be working to advance the School’s development in this space. Sonia’s teaching will be within the Environmental Science programme.

Next week we will host our two short-listed candidates for the Lecturer/Senior Lecturer position in Earth Sciences. James Muirhead and Andy Howell will be giving seminars on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. I would appreciate a good turn-out of staff and PG students. Please get in touch with Paul Augustinus or Samantha Huang if you would like an opportunity to meet the candidates individually.

A small note of caution: sometimes in the race to meet a deadline it’s tempting to pull an all-nighter. Once it was almost a badge of honour and occasionally it saved on rent. These days you will get turfed out on the street if you are here past midnight, a situation I would rather avoid. I’m told that Security will be paying a closer look so please do go home before the witching hour.

Ngā mihi – JR

For Your Diary 

Deadlines
Research and Study Leave applications – to JR	30 Apr
Sponsorship Acknowledgement Form – see details below	3 May
CLeaR Fellowship applications	31 May
Learning enhancement grants 2019	7 June
Seminars
PhD Research Proposal: Yan Shi “Ecology-based simulation of grassland above ground biomass in the Qinghai-Tibetal Plateau”	30 Apr, 12:00-1:00pm, 301-411
Earth Sciences L/SL candidate Dr James Muirhead: “Exploring the mobile upper crust”, research to date and future interests.	6 May, 11:00-12:00, in 302-G20
Earth Sciences L/SL candidate Dr Andy Howell: “Exploring the mobile upper crust”, research to date and future interests.	7 May, 1:00-2:00 pm, in 302-G20.
Dr George Slim MBIE Research Programme/Smart Idea – what is MBIE looking for?	7 May, 1:30-3:00 pm in 303-B05
PhD Research Proposal: Shreya Kanakiya “Geophysical signatures of hydrothermal alteration for evaluating flank instability”	15 May, 12:00-1:00pm, 302-G20
Data to Insight | An introduction to data analysis and visualisation	8 April – 3 June
Other Events
Science Graduation Celebration Breakfast – note change in time	1 May, 8:30am in Pavilion, OGH
ENV Graduation Afternoon Tea	1 May, 4pm, Level 6 Breakout Space, 302
Dr George Slim MBIE Endeavour 1:1 discussions, requires RSVP	14 May OR 20 May, 10:00-4:00pm in 302-603
NZ Geographical Society: Monthly Geography Dialogues with Wine – Joe Fagan “Five lessons I learnt while sitting down for a year”	21 May, 4:15-5:30pm, Ontology Lab, 302-551.
Workshop: The Writing Habits of Successful Academics	18 Jun, 1pm in 302-140
ENV Research Forum – more to come on this event	21 May, 12-2pm, lunch included, Old Government House
ENV Staff Retreat	12 June, 8.30-5pm, Old Government House

 

Whakawhanaungatanga – communities

Postgraduate wine and nibbles night

This free event is hosted by SciSA PG (Science Students’ Association Postgraduate): Tuesday 7 May 17:30-19:30, Old Government House. For registration details see this link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/906562753015058/

Geological Video Contest

A joint initiative of the Italian Geological Society, the Italian Society of Mineralogy and Petrology, and the Italian Paleontological Society. On The Rocks is the first video contest entirely dedicated to tell Geology in 180 seconds. This year there is a new category “Rocks and Food” and the new “Bloopers” prize!
Get in the game with On the Rocks!  Find out how on the website: https://en.sgi-ontherocks.it/
Follow us on Instagram: @ontherocksvideo, https://www.instagram.com/ontherocksvideo/

New Zealand Geographical Society

The next ‘Geography Dialogues with Wine’ features Joe Fagan who will report on his ‘Five lessons learnt while sitting on his behind for a year’. Joe rode a bicycle 20,000 km through 16 countries – the photos are certain to be exceptional. Read the May Newsletter here

Rangahau – Research

Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology Research Group (VGP)

The VGP research group meets every other week during the semester. Our next meeting will be on 9 May from 11 to 12 in 302-140. Jie and Danielle will be giving talks. For more information, please see our website: vgp.blogs.auckland.ac.nz  Hope to see you there!

Poster printing

Poster printing can now be done through the Architecture print centre

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/creative/current-students/studios-workshops-equipment/print-centre.html

Binding will be done through the UoA Bindery

https://bindery.auckland.ac.nz

Writing Workshop: The Writing Habits of Successful Academics

This is a great opportunity for staff and postgraduate students. Please register here asap, there is only room for 50 people.

About the speaker: Professor Helen Sword is a scholar, poet and award-winning teacher whose recent books include Stylish Academic Writing (Harvard 2012), The Writer’s Diet (Chicago 2016) and Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write (Harvard 2017).

Date and time: Tuesday 18 June. 1-4pm. Venue: Room 302-140 Click here to read more details.

Research highlights

New research from the Physics of Rocks Lab

Great to see top notch publications coming out of the PoroLab – well done to James Clarke, Mila Adam and co-authors.

https://poro.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/2019/04/24/james-published-his-research-in-geology-congrats/

Top paper just published from the Coastal Processes team

Well done Emma and co-authors, fantastic to see the student work making an impact.

• Ryan, EJ., Hanmer, K., and Kench, PS, 2019. Massive corals maintain a positive carbonate budget of a Maldivian upper reef platform despite major bleaching event. Scientific Reports, 9, Article number: 6515.

Also just published

• Xu, T, Gao, J, and Coco, G. (2019) Simulation of Urban Expansion via Integrating Artificial Neural Network with Markov Chain – Cellular Automata. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, doi: 10.1080/13658816.2019.1600701

For staff

Updates from the local research support team

MBIE Funding

• Please let us know if you are an AI on a MBIE Smart Ideas invited to send a full proposal. It is important for us to know the School involvement in other projects and we can also help with costing, budgets, MOUs and any other support you may need.
• Please let us know if you are interested in applying for the next year MBIE funding, so we can keep you updated with all the opportunities and support available from the faculty and university, including VM, peer-review, etc.
• There are a few slots available for the 1:1 with George Slim (14 and 20/05) on MBIE Research Programmes and Smart Ideas. It is a great opportunity to enhance your proposal.

General

• The government end of financial year is fast approaching and with this the invoicing deadline. If you have any work with regional councils/government please let us know, so we can organize the contract and invoice before that.

For all above, please send an email to our RPC Vanessa: v.castro@auckland.ac.nz

MBIE Research Programme or Smart Idea

The Faculty Research Support team is organising a series of events for staff interested in applying for an MBIE Research Programme or Smart Idea over the next 1-3 years. These sessions are to help you find out more about MBIE and if your research idea is a good fit for MBIE funding.

If you are interested in attending the following sessions please RSVP by the 3^rd May.

• MBIE & the NZ Science funding system – Dr George Slim: What are MBIE looking for – does my research “fit” with MBIE? Tuesday 7 May 1.30-3:00 pm, 303-B05

• 1:1 Discussion with Dr George Slim: Is my research idea a Smart Idea or a Research Programme? How could I develop it further? Tuesday 14 May 10:00-4:00 pm, 302-603 OR Monday 20 May 10:00-4:00 pm (book for a 30 min session),  302-603

Dr George Slim has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Otago and undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge.  He has previously worked at Industrial Research Limited and one of MBIE’s precursors – the former Ministry of Research, Science and Technology.  He now works with life science companies to develop and commercialise their research and intellectual property, and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor in connecting research and policy.

Further events and support, including an Ideas workshop and pitch sessions, Vision Mātauranga advice and other support will be held throughout the year.  Please register your interest.

Ako – Teaching and Learning

2019 School of Environment Māori Masters Thesis Scholarship

Congratulations to Georgia McLellan (Ngāi Te Rangi, Whakatōhea), who has been awarded the School of Environment Māori Masters Thesis Scholarship for 2019. Georgia’s MSc (Geography) thesis research utilises a Kaupapa Māori approach to investigate Māori food sovereignty, through a focus on Whakatōhea mussel farms near Opotiki and the relationships there between customary food gathering and commercial production. Georgia’s thesis supervisors are Karen Fisher and Nick Lewis.

CLeaR Fellowship Applications 2020

Calling all teachers and learning support specialists Is there an outstanding teacher or learning support specialist in your department or faculty with the potential to lead scholarly teaching and learning, or, does this resonate with you?

Applications are invited for 2020 CLeaR Fellowships CLeaR Fellows form a multi-disciplinary community of practice dedicated to researching and disseminating effective teaching strategies focussed on a key university learning and teaching priority. The theme for 2020 is Designing for Learning.

For more information see this flyer.

To find further details of the programme, previous participants and how to apply visit the CLeaR Website www.clear.auckland.ac.nz/app/clear-fellows

Applications close 5pm Friday 31 May 2019 and Fellows will be selected in June.

Note that attendance at three initial planning meetings in July, August and October 2019 is required, with regular meetings beginning in January 2020.

Learning Enhancement Grants, 2019

Applications are called for the 2019 round of Learning Enhancement Grants (LEGs). The closing date for applications is Friday 7 June 2019.

LEGs provide contestable funding for innovative projects that align with the strategic goals of the University and its Learning and Teaching Plan. These grants are for projects that lie outside the normal scope of department and faculty budgets and have potential transferability to other parts of the University.

PLEASE NOTE: LEGs applications follow a two-phase process. The first phase is submission of an Expression of Interest (EOI). The LEGs Subcommittee will invite submitters of successful EOIs to complete a project plan, with a strong likelihood that a grant will be made subject to the plan’s acceptance.

Applicants must be full or part-time members (with teaching responsibilities of a minimum of 0.2 FTE) of the teaching staff of The University of Auckland. A maximum of $20,000 will be awarded to any one project. In addition, there will be provision for one grant annually of up to $50,000 to be made to a faculty, to support a faculty-wide project.

Here is a link to for the 2019 grant round. Expression of interest, project plan and reporting forms can be found on the Learning Enhancement Grants page of the Learning and Teaching website.

If you have any queries, please contact Susan McDowell-Watts, LEGs Subcommittee Secretary, s.mcdowell-watts@auckland.ac.nz extension 87317.

HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

We are hitting our mid-semester stride, with teaching and learning in full swing. I have been getting familiar with what we offer across the school by browsing Canvas – if I had to do it all again there are some great courses to choose from. The quality of the Canvas homepages is fantastic – there’s lots of variety and also a high level of consistency in presentation of important and helpful information. Building Canvas sites takes a lot of work, especially the first time – thanks everyone who was involved for the Semester 1 courses, great work.

In between getting to know my new job I’ve been having fun with the Earthsci 703 crowd. I hope to pop along to other classes in the second half of the semester to meet students at different levels and in different parts of the school. If you have a field trip or interesting lab coming up and don’t mind a hanger-on please let me know.

You would think mainstream media would know that these are sensitive times. But instead, last week UOA got coverage as a growth area for white supremacy: it is not (Vice Chancellor’s media release). Spinoff did a better job of discussing the issue. White supremacy has no place here. Neither does any other form of bigotry or harassment. Feel free to get in touch with me or Annie Bartos directly if you notice unacceptable behaviour (a.bartos@auckland.ac.nz: Chair Equity Committee). It is important that we are united in projecting ourselves, our School and this University as inclusive and welcoming of diversity. 

The mid-semester break is upon us. Don’t forget (especially our international newcomers), on Tuesday 22 Apr (Easter) and Thursday 25 Apr (ANZAC Day) the University will be closed. Have a wonderful time if you are taking leave. For those who are chipping away at theses, marking, or running or participating in field/short courses, please be sure to enjoy the Easter break. 

Ngā mihi – JR

For Your Diary 

Deadlines
2020 CapEx applications to Blair	19 Apr
Research and Study Leave applications – to JR	30 Apr
Sponsorship Acknowledgement Form – see details below	3 May
Seminars
Scaffolding Student Learning: Forest Floor Example	15 Apr, 4pm in 302-551
AusIMM Seminar, Malcolm Taylor: Electricity in NZ, past, present, future	16 Apr, 5:30-7:00pm, Boardroom Anderson Lloyd, Level 3, Australis Nathan Building, 37 Galway Street, Britomart
PhD research proposal: Valentine Ibeka ‘Education, migration and development…’	17 Apr, 12 pm in 302-551
Professor Ben Horton: Sea-level rise past, present and future (should be a cracker for all!)	18 Apr, 12:30 pm in 302-G20
Dr George Slim MBIE Research Programme/Smart Idea – what is MBIE looking for?	7 May, 1:30-3:00 pm in 303-B05
Other Events
Science Graduation Celebration Breakfast	1 May, 7:30am in Pavilion, OGH
Science Graduation	1 May, meet at OGH at 9:00am for the procession, Session One starts 10.30am and Session Two starts at 1pm, Aotea Centre.
Arts Graduation	29 Apr, meet at OGH at 9:00am for the procession, Session One starts 10.30am and Session Two starts at 1pm, Aotea Centre.
ENV Graduation Afternoon Tea	1 May, 4pm, Level 6 Breakout Space, 302
Dr George Slim MBIE Endeavour 1:1 discussions, requires RSVP	14 May OR 20 May, 10:00-4:00pm in 302-603
Workshop: The Writing Habits of Successful Academics	18 Jun, 1pm in 302-140
ENV Research Forum – more to come on this event	21 May, 12-2pm, lunch included, venue to be confirmed
ENV Staff Retreat	12 June, 8.30-5pm, venue to be confirmed

 

Whakawhanaungatanga – communities

Autumn Graduation 2019

The 2019 Autumn Graduation for the Faculty of Science will take place at the Aotea Centre on Wednesday 1 May. The Faculty of Arts Graduation takes place a couple of days earlier on Monday 29 April.

School of Environment Graduation Afternoon Tea Newly capped graduates together with their companions and family are cordially invited to join staff at the School of Environment Graduation Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 1 May. We’d love you to come by and celebrate with your peers, teachers, family and friends. Graduands and staff please register for the event here by Wednesday 17 April

A note to staff    We’d love to see a good show of staff from ENV in the formal proceedings of both graduation ceremonies to celebrate the success and hard work of our Science and Arts graduands.  This entails joining in the street procession from the University to the Aotea Centre and sitting on stage. To participate in the graduation ceremonies you will need to register your attendance online.  Click here to log in and complete the registration form by 15 April.

Health and Safety Update

The School Health and Safety team is currently creating guidelines for travelling in convoy; these should be published in the next few weeks.  The School has also purchased six new handheld radios to support communication while travelling in convoy and also in the field.

Laboratory phones are all working now.  Let Blair know if you find one that’s not.

Student Representative Wanted for Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee

The School HSW Committee is looking for a new student representative.  Please contact Blair (b.sowman@auckland.ac.nz) if you are interested.

Sustainability Research Awards for Students

It is time to apply for the Faculty of Science Student Sustainability Research Awards. Awards of up to $2,000 each are available to students within the Faculty of Science to support the student’s living costs. $2,000 will be awarded for full year project that is located within a formal qualification, for example an honours dissertation or a masters project. For shorter projects up to $500 will be awarded. The awards are open to applications from postgraduate students who are undertaking a research project and are enrolled (or have recently completed) in the Faculty of Science (or whose primary discipline is administered through the FoS). Supervisors with a project can identify a suitable student and encourage them to apply. Applications for small projects that are not a formal part of the student’s degree or diploma programme will be considered. Preference will be given to non-doctoral students and those without an existing stipend.

Applications will be accepted in two rounds (funds permitting). The first round opens on 15 April  and closes 15 May 2019.

For more details please check this link.

­­­­

School of Environment Soccer Tournament

The fledgling Geospatial Club (GC) took out the SoE Soccer Tournament defeating the more established Geography Association (GA) 1-nil in a closely fought final. In a tournament full of goals, laughs, cramps and the occasional red card, three teams of students and staff (thanks Tom and Nick R.) played a number of round robin games to determine the two finalists. The Auckland University Geoscience Association (AUGA) were rock solid, played hard and looked good in their Obsidian coloured shirts, and it must be said were unlucky not to make the final (going down 2-1 to the Geospatial Club when a draw would have seen them through). The Geography Association were unbeaten until the final and had beaten the Geospatial Club 2-1 in the opening game, however in the final the impact of distance decay was evident. In contrast, the Geospatial Club, using their superior spatial awareness and visualization tools, won their last two games in a row to take the title. Unfortunately, a lack of players meant that the Environmental Science Association (ESA) were unable to compete (there must have been a Climate Change conference on at the same time), but hopefully they will be better represented at the next sporting event. There will be four such events during the year (each half semester), after which… one discipline will be crowned the overall ENV sporting champion.

Final standings:

1. Geospatial Club
2. Geography Association
3. Auckland University Geoscience Association

DEVORA / AUGA / QuakeCoRE outreach success!

Our energetic outreach team rose to the challenge of engaging children and the young at heart at MOTAT on Sunday, April 7th. We wowed 2083 visitors with volcanoes popping and gushing and earthquakes knocking down toothpick-marshmallow seismically engineered buildings. Many thanks to all of our fantastic partners and volunteers: AUGA outreach co-leaders Anna Gallagher and Shannen Mills, Mirja Heinrich, Ben Simons and son Elai, Elaine Smid, Gina Swanney, Alec Wild, and Evert Duran Quintero, and QuakeCoRE outreach coordinator Shannon Abeling and her volunteer team!!

DEVORA is DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland

AUGA is Auckland University Geoscience Association

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Here’s a link to the latest EAP Services e-Flyer. Highlights of this edition are:

• mental clutter and tips on how to declutter
• Making 2019 resolutions stick
• Introducing EAP MOW
• Reminder that EAP Services is here 24/7

Taking Environment photos for website and publications

Thanks to those staff who had the time to join the University’s senior designer, Ashley Marshall, for her presentation last Tuesday about the guidelines we need to keep in mind for our images to be considered for use on University webpages and in publications. For those who were not able to make it, below are the presentation, and also a tip sheet that you can keep handy – as well as the student photography release form that field trip participants will need to fill out if they are being photographed.

Environment photography presentation

Science photography tip sheet

Science field trip student photography release form

 

Rangahau – Research

Welcome New PhD student – Kate Cocker

Kate Cocker started her PhD studies in March with Phil Shane. She will be working on the origin of magmas erupted at Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes. This involves quantifying the amount and rate of mantle-sourced magma into the crust via Sr-isotope work on plagioclase. The goal is to place the observed historic eruptions into a long-term context of volcano evolution. Kate has a UoA scholarship and is a UoA graduate.

Writing Workshop: The Writing Habits of Successful Academics

This is a great opportunity for staff and postgraduate students. Please register here asap, there is only room for 50 people.

About the speaker: Professor Helen Sword is a scholar, poet and award-winning teacher whose recent books include Stylish Academic Writing (Harvard 2012), The Writer’s Diet (Chicago 2016) and Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write (Harvard 2017).

Date and time: Tuesday 18 June. 1-4pm. Venue: Room 302-140 Click here to read more details.

Research highlights

In the media

Some of our volcanic research about Mt Taranaki was just written about in the NZ Herald. Check it out here.

Just published

• Wang, V., Gao, J., 2019. Importance of structural and spectral parameters in modelling the aboveground carbon stock of urban vegetation. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 78, pp. 93-101.
  
• Li, W., Wilson, D.J., Larkin, T.J., Black, P.M., 2019. Factors determining the optimum moisture content (OMC) of greywacke aggregates from northern New Zealand, Transportation Geotechnics, 19, pp. 35-43. 
• Sas, M., Kawasaki, N., Sakamoto, N., Shane, P., Zellmer, G.F., Kent, A.J.R., Yurimoto, H., 2019. The ion microprobe as a tool for obtaining strontium isotopes in magmatic plagioclase: A case study at Okataina Volcanic Centre, New Zealand, Chemical Geology, 513, pp. 153-166.
• Johnson, C., Baker, T., Collins, F.L., 2019. Imaginations of post-suburbia: Suburban change and imaginative practices in Auckland, New Zealand, Urban Studies, 56 (5), pp. 1042-1060.
• Dimabayao, J.J.T., Rowe, M.C., Barker, S., 2019. Stable isotope systematics of fluids and epidote in the Bacon-Manito Geothermal Field, Philippines: Indicators of fluid origin and evolution,  Geothermics, 80, pp. 31-43.

AusIMM Seminar: Electricity in New Zealand: Past, Present, Future

Malcolm Taylor of Contact Energy, Clyde, will present a history of the NZ electricity industry from early local privately operated power stations; the post-war intervention of government to develop a national coordinated infrastructure; the subsequent split up and privatisation of the generation and distribution industries; the introduction of the Electricity Market; the current push for more renewable generation and factors affecting the industry future. He will discuss how types of existing power generation fit into the national supply chain and their contribution to the reserve required for security of the grid. He will also contrast more recent types of renewables (solar and wind) which currently are unable to provide reserve supply. Malcolm will discuss developing trends in electricity storage which will be critical if wind and solar are to be the way of the future. He will also present  ideas on pumped-storage hydro and construction and permitting challenges in New Zealand.

Malcolm Taylor has been involved in the electricity industry since graduating from Otago University in 1972. He has worked at Whakamaru, Ohakuri, Tokaanu and Rangipo power stations before becoming a North Island System Controller. In 1992 when Transpower decided to move the control centre from Whakamaru to Hamilton Malcolm left the state system to work for a small company providing micro hydro plant for three years. More recently he joined Contact Energy at Clyde where he works as a Dispatch Trader maximizing the efficiency and profitability of Contact’s energy sources. Malcolm is also a PhD student at Waikato University.

 Apr 16, 5:30 (drinks/nibbles) for a 6:00pm start, Boardroom Anderson Lloyd, Level 3, Australis Nathan Building, 37 Galway Street, Britomart, Auckland.

For staff

Research and Consulting Project Scholarships

Scholarships Office implemented a new set up process and the previous scholarship form is no longer accepted.

There is a new e-form RO-15 scholarship and other 2 options if intellectual property is involved.

RO-15    Research Project Scholarship (no Intellectual Property)

RO-15A   Request a Research Project Scholarship Variation or Retention Payment

RO-15B   Research Project Scholarship (student assigns IP to UoA)

RO-15C   Research Project Scholarship (student licensed IP to UoA)

Please contact your local research support for more information.

Amy Weir: amy.weir@auckland.ac.nz

Ivana Mlinac: i.mlinac@auckland.ac.nz

Vanessa Castro: v.castro@auckland.ac.nz

Funding call for EQC – Biennial Grants Programme 2020

Click here to read further information

Call for Hood Fellowships

Click here to read further information

Sustainable Future Research Theme Seed Funding Opportunity

$10,000 of seed funding is available to nurture and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers within the Sustainable Future Research Theme. Interdisciplinary teams are invited to apply for funds via lightning presentations, which follow the format of one slide and a three minute talk. The lightning presentation event will be held on Thursday 6 June from 2pm.  Teams can apply for between $2,000 and $5,000. 

Please register for the lighting presentations event, noting whether you just have an idea you want to present or if you are going to present a seed funding proposal here by 30 May 2019.  (If you have problems using this link, please try logging in using your University google account – upi@aucklanduni.ac.nz or just reply to this email indicating your interest in this opportunity)  

If you have any queries, please contact Kathryn Howard (Kathryn.howard@auckland.ac.nz)

National Science Challenge

If you are receiving funding from the second round of the NSC please get in touch with your RPC Amy Weir (amy.weir@auckland.ac.nz).

MBIE Research Programme or Smart Idea

The Faculty Research Support team is organising a series of events for staff interested in applying for an MBIE Research Programme or Smart Idea over the next 1-3 years. These sessions are to help you find out more about MBIE and if your research idea is a good fit for MBIE funding.  

If you are interested in attending the following sessions please RSVP by the 3^rd May.

• MBIE & the NZ Science funding system – Dr George Slim: What are MBIE looking for – does my research “fit” with MBIE? Tuesday 7 May 1.30-3:00 pm, 303-B05

• 1:1 Discussion with Dr George Slim: Is my research idea a Smart Idea or a Research Programme? How could I develop it further? Tuesday 14 May 10:00-4:00 pm, 302-603 OR Monday 20 May 10:00-4:00 pm (book for a 30 min session),  302-603

Dr George Slim has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Otago and undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge.  He has previously worked at Industrial Research Limited and one of MBIE’s precursors – the former Ministry of Research, Science and Technology.  He now works with life science companies to develop and commercialise their research and intellectual property, and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor in connecting research and policy.

Further events and support, including an Ideas workshop and pitch sessions, Vision Mātauranga advice and other support will be held throughout the year.  Please register your interest.

Invitation to Participate in PhD Research

Joshua Sarpong is a PhD candidate in the Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education (CLeaR), The University of Auckland. He is conducting interviews as part of his research study to explore how a sample of university administrators and academics at two Auckland institutions (University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology) perceive their ability to maintain research autonomy in an era of marketisation in higher education. Academics are in an ideal position to give him valuable first-hand information.

If you are willing to participate, please suggest a day and time that suits you to Joshua (jsar891@aucklanduni.ac.nz).

Click here to read more details.

Update on Sponsorship  Policy

The University has launched a new approach to managing sponsorships right across the board. The Sponsorship Policy and Guidelines are now available on the Policy Hub section of our website. They clarify the process for all our sponsorship activities across the University. The goal of the policy is to ensure that when staff enter into a sponsorship agreement, it is directly associated with an activity or event that mutually supports the University’s wider strategic plan and aligns with its core values.

One of the major benefits of a coordinated approach is that a central registry of all University sponsorships will be created, ensuring no clashes or double ups with sponsorship arrangements between sections or faculties. Also, if we know others are sponsoring particular things, we can explore the possibility of a unified approach if applicable.

Alongside the policy, a new page on the staff intranet has been set up to hold all supporting documentation.

Key policy points to note:

• All sponsorships need to be registered via the Sponsorship Acknowledgement Form. This is to ensure that there is a central register of all sponsorship activity across the University.
• There are new approval lines for sponsorship sign-offs.
• All new sponsorships (as at 19 March 2019) will need to use the Sponsorship Contract Templates. These were created by the University Legal Team.

STAFF RESPONSE REQUIRED: Any existing/current sponsorships within the faculty are reported using the  Sponsorship Acknowledgement Form. This is so the University has a view of all of the current sponsorship activity around the University, in addition to all new sponsorships being recorded on this form too. Please submit this form, attaching the current agreement, for each sponsorship arrangement by 3 May.

Ako – Teaching and Learning

Earthsci 703 at Sailor’s Grave, Coromandel: learning to read the landscape from a structural geology perspective

Seminar – Scaffolding Student Learning: Forest Floor Example

The Ako Innovation Committee of the School of Environment would like to invite you to a seminar on Scaffolding Student Learning using the Forest Floor as an example.

Date and time: Monday 15 April, 4-5pm

Venue: Ontology Lab, Room 302-551

About the speaker: Dr Maja Krzic – Faculty of Land and Food Systems/Faculty of Forestry, The University of British Columbia

Click here to read more details.

For Staff

Scheduling 2020 Courses

This is underway and our Academic Services Coordinator is collecting details for the 2020 timetable. Currently this is Chris but he will be handing over on the 24^th of April to Mikael Johannisson-Wallman mjoh223@aucklanduni.ac.nz).

Course Coordinators – please check and confirm your courses for 2020; specifically, the following steps:

1. Check the master plan here.

1.1 Semester we are planning to offer the course.

1.2 Status in 2020 – this has 4 options:

a.Rollover – the course will be repeated much as it was in 2019 (but still needs checking)

b.Change – courses that are switching semester

c.New – any courses not offered in 2019

d.Not offered – courses that will not be offered in 2020

1.3 It’s a long list but you can filter by Subject or Group and…

1.4 …there are some comments in the right-hand column for guidance.

1.5  If you spot any errors or omissions please contact the relevant Disciplinary lead (Jenny S, Paul or George) or David H.

2. Confirm the specific timetabling details for your course here.

2.1 There are 4 worksheets for the different subjects. Note that courses are on separate worksheets.

2.2 Check the delivery information for your individual course and let the ASC know:

EITHER a. The data can be “rolled-over” from 2019 to 2020. In which case send the ASC an email with the following:

Subject: COURSE XXX/Semester X

Text: Course delivery data for COURSE XXX to be rolled over for 2020.

OR b. The delivery details are incorrect and/or should be changed for 2020 then send these in an Excel file using the same format (copy and pasting is a good way to start this). Refer to the 2020 Teaching Days for specific weeks, if necessary.

Please let the ASC or David Hayward know if you have any questions regarding this activity and thank you for your cooperation.

Changes to Courses and Programmes

Formal changes follow an annual cycle and we have a number of proposed changes to courses (aka ‘papers’) and degree programmes. These have been discussed in the various academic groups and so please consult the Disciplinary Leads (Jenny S, George or Paul) or David Hayward if you have queries.

The Amendment documents

• 2019-703 – this includes several changes to undergraduate programmes and courses. This is a draft and will be submitted to the Science Academic Committee on 8 May.
• 2019-705 – this is a General Education Amendment to create a new course, EARTHSCI 206G. This was due last month and has been submitted already.
• 2019-757 – this includes several changes to postgraduate programmes and courses. This is a draft and will be submitted to the Science Academic Committee on 8 May.

A guide to the changes

The Amendment documents are a bit arcane and so the changes are summarised in this Overview.

ENV Classifieds

A Job Opportunity for Students

There’s a great part time position available at Conservation Volunteers NZ. It’s a casual role and perfect for anyone who wants to pick up a day here and there to get some practical conservation/ environment work experience. It’s very flexible as the role allows you to pick and choose the days you work. Click here to view the job description and how to apply.