P-cubed Newsletters

Contents HeadsUp Suddenly its spring. Kowhai in bloom and the evenings stretched out by daylight saving. Such welcome signs of hope and promise. Even an unexpected long weekend. I suspect I wouldn’t be alone in the bonus Monday being more about spring that the...

Contents HeadsUp Spring is unfolding and the days are lengthening. After such a wet winter, that’s surely cause for celebration! Other reasons come to mind too….Here are a few: We have good reason to celebrate and heartily toast colleagues who have been successful in...

Contents HeadsUp I’ve been thinking about vulnerability a bit lately. It’s not exactly a theme that runs rampant in discussions about science and within members of a science faculty. But it’s intrinsic to the human condition. And it’s a dimension I’ve been aware if in...

Contents HeadsUp The days are lengthening just enough to remind us that spring is not far away. So too are two deadlines in the Head of School’s (HoS) calendar: first, in September, forming an advisory committee and considering promotion applications; and second, by...

Contents HeadsUp I doubt if many undergraduate students know what ‘softening EFTS’ are. Nor ‘onboarding’, ‘edge courses’ or any of the jargon that is used as we navigate through these uncertain times. All they want, I suspect, is clarity around what is expected and an...

Contents HeadsUp Last week I attended the (usually annual, but covid-postponed) ‘VC Recognition Dinner’. At first, I wondered why I didn’t recognise more people. As the evening unfolded, it became apparent why. Rather than an occasion dominated by accolades for...

Contents HeadsUp When I WFH (interesting how that abbreviation is suddenly a thing) my usual company is a quietly snoring dog. This week, campus didn’t seem much livelier. As I went in and out of my office I enjoyed some jolly laughter with the Group Services Team...

Contents HeadsUp Interviewing candidates for an academic position always feels momentous. One will ultimately be a new colleague, bringing new ideas and energy to the School. This week we have four shortlisted candidates for the GISCi Lectureship based in four...

Contents HeadsUp I’m always grateful when someone alerts me to an interesting angle on what we are doing or could be doing differently. This week, Mark Dickson sent me an extract from a commentary in The Listener. It spoke of the resignation of young people to a world...

Contents HeadsUp I was in the Bay of Plenty on the weekend hoping to get out to Moutohora Island. Unfortunately sea conditions did not comply. That’s the third thwarted island visit this year; earlier cancellations were due to Covid and that the vessel was Russian....