Kia ora and welcome to the September edition of We are OPAIC

In this month’s issue, you can read all about our recent events including our Emerging Visionaries research evening and Graduation. We’ll also tell you about a series of guest lectures our Construction students have enjoyed over the past month. Finally, we’ll share the story of a graduate who made headlines for a creative marriage proposal.

Talk of the Campus

Celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

This week we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week. Aotearoa has marked Māori Language Week Every year since 1975. It’s a time to celebrate te reo Māori (the Māori language) and to use more Māori phrases in everyday life. All of Aotearoa is invited to stop what they’re doing and celebrate te reo Māori at 12pm on 14 September. You might like to kōrero (speak), waiata (sing), or pānui (read) in te reo Māori. See more here. 

Emerging Visionaries share their research

The Emerging Visionaries Tertiary Learners Sustainability Symposium held at OPAIC recently was a big success. Green Party MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, gave the keynote address, saying the solution to the climate crisis sat with communities. It was important to empower communities to come up with their own solutions, she said. We then heard seven presentations on topics related to sustainability. Read all about the event here. 

OPAIC graduate makes a public proposal

Congratulations to our graduate Yashraj Chhabra and wife-to-be Riiya Shukla on their recent engagement. Our Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Management graduate made headlines after he proposed to his girlfriend in front of thousands of people at Auckland Airport. Read all about it in this NZ Herald story. 

Celebrating our newest graduates

We celebrated the achievements of graduates from a wide range of programmes at the Auckland Town Hall last month. Graduates from OPAIC, Future Skills Academy, Otago Polytechnic Dunedin, as well as the College of Work-based Learning, crossed the stage during the ceremony. Read all about it here. 

Graduate thankful for bonds formed at OPAIC

Kashmira Vikas More spoke about the value of friendship during her graduation address at our recent ceremony. Kashmira studied our Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Management online during the pandemic then came to New Zealand in 2022 for the Master of Applied Management. She graduated with her master’s degree last month and gave the graduation address on behalf of OPAIC graduates. Read all about her address here. 

Free lunch for international students

St Paul’s Church on Symonds Street offers a free lunch for international students in the city every Wednesday from 11.30am to 1pm. They provide soup, toasted sandwiches, tea and coffee, and fruit. This is a great opportunity to meet international students studying with other providers around Auckland.

Guest lectures for Construction students 

Construction students had the opportunity to attend a series of guest lectures in September. Our construction lecturers invited industry experts Jennifer Whittle from New Zealand Green Building Council, Russell Pederson and Steven Howard from Winstone Wallboards, and Matias Kaufman from BECA to speak with students. The guests spoke about construction and sustainability, GIB plasterboard manufacturing and BIM, and virtual reality in construction. All the lectures were very interesting and relevant to the current trends in construction. Learners enjoyed the interactive sessions.  

Staying safe in the city

A number of services are in place to keep us all safe in the CBD area. If you see something concerning in the area, you can report it to these services. 

New Zealand Police: Police provide an on-street presence as well as incident response, and advice on crime prevention.  Call 111 in an emergency. Call 105 if a crime has already happened, including theft.

Security patrols: Prestige Protection Security patrols are operating in the Queen Street area to de-escalate issues and escalate situations to the police when necessary. You can contact them on 021 975 784.

CityWatch: CityWatch is delivered by Auckland Council and supported by Heart of the City. The on-street team can help address issues such as obstruction to businesses and public spaces or anti-social behaviour. If someone is acting inappropriately in a public place, please call Auckland Council on (09) 301 0101 so a job can be logged and a guard can be sent out.