Ken Olejar Study Support Advisor | Marlborough
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, USA, Ken came to Aotearoa in 2012, receiving a New Zealand International Doctoral Research Scholarship (NZIDRS) to support his PhD research in Analytical Chemistry.
After completing his PhD at The University of Auckland, where he specialised in plant and fermentation metabolites, their modification, application, and sustainable production, Ken moved into consulting on circular economy and bioavailability of compounds in plants.
In his research, Ken has led collaborations between multiple institutions, advancing sustainable material systems, process optimisation, and circular economy technologies.
Ken also has over 8 years of experience in tertiary teaching, including viticulture, chemistry, and fermentation science. In New Zealand, he taught at Lincoln University and Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT). In the USA, Ken was an Assistant Professor at both the Idaho and Appalachian State Universities.
“My time on the tutoring side has given me great insight into a range of learning styles, helping me support the diverse student community at NMIT. I understand the common challenges that learners face.”
Ken likes to chat with students to help them figure out what their needs are, then supports them to navigate a reasonable pathway together.
Ken is also a part-time Teaching Assistant on our Foundation programmes in Marlborough. He enjoys the challenge and rewarding mahi of supporting learners new to tertiary study.
He enjoys being there to support learners and to give them the foundations they need to succeed.
“I find it so rewarding to see ākonga succeed. NMIT Marlborough campus is small enough that I can see their success happen. Being on-campus, I can offer ongoing support, watch learner progression and continue to follow their academic and career journeys.”
Alongside his role at NMIT, Ken is working on a new start-up business in one of our most exciting emerging industries. Their mission is to close the loop between waste and value. They design systems in which every byproduct becomes the foundation for something new, turning waste into nanomaterials for further product development or future reuse (e.g. repurposing organic waste or water purification systems to extract pollutants).
Ken has been impressed by the wide range of programmes NMIT offers to help our learners gain work-ready qualifications. What makes NMIT extra special is the small class sizes, which means that our ākonga enjoy a lot of individual attention and support.
