Talent from Te Tauihu

As 2023 ends, we celebrate the achievements of our kaiako and recognise their dedication and effort.

Award winners:

Jess Shirley, lens-based media tutor at NMIT received a series of awards(external link) at the recent New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography (NZIPP) Iris Awards for 2023. Jess was also nominated as a finalist for the 2023 Professional Illustrative Photographer of the Year.
“To have my name up there alongside renowned professional photographers is something else,” Jess says.

Hāmihi Duncan, te reo Māori kaiako, fulfilled his goal to write and publish something creative(external link). His short story, Kua Tau Mai Te Pō, written entirely in te reo Māori, won the $500 second prize in this year's Māori option of the Te Tauihu Short Story Awards.
“Sometimes when you write in te reo Māori you reach for a word and it might not fit, but in this story, I felt like the words came out quite nicely,” Hāmihi says.

Awesome Aquaculture:

Te Tauihu (the Top of the South) is a major aquaculture production and research hub. Several spectacular researchers are part of our whānau, including Shenae Wales(external link), who recently spoke at the 2023 New Zealand Aquaculture Conference, in front of 400 delegates.
"I shared a bit about my journey in the aquaculture industry, the great facilities ākonga have access to, and what it means to learn in the region where most New Zealand aquaculture produce is grown,” she says.

We proudly unveiled a new microalgae laboratory(external link) at the NMIT facility at Cawthron Aquaculture Park, which provides a facility for ākonga and tutors to perform their research on the use of microalgae in aquaculture.

Rossella Nicolai, aquaculture tutor at NMIT, also works at Cawthron as a Senior Aquaculture Technician on Asparagopsis, a seaweed that produces a compound(external link) that can reduce the amount of methane a cow produces.
“Seaweeds are the future,” Rossella says, “there are so many opportunities and now is definitely a great time to get involved.”

Stand out digital technology:

As we near the end of the year, we are getting excited for Sarah Arnold and her colleagues, who will soon unveil their augmented reality (AR) app that will bring history alive around the region.
Inspired by a team of Malaysian researchers who visited NMIT, Sarah used technology to create Post Memory(external link).
“People will be able to see historical events pop up in 3D from their digital devices through a downloadable app,” Sarah explains.

Seeing Neil Benson’s name on the small screen recently was awesome. He was tasked with handling the post-production work for the short film War Paint, preparing it for television broadcast.
The hard-working computer-generated imagery (CGI) tutor constantly links his students with industry opportunities(external link), resulting in real-world experience in professional film production.

Offshore opportunities:

Ka pai to NMIT Automotive Programme Coordinator Barry Paterson, who was asked to create a 3-day training seminar on diesel exhaust gas aftertreatment systems for a team of young technicians in Apia, Samoa(external link).
“It was a challenge going from 15 degrees in Nelson to 32 degrees working in an open workshop,” Barry says, “but they were an awesome bunch of young techs and we had a lot of fun over the three days.”

John Inglis frequents China to maintain strong, positive relationships with several universities across the country. A recent visit saw him bring home a Professor Certificate,(external link) an award that lasts five years.

Collaboration abounds:

Klaasz Breukel, NMIT tutor and renowned artist, collaborates with many others to create impactful art pieces. This year he has worked on a number of projects, including one with NMIT colleague Ellen Cieraad.

Ellen researches the impact of light pollution(external link) and together with Klaasz, an installment at the biannual light festival, Te Ramaroa, shared an important message about our precious night sky.

Klaasz was also involved in creating a large-scale waharoa for Nelson Airport.

Manawa nui – we reach out and welcome in.
Manawa roa – we learn and achieve together.
Manawa ora – we strengthen and grow the whole person.