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

In this month’s issue, you can read about a system our Information Technology team is working on to save people from drowning. We also share news of Lecturer Krish Naidu’s appointment to an Auckland Council Advisory Panel. In our Employability Corner, you can learn all about a range of initiatives underway to connect our current students with alumni and industry.

Talk of the Campus

Staying safe in the surf with AI

A team of our Information Technology lecturers is looking at how to use Artificial Intelligence to keep people safe in the water. Ganeshan, Farhad Mehdipour, Waruni Hewage, and Julia Ma are working on an autonomous surf lifeguarding system using AI and machine learning. Read all about it here. 

Promoting kindness on campus

We've celebrated Pink Shirt Day a day early with games, prizes and pink snacks. Pink Shirt Day is all about standing up against bullying, celebrating diversity, and promoting kindness and inclusion.

HR coffee connections

OPAIC students had the opportunity to connect and learn more about the Human Resources field in New Zealand last week. Human Resources New Zealand hosted an OPAIC Student Café for students considering a career in Human Resources or interested in the industry. Read all about it here.

HoD to research data sovereignty 

Head of Information Technology, Dr Farhad Mehdipour, has secured an Internet NZ grant to research Data Sovereignty. 

Data Sovereignty is all about how data is owned, stored, shared, and used by the entity or country that collects it. For example, Māori Data Sovereignty means Māori have the right to decide how to use, share, store, and control their own data. 

Farhad says it is an important topic and the research will help clarify what Data Sovereignty means and how it applies to professionals in the fields of information technology and information systems in Aotearoa.

Farhad will collaborate with Dr Karaitiana Taiuru and an OPAIC master’s student on the research. 

Artificial Intelligence and your study

With all the recent attention around ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence (AI), you may be wondering about the place it has in your studies. OPAIC Academic Director, Sean Bell, answers some questions you might have about the use of AI in this article on the Student Hub.

Get together for Student Ambassadors

It was great to get together with all of our Student Ambassadors for a lunch this month. We welcomed our newest members and talked about a new clubs initiative for the campus. 

Mental health workshop well-attended

A range of topics were discussed in our second mental health workshop this month.The Asian Family Service team provided a presentation on how to take care of our own mental well-being and covered various topics such as stress management, coping strategies for anxiety, and addictions. It was a great session which attracted a good number of students. 

Welcoming a large April intake

We welcomed a good number of students to Auckland City and Otago Polytechnic Auckland International Campus this April. Orientation events took place over two days to accommodate our large number of new student arrivals. Read all about Orientation here. 

Advisory appointment for management lecturer

Senior Lecturer and Undergraduate Programme Manager Krish Naidu has become a voice for diverse communities in Auckland.

Krish has been appointed to Auckland Council’s Mayor’s Ethnic Advisory Panel. The panel is one of six demographic advisory panels.

Panel members advise the governing body and staff on regional and strategic matters within the remit of the Auckland Plan and offer strategic advice on other council plans and strategies that impact their communities. Local boards may also engage with the panels when they wish to seek panels’ views on matters of relevance to both the local boards and the governing body.

He hopes the three-year appointment will also allow him to bring more guest lecturers from the council to the campus for all departments.

New Staff

Sharan Singh is a new Applied Management lecturer here at OPAIC. Prior to teaching, she worked in the corporate sector in Malaysia - in the manufacturing and retail sectors. After some years in the corporate sector, she grabbed the opportunity to work in academia, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the business faculty of a Malaysian university. Sharan continued teaching when she moved to New Zealand in 2015, working for Whitireia Polytechnic. When she’s not teaching, she likes trying out eggless desserts from YouTube that are simple to prepare but look yum! 

Dr Barry Dowdeswell (AKA Badger or Dr Badger) is a Sessional Lecturer in Software Engineering at OPAIC.

Barry was born in London but emigrated to New Zealand when he was young. He studied Engineering and Chemistry during his undergraduate years before becoming a secondary school Chemistry teacher in Otara. That inspired Barry’s life-long love of working alongside students from all different cultures.

After becoming fascinated by computers, he left teaching and began working as a programmer. That led to forming his own international software company that he ran until 2012. Returning to full-time study, his doctoral research focused on finding faults in avionic and automotive control systems as well as designing new control systems for aircraft landing gear. 

Now, he is a lecturer at Otago Polytechnic as well as an Adjunct Researcher at AUT.  The avionics research is currently being conducted with an active RNZAF pilot and engineers from AUT. 

Outside of work, Barry loves playing and writing music, both in bands and as a solo performer.
 

Asanthika Imbulpitiya is a Sessional Lecturer who has recently joined the IT department. Asanthika is an academic with 10 years of experience in tertiary education in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. She is originally from Sri Lanka and has completed her BSc and master’s degrees and is currently a PhD candidate at the Auckland University of Technology.

Her main research interest lies within the broader domain of Computer Science Education. Before joining Future Skills, she worked as a Teaching Assistant at AUT and a Lecturer at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. She taught undergraduate courses mainly related to database modelling and software modelling.

Asanthika also acted as a university associate at Curtin University, Australia, and Sheffield Hallam University, UK where she was involved in delivering their offshore degree programs during her time in Sri Lanka.

Her main reason for joining OPAIC was the working environment and the friendly staff. She says it has been wonderful so far. Outside of work, Asanthika is an avid reader and a traveller and does not shy away from thrill-seeking activities.

Steve Barnett is one of our new Applied Management lecturers. His work background spans industrial chemist; production manager; secondary school chemistry and physics teacher; industrial engineer and venture analyst; construction and engineering businesses owner/developer and managing director; corporate manager; university management lecturer in operations, organisational behaviour and change, and human resources; and business change advisor, coach, and agent in SMEs. His formal qualifications are BSc(Chem) 1973, Dip Tchg 1978, MEd (Admin) 1997. 

Until he moved to Auckland to attend university, Steve lived on a north Auckland dairy farm that his parents developed from wilderness previously mined for Kauri timber and Kauri gum. At University he met his future wife who also has a rural background and currently teaches postgraduate Management at AUT.  They have now been married for 48 years and have three university-educated daughters and seven grandchildren aged between 5 and 10 years. 

Steve’s main professional interest and work is organisational behaviour and change. His recreational interests have included sailing, choir and quartet singing, and bushcraft. He has given up sailing and singing but he and his wife still spend their summer vacations on 65 hectares of remote NZ bush that they own and share with long-time friends.

Jimmy Sun is a new sessional lecturer teaching Research and Enquiry at OPAIC. He comes from Shenzhen, the first special economic zone in China. He has been teaching Management courses at Massey University for the last three years in various roles, such as course coordinator, tutor, marker, and guest lecturer. Jimmy has a master's degree in Business Studies (Management) and is currently in the final stage of his PhD study at Massey University. He chose OPAIC because of its strong reputation for delivering high-quality education, commitment to student career success, and diverse and multicultural learning environment. Outside of work and study, he enjoys spending time with his family and their puppy.

Phonis Ye is a new IT lecturer here at OPAIC.  Phonis has more than 20 years of IT experience with 15 years in design and development and 10 years in support and operation. He has also worked as a project manager and delivery manager in dynamic environments. Phonis is from China and has also spent time working in Singapore. He is currently working as a Senior Developer with Spark, and he runs some projects helping young generations get ready for and progress in their careers.

Soheila Mohammadyari is a new Sessional Lecturer in the Applied Management team here. 

Soheila graduated from AUT and is teaching Business Analysis here at OPAIC. She is interested in examining how management skills are used in a variety of businesses. She is most interested in technical fields which require hands-on skills. Her focus is also on applying what she knows of human behaviour to new technologies to inform the way we work in organisations and supporting students to critically examine core IT processes and how they could be improved. 

Her research area draws insights from the interaction between humans and new technologies, looking at how users think and behave in the context of human-computer interactions. This includes an interest in mHealth (mobile health) technologies.

Her recent focuses are on disruptive technologies such as machine learning, AI, VR, and AR and how these technologies change the way human beings interact with their environment

Employability Corner

Alumni Mentorship Programme 

This block we launched the first event of the Otago Polytechnic Auckland International Campus Alumni Mentoring Program. This initiative connects our students with accomplished alumni in various professions for guidance and support. 

The program nurtures a community spirit, encourages knowledge-sharing, and offers students the opportunity to broaden their horizons across different industries. Our gratitude goes out to mentors Daniel Tran, Vanessa Dsouza, Nemanja Vukikjevikj, Maimiti Manate, Gaurav Sonawane, Utsav Kakde, Ishant Ghulyani, and Dipon Sadhu for their volunteered time and expertise. A special mention goes to Jay Hourani for his insightful contribution. 

The event was a hit, with students gaining invaluable wisdom from their mentors. We're excited to host more such events in 2023 and beyond, aiding our students' career growth and fostering their post-graduation success. 

Applied Management Industry Event 

This week, the Employability Centre hosted an Applied Management Industry Event. The event featured invaluable insights from three esteemed industry leaders, alongside an engaging panel discussion and networking session. Our speakers included Brett O'Riley, CEO of the Employers and Manufacturing Association (EMA), Sharon Alabastro, Senior Project Manager at Qrious, and Ash Sahay, Director at Fairview. 

This was a unique opportunity where participants gleaned insights from top-tier executives in corporate New Zealand. We look forward to hosting more such enriching events in the future.

Aureate Reforestation Trip

On Friday 12 May, the GOT team and student volunteers set off to Waihi. Students, dedicated to environmental preservation, partnered with the Green Office Toitū team to participate in the Aureate reforestation project. GOT Coordinator Dani Mao along with our two GOT interns (Trinh Nguyen and Jiawei Wang) and two GOT volunteers (Patricia Joseph and Ivy Cabanero) planted 152 locally sourced trees native to Aotearoa. This initiative aims to restore the local ecosystem, providing a habitat for native birds and acting as a permanent carbon sink. 

The students said the trip reminded them of the importance of community efforts in supporting local reforestation and building a sustainable future. The team hopes to inspire others to join the mission of climate change mitigation and pledge toward environmental sustainability.

Carbon Footprint Project 

The Green Office Toitū team is thrilled to share news of the Campus Carbon Footprint project. Spearheaded by student volunteers Nenie Petrisia, Marlou Queniahan, and Amol Sisodiya, this initiative aims to measure OPAIC's environmental impact. 

To kick off this project, the team hosted a promotional event last week. Students were invited to learn about the project and ways they can contribute. Starting this week, the team will collect Carbon Footprint data from students. Let's unite against climate change and work towards a sustainable future. Your participation can make a real difference.