Hi everyone and welcome to this new issue of MINT. This issue showcases the addition of our CEO's monthly 'News and Views' replacing the FROM THE TOP section. Any feedback or ideas for the next issue are very welcome so please email to webmaster@nmit.ac.nz.
Workplace Survey
Education Amendment Act 2009
Timeline for Curriculum Planning and Review Project
There are a number of pieces of information and updates that I would like to provide for you. The first is the timeline for the activity that will occur with the Curriculum Planning and Review (Sustainability) Project. The timeline identifies some of the key milestones that we are looking to achieve to ensure that we have the appropriate information for decision-making and development for our 2011 Investment Plan. You will see from this timeline that there are a number of on-going opportunities for you to have input into the various aspects of this project. You will also see the timeline for decision-making and reporting back to NMIT’s Council and the planned timing for formal consultation.
I have also included in this News & Views a summary of the 2009 Staff Survey. This was the first time for a number of years that NMIT has undertaken a full Staff Survey using an external facilitator. As the attached notes identify, we are presently working through a number of action points and looking to build on those areas of feedback that staff reported on positively, and developing ideas for those less positive comments. I have planned that we will undertake another Staff Survey in 2011.
A number of you have sought clarification over membership of the new NMIT Council and you can view a scanned copy of the legislation by clicking opn the link, which I hope will clarify the new appointment process for Council.
Tony Gray Back to top
From David Ayre, Chair of the TEU at NMIT
On Sunday 9 May 2010, John Webster passed away. Many of you will have known John from his work at NMIT. He was a tutor, an academic leader in his areas of teaching, and for many years he was the chair of our tutorial staff union.
I want to pay tribute to John, and to celebrate his skills and contribution in all of those areas. I and Chris Turner and many other colleagues have been talking about this, and we are all of the same mind.
John came here to teach on our business and information systems courses, and to lead the development of many of those courses. The staff in the areas he was working in looked at his very impressive CV, considered his expertise, and felt they had scored a real coup.
They got more than that, because John had the values so necessary to teaching with integrity and empowerment, and the students knew he cared for them. They knew where they were with John, as you did.
They learned they had to take responsibility for their learning, but they also learned that he was there to structure their learning tasks, to set clear boundaries, to set challenges, to provide the support they needed, and to let them know that they mattered. We have a duty of care to our students, and John understood that. He worked hard, really hard, developed very good teaching skills and was a very effective educator. Many successful careers started in John’s classes.
John was involved from a very early stage with our tutorial staff union and professional association, then called ASTE and now known as TEU. He attended the meetings of our executive, and soon took on the task of leading our branch. He knew that wasn't an easy task when he took it on, and he did it excellently. We also knew where we were with John : he was a socialist; he was a Scot; he had the process skills of a master project manager; he was reasonable; he was resolute; when necessary he was absolutely resolute; and he always took us with him. Many individual staff members have expressed a massive debt of gratitude to John for the way he worked through issues with them, and supported them in situations that were often very emotional for them.
John had a wonderful sense of humour, which helped him, and also helped those around him. Some of our staff believe that Spike Milligan must have had an impact on the young John Webster when he was growing up, because John's humour showed a lovely dry and gentle wit. You may remember his letter to the editor of the Nelson Mail on the subject of "GE Free", a letter in which all the G's and E's were omitted from every word; his colleagues responded by littering his desk, room and files with multicoloured cut out G's and E's. On another occasion he imagined what would happen if the upstairs fridge and the downstairs fridge both had to apply for the same position …
John was a very wise and sane and balanced man, and he was a very warm and caring man. He was a very good man. It was a privilege to have known him. He will be remembered with great affection, and he will be greatly missed.
David Ayre
Next time you take a wander around campus brush past T-Block and have a look at the delightful, edible gardens planted and managed by the chefs and students. It is not unusual to see a chef student plucking fresh herbs or a tomato or two for the kitchen.
Recently students on the Diploma of Tourism Management programme, conducted a survey of staff and students in the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Wellbeing to find out what they know about recycling and whether they would support recycling on campus. The results showed an overwhelming support for recycling and as a result our trial station is at the eastern end of the Tourism block.
Inside the building, all general waste (rubbish) bins have been removed from office and teaching spaces. Students and staff will need to dispose of their waste directly in to the recycling bins outside the building. Two boxes, one for re-usable paper and one for recyclable paper, have been put in place next to the printer in T306, the staff resource room, and in the hall way on levels 2 and 3. Resene Paints have kindly donated 10 litre buckets for us to use as our internal recycle waste bins. Each bucket will be individually labelled with a standard recycle label. Internal recycle stations inside T-Block staff room and the training kitchens will comprise of a collection of four buckets – cans, plastic, non recyclables (contaminated waste). Research has shown that paper is a significant waste item on campus and we hope that the re-use option will encourage people to take up the option to use the blank side of print material for scrap or to make note pads.
Tony Greep, Bridget Sanders and I are happy to talk to anyone about anything to do with reducing waste on campus. We welcome your ideas. All going well we hope to go campus wide in the second semester. So please if you are teaching in T-block spread the good word and encourage your students to take responsibility for their paper waste, chip packets, V-can, drink bottle, and orange peels by taking them out as they leave the building and popping them in to the right recycle bins.
Katrina Marwick. NMIT sustainability team.
Key Speakers: In total there was three representatives per industry workshop. A key speaker representing industry, a student graduate and a NMIT tutor. The NMIT tutor was assigned to act as a facilitator for each industry to support the key industry speaker and student graduate.
Industry was represented by local: employers, ITO representatives, apprentices, employees and training providers.
Each industry workshop included the following messages:
» Speakers personal journey » Local opportunities ‐ overview of various roles/jobs within the industry » The importance of literacy and numeracy and practical examples of why these are important. » Identify preparation activities at schools (gateway, subject selection, school qualifications etc) » Opportunities for progression within the industry: e.g. setting up your own business. » The impact on earning potential based on last year at school.
Back to top
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology’s, School of Māori Studies is celebrating the graduation of their first tutor with a PhD. Melissa Cragg, who tutors and coordinates the Treaty of Waitangi papers at NMIT, completes her PhD after 7 years part-time study through Massey University. Melissa says she found the process very challenging at times, but it has provided her with a great sense of achievement.
“The involvement of those who informed the research process and content kept me focused and moving forward – it is as much their achievement as it is mine”
PJ Devonshire, NMIT Director of Māori Education is thrilled to have a doctorally prepared academic staff member.
“It is great for the School of Māori Studies to have a person of Melissa’s calibre. She has a lot of knowledge and experience to offer the community and students and also adds to the expertise of our teaching team.”
Her thesis topic, ‘The Application of Custom to Contemporary Māori Research Development’, was inspired after working on a project for her Postgraduate Honours Degree in relation to the effective utilisation of Māori land.
“This project highlighted to me the many opportunities and limitations that were in existence for Māori land development and I decided I would like to examine this further and at a broader level. As a result the research and framework that has been developed will form the basis for future planning, development and strategic direction in regard to resource management of natural resources in Aotearoa/New Zealand.”
“The Treaty of Waitangi can be a controversial subject but having Melissa means that students are receiving the very latest and well researched information which then provides a forum for an informed debate.” says PJ Devonshire.
Other conclusions from the study found that future resource management opportunities for Māori must extend beyond consultation and include joint decision making processes to ensure Māori interests in resource management and development are considered and upheld.
“There are many avenues that could be developed further to allow for increased application of Māori values and practices to resource management and development. By recognising the limitations and identifying opportunities, further improvements can be made to current policies,” says Melissa.
Her study also concluded that Western approaches to resource management can be enriched by the considered application of customary Maori knowledge, just as customary approaches can be made more relevant when combined with some western models. Melissa plans to utilise the framework developed in the thesis working with Iwi/Māori and other organisations. As well as her tutoring role at NMIT, Melissa is a research request analyst for the Iwi Health Board and the Marlborough PHO – Māori Health.
Melissa will be presenting her PhD research at the upcoming International Indigenous Conference on Traditional Knowledge in Auckland from 6-9 June.
For further information please see Sophia Austin ext 767
New Starters
Leavers:
Accommodation available on Nile Street, short or long term, contact Sandy 546 6755