Earlier Talks
2021
Exploring the Final Frontier – From Christchurch
Course organiser: Chris Botur
Presenter: Various
4 Mar: Eric Dahlstrom, co-founder and CTO, Spacebase, on 'New Zealand Space Activities.'
Eric will talk about his background at NASA, International Space University, SpaceBase, New Zealand’s role in the new space industry, and why there are new opportunities for the aerospace industry in New Zealand.
11 Mar: Mark Rocket, president and founder of Kea Aerospace on 'The New Space Age.'
Mark will talk about his aerospace journey with Virgin Galactic, Rocket Lab, Aerospace Christchurch and Kea Aerospace. He will conclude with an outline of the Kea Atmos project, building a solar- powered, unmanned aircraft that will fly at 20 kilometres in the stratosphere.
18 Mar: Michael Read, founder, Skybase, on 'The next 30 years in Aerospace: how Skybase will Unlock Aviation’s Full Potential.'
Michael will talk about the trends in aerospace technology over the last 120 years which allow us to forecast where things will be in the next 30 years and even beyond. Having started Skybase in 2017, after being involved with another aviation startup and nearly 14 years as an Australian Air Force Pilot, Michael Read is confident in the direction the company is taking to align with the future of Aerospace. An easier path would be to make another “me too” business, but having a purpose-aligned business makes overcoming significant obstacles just the way we do things.
25 Mar: Joshua Rea, Business Development, Dawn Aerospace, on 'Sustainable Space Transportation for the Unforeseeable Future.'
Joshua will talk about the work Dawn Aerospace is doing to build sustainable, scalable and accessible space transportation technologies. In this course he will cover both the growing satellite and launch markets, the problems faced by both, and the practical steps Dawn are taking to address these issues with their new satellite engine and reusable spaceplane solutions.
1 Apr: Dr. Sarah Kessans, lecturer, School of Product Design, UC, on 'Per Aspera ad Astra: Reaching for the Stars via Science.'
Sarah will talk about her work on using nano-satellites for protein crystallisation in micro-gravity which is due to be launched from a SpaceX rocket in April. Also the perspectives gained during her journey through NASA's 2017 Astronaut Candidate Selection process.
Linguistics
Course organiser: David Chapple
Presenter: Various
This course is a follow-up to the popular linguistics course in 2019. It doesn’t have a single theme but is a course that looks at some of the ‘cool work’ that the linguistics staff at the University of Canterbury are doing in their research.
8 Apr: Dr. Jonathan Dunn on 'Language and Artificial Intelligence.'
15 Apr: Dr. Dineke Schokkin on 'Why are there So Many Languages in Some Places and So Few in Others?'
22 Apr: Assoc. Prof. Kevin Watson on 'Why do New Zealanders Hate the Australian Accent?'
29 Apr: Dr. Lynn Clarke on 'How has the Southland Accent Changed Over Time?'
6 May: Prof. Jen Hay on 'What do New Zealanders who Don’t Speak Māori Know About te Reo?'
The Politics of Regional Relations: Understanding Our Own Neighbourhood
Course organiser: Kathryn Ell and Alan Blackburn
Presenter: Various
27 May: Kendra Roddis has a Masters in Defence and Security with an Honours Degree in International Relations. She will present 'An Examination of Defence Relations in the Pacific: Small Islands and Big Waves'.
Kendra is a Freyburg Defence Scholar with research interests in the Asia-Pacific, political science, disaster relief and humanitarianism. Previously, Kendra served in the Royal New Zealand Navy as a Navigation and Warfare Officer. She was deployed to Haiti in 2010 to conduct disaster relief after the country’s 7.0 earthquake. This ignited her passion for improving civil-military coordination at the international level.
3 Jun: Mariana Cifuentes is a development practitioner with 15 years’ of international experience. Her topic is 'From a Flawed Democracy to Military Rule: The Impact of Myanmar’s Recent Military Coup and Predictions About Its Future Through the Lens of Art'.
After 7 years of living in Myanmar, and following the military coup d'état on 1st February 2021, Mariana relocated to Christchurch where she continues her work as part of the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
10 Jun: Prof. Alex Tan, Head of Dept. Political Science and International Relations, UC, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, on 'Demystifying the China-Taiwan Relations'.
On the UC website Alex defines the study of Political Science and International Relations as “the study of power”- who gets what, where and when? Current events in our neighbourhood may well have posed a question for us all: “Are you concerned about international politics and international security?” With this question in mind, Alex will explore, examine and assess the relationships of key players in our vicinity.
17 Jun: Professor Alex Tan on 'Taiwan: Why it Matters'.
24 Jun: Professor Alex Tan on 'The China-Taiwan-US Triangular Relations: Challenges and Opportunities'.
Genealogy
Course organiser: Nina Mogridge
Presenter: Various
Genealogy? Family History? – It’s more than you think.
Over the next five weeks we will discover that often what starts out to be simple, curious research leads one on to many unexpected and exciting pathways.
1 Jul: Librarians Lyn Gifford and Trudy Henry on 'Resources at Tūranga'.
They will speak about the resources available in the Family History Section of the library, plus other resources available for historical research.
8 Jul: Fiona Lees, Convenor Canterbury Genealogy on 'What About DNA?'
Over the years there has been a rise in people wanting to learn more about where they came from through the avenue of DNA testing. But, does DNA testing always have the most desirable results?
15 Jul: Kath Woodley on 'How Family Researchers Think'.
Family research is not just linking up trees but understanding how they fit into the history around them. Kath will use photographs for you to study but also encourage you to bring some of your own ‘unidentified’ or puzzling photographs.
22 Jul: Kath Woodley on 'Exciting Stories from Family Research'.
Family research can lead you to many unexpected places and people. Kath will talk about some of the exciting stories she has found along with ideas for how to take your stories further.
29 Jul: Andrew Watkins (Partner, Wynn Williams) on 'The Unintended Consequences of Wills'.
Andrew will talk about serious and sometimes humorous consequences that arise from executing wills.
Diversity
Course organiser: Peter Moody
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” Desmond Tutu
23 Sep: Shirley Wright, General Manager for Christchurch Resettlement Services, on 'Understanding Culture, in Particular the Dimensions of Ethnic Culture.'
We hope the participants of the talk will be able to gain an understanding of one evidence based model of the dimensions of culture, and be able to define 4 elements of cultural competency when engaging with people from cultures different to their own.
30 Sep: Nick Winchester on 'The Whole of the Rainbow.'
A look at some experiences of the LGBT community through a combination of current statistics and a tale of lived experiences from a local transgender man.
7 Oct: Dean Sutherland, Assoc. Prof. School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, on 'Diversity in Human Communication: Can our Differences Bring us Closer Together?'
This talk explores the many different ways by which humans communicate and how these differences lead to stereotypes and discrimination. Strategies to change our thinking about differences will be described with the aim of reducing barriers to meaningful human connections.
14 Oct: Max Rashbrooke, journalist, author and researcher based in Wellington on 'Against the Myth of Them and Us: Poverty in New Zealand.'
He will talk about poverty as a function of inequality – of an economic system that involves us all, and discuss the way that we all benefit from welfare, subsidies and government spending, not just people in poverty.
21 Oct: Michael Toothill, CEO of Kilmarnoch Enterprises on 'Removing Barriers to Employment for People with Diverse Abilities.'
In this presentation Michael will provide an overview of how Kilmarnock Enterprises includes adults with learning disabilities in the workforce empowering them to live purposeful lives. He will also explore some of the barriers facing people with disabilities when entering the workforce and how businesses are addressing diversity and inclusion.
November Series
Course organiser: Various
28 Oct: Dr. Anna Sandiford, Director Forensic Science Consultant, Adj. Assoc. Prof., UC on 'Getting to the Truth of the Case.'
The Forensic Group was established in 2008 by our speaker who has experience in NZ and overseas. She is an expert witness and an expert on experts. Expert witnesses provide evidence in court court cases to help the lawyers, judge and jury to understand what the science means in a particular case. Her expert witness expertise includes alcohol and toxicology, drugs, drug driving impairment the effect of pollen and many other aspects of the case. She has been involved in many well known cases such as The Bain retrial and the Lundy retrial. She will explain how she works and gets to the conclusions that are presented in the court. Organiser: Trevor Sennitt
4 Nov: Simon Templeton, CEO, Age Concern Canterbury on 'Ageing.'
We are all doing it but Simon will discuss some facts and figures and bust some myths. He'll also advise us on how to do it successfully and where and when to get support when needed. Organiser: David Sutherland.
11 Nov: Nicola Fleming, Manager, Housing First Ōtautahi on 'Making Homelessness in Ōtautahi Rare, Brief and Non-recurring.'
Housing First services are for chronically homeless people who have been homeless for 12 months or more. Housing First recognises it is easier for people to address issues such as mental health and substance abuse once they are housed. Organiser: Peter Moody
18 Nov: Prof. Stephen Robertson, Curekids Prof. of Paediatric Genetics Dept. of Women’s and Children’s Health, Dunedin Sch. of Med., UO on 'New Tools to Understand Genetic Diseases in Humans.'
Medicine is being transformed by new methods to understand the genetic basis for susceptibility and resilience to human diseases. This talk will discuss some examples of how genetic analysis can improve medical care and outcomes particularly for children. A future facing discussion will also be presented about how genetics and genomes might be positioned within healthcare in years to come, including some thoughts on the ethical and social implications of such practices. Organiser: Pat Braithwaite