In our October issue we will share some sustainability initiatives taking place on campus in Study Block 5. We’ll also provide an update on how many students we have helped through our Covid-19 Financial Hardship Support.

We’ll tell you about a successful Orientation event where we welcomed a good number of new international students from onshore. Finally, you can read about some staff and student research, and learn more about our recent Employability initiatives.

Talk of the Campus

Sustainability at OPAIC

Otago Polytechnic is renowned for Sustainability. Sustainability is embedded in all that we do, as we develop sustainable practitioners.

Study Block 5 at OPAIC will focus on Goal 3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which is Good Health and Wellbeing. We will also look at Goal 17, which is ‘Partnerships for the Goals’.

ICT and Facilities Manager Sonny Teio will kick-start the Study Block with a campus Sustainability Workshop, from 12-1pm on Wednesday 28 October and Thursday 29 October on Level 1. All staff and students are encouraged to attend one of these sessions.

Read more about what we've got planned here.

Providing financial support to students in need

OPAIC has been providing financial support to students facing hardship due to Covid-19, through two rounds of funding this year.

Applications for our first round of Financial Hardship Support opened in March and we launched a second round of support during the August lockdown.

In total 154 students have had discussions with our Student Success Team about hardship funds and received additional information and application forms. Of those students, 55 applied for the funding.

We approved 31 grants for 22 students (as some applied more than once). We helped out students who had lost their jobs due to Covid-19, including some who had families to support. Read more here. 

Auckland Walk Challenge

The Auckland Walk Challenge was such a fun event for our staff in 2019 that we are joining the rest of Auckland in the event again in 2020.

Click this Auckland Walk Challenge link for more information about the event. Download the App - BetterPoints to your mobile device and sign up using your staff email address.

There are no teams this year, but we have a prize pack for the person who earns the most points at the end of the month.

New students welcomed at Orientation

We welcomed a new cohort of students to our Auckland International Campus last week.

Deputy Chief Executive Gagan Sachdeva led an interactive session with the new students – listening to the challenges they have faced in these unprecedented times and advising them on how they can make most of this opportunity to rise above the odds.

The Orientation also included introductions to staff, services, facilities, and support available. Read all about it here.

Meet our new Student Representative 

We’d like to introduce our new student representative, Polina Artiushkina. Polina comes from Moscow, Russia and is studying the Master of Applied Management at OPAIC.

She’s been actively involved in student and campus life since August 2019. Polina’s helped with events as a Student Ambassador and has also volunteered with external organisations. Read all about her here.

OPAIC Research

Using machine learning to predict crime risk

A group of OPAIC students are using their IT skills to predict crime risk in New Zealand and they hope the police will one day be able to make use of their research.

Wisanu Boonrat, April Love Naviza (Love) and Vimitaben Mukeshchandra Vaidya (Vimita) recently completed their Graduate Diploma in Information Technology Mini Project about crime prediction.

They used historical crime data, algorithms, and machine learning to develop a model. Users can enter a location, date, and time into that model and see a map which shows risk level based on that data. It can even show the risk level by crime type. Read all about it here.

What does the customer say?

The supermarket industry is highly competitive and depends on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Artificial Intelligence could help supermarkets to receive and process customer feedback. Read research on the topic by our lecturers here.

Student research presentations

Some of our Bachelor of Applied Management students presented their research to staff and students at a lunchtime session on campus recently. The presentations were part of the students' Leadership course. One group spoke about saving water, and another about the impact of racing technology on the civilian sector. Check out the photos here.

Employability Corner

Insights shared at alumni panel discussion

Alumni panellists from across a range of disciplines provided insights at an online discussion event recently.

Our alumni panellists shared their experiences of employment within their industries since graduating from OPAIC.

They told students about the importance of active listening, a positive attitude, confidence, and transparency in a job interview.

We were able to gain insights on the importance of a good CV, the use of LinkedIn, networking, internships, and job searching strategies.

Panellists talked about how digital sales and marketing skills will be in high demand post Covid-19. Soft skills including communication (in particular, English speaking) will also be important.

Staff members had the opportunity to interact with our panellists to gain valuable feedback on the alignment of our courses with current industry demand. The panellist enforced how well our employability services are aligned with industry trends.

Students also established connections with our alumni for support and future opportunities, at the event.