University of Otago

11/09/2026

Winter was cute. thank u, next 🌸

10/09/2026

The greatest gift is how we can help the people around us 🫶

That’s the sentiment of 20Twenties Young Alumni Award winner Eman Ghandour 🏅

Graduating from Otago in 2017 with a BA in Sociology, Eman has more than a decade of experience working alongside young people and communities.

She is currently a Future Student Advisor, helping prospective students navigate their study options and pathways into higher education. Her work takes a community-centred approach to recruitment and engagement, particularly with Māori, Pacific, migrant and refugee communities ✨

“I want people to feel like they belong, that their experiences matter, and that they have the opportunity to reach their own goals,” Eman says.

Read more about Eman’s mahi here ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/its-a-gift-to-help-others

10/09/2026

“It sounds a bit cringey, but it was Steve Irwin that got me into lizards.” 🦎

Jon Rolfes spent much of his childhood in Germany entranced by the crocodile hunter, so when it came time to do a gap year after high school, going downunder was the obvious choice.

But Australia’s crocodiles and snakes couldn’t compete with Aotearoa’s cryptic critter, the harlequin gecko ✨

He’s now an Otago Zoology PhD candidate researching this taonga species and two other lizards that can only be found on Rakiura.

“One thing I have to remind myself is that these lizards could be twice as old as I am. The lizards in New Zealand are all very long-lived. The oldest one is a gecko that is estimated to be 66 years old,” Jon says.

Read more about Jon’s mahi here ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/smitten-and-bitten-by-the-harlequin-gecko

09/09/2026

100 years of music and one new book 🎻📕

Dr Ian Chapman’s brand new book, Ka mua, ka muri: 100 Years of Music at the University of Otago, is celebrating a century of music at Otago alongside the people who helped shape the programme 🥹

The whakatauakī in the book’s title ‘Ka mua, ka muri’ translates to ‘walking backwards into the future.’ To do this, Ian has compiled a collection of personal reflections from almost 90 current and former tauira and kaimahi.

"It's much more a collection of personal reflections than an institutional history."

The book will be launched at the University Staff Club as part of the Music at Otago centenary celebrations on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September 🚀

Read more about Ian's upcoming book ⬇️ https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/capturing-the-stories-behind-100-years-of-music-at-otago

08/09/2026

Aotearoa’s only dental school is sinking its teeth into sustainability 🦷✨

Over the past year, the Faculty of Dentistry’s Sustainable Working Group started implementing a variety of initiatives as part of a new sustainability strategy to reduce the environmental footprint of its clinical and teaching activities 🪥

“We knew we wanted to be at the forefront of research and innovation in sustainable dentistry, reduce costs, and increase efficiencies in how we operate,” Associate Professor Carolina Loch says.

Sink your own teeth into the story here ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/sustainability-in-dentistrys-nature

08/09/2026

Introducing: Wai Ora 🥳 Set to officially open next week in Ōtautahi 👀 🧬

Otago’s new Ōtautahi campus building is about to open its doors, bringing together 1,500 researchers, clinicians, educators and students in one collaborative environment. The eight-storey building will expand Otago's capacity for world-class biomedical research and clinical trials 🌎🔬

“The laboratories have been designed not only for today’s research, but to support the technologies and collaborations that will shape the future of biomedical science,” Associate Dean Research Professor Logan Walker says.

Read about the new Wai Ora building here ⬇️ https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/wai-ora-set-to-boost-cutting-edge-health-research

08/09/2026

Forget the textbook – this learning is hands-on 🔬🇸🇧

A three-person team, led by Associate Professor Greg Walker from Otago’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, has just returned from the Solomon Islands after sharing interactive science experiences with local schools 📚

The initiative delivers hands-on science engagement across the Pacific supported by the University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT) 🌸

Read about the class activities including Biodiversity Jenga and DNA Detectives ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/sharing-science-in-the-solomons

08/09/2026

🎙️ TIAKI is out today!

TIAKI is a six-episode series on the health and wellbeing of Māori who leave prisons, and what an Aotearoa without the harms of prisons could look like.

The podcast is hosted by Associate Professor Paula Toko King from the Faculty of Medicine – Wellington and Māori health expert Gabrielle Baker 🔎

Tune in ⬇️

The TIAKI podcast launches today: a six-episode series on the health and wellbeing of Māori who leave prisons, and on what an Aotearoa New Zealand without the harms of prisons could look like.

07/09/2026

From neurons to genetics, tauira-led research is tackling big questions 🤔🧬

The Faculty of Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Postgraduate Symposium saw an impressive 78 tauira present posters and talks showcasing biomedical research that addresses real-life problems.

BMS Associate Dean Research Associate Professor Rosie Brown says the standard of the presentations and posters was exceptional. Ka rawe

Check out our amazing winners below ⬇️

One of the highlights of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences (BMS) calendar is its student-lead research symposium, showcasing how biomedical research is being used to address real-life problems.

06/09/2026

“Words, or even pictures, don’t do it justice.” ❤️🤍🖤

For Otago tauira Sammi Ammar, standing before the Moai was a moment that had to be experienced to be understood.

Sammi and Ollie Ihaka-Gudsell were two of eight tauira selected to travel to Rapa Nui for a month in June, made possible through a Prime Minister’s Scholarship awarded to Dr Moira Fortin Cornejo and Associate Professor Esther Willing.

Ollie says the experience offered a new perspective on what Indigenous communities can learn from one another 🫂

Read more about Sammi and Ollie's trip to Rapa Nui ⬇️ https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/finding-connection-across-te-moana-nui-a-kiwa