Latest UC News

The Child Wellbeing and Poverty Reduction Group at Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Child Wellbeing Research Institute at the University of Canterbury are hosting a joint webinar on Monday 2 October from 1pm-2pm. Nationally, strengths based, locally led initiatives are contributing significant gains for tamariki and rangatahi wellbeing. While there is recognition that positive outcomes are being generated by such practices, more analysis is needed across successful transformation that aims to unpack commonalities in how and why change is occurring.  This webinar will provide insights of value to community, government and academic sectors by exploring the change mechanisms underpinning two very different approaches to uplifting child and youth wellbeing, with a particular exploration of how we need to evolve our thought processes beyond Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  The panel to be chaired by Clare Ward Executive Director, Child Wellbeing and Poverty Reduction Group and facilitated by Associate Professor Sacha McMeeking, Child Wellbeing Research Institute. It will explore some of the transferrable insights for those engaged in child and youth wellbeing.

Join us at our NCRE Graduate Info Day to learn more about study options in Honours, Masters or PhD study. Come and hear about postgraduate research and travel opportunities at the NCRE.    

Join us for a poetry performance of Claudia Jardine's latest book, cover to cover. The UC Teece Museum will provide a fitting backdrop for a full read through of this collection of poetry based on ancient Greek epigrams. Fresh translations of erotic Greek epigrams are threaded through boozy sonnets, ecstatic odes and startlingly vulnerable love poems. Jardine weaves ancient and modern together into a rich, glitzy, idiosyncratic tapestry – and in doing so crafts a poetic voice that is at once classical and frisky. Claudia Jardine has an MA in classics with distinction from Victoria University of Wellington, where she won the 2020 Alex Scobie Research Prize and a Marsden Grant for Masters scholarship. Her first chapbook, ‘The Temple of Your Girl’, was published in AUP New Poets 7. Her ancestors are from the British Isles and the Maltese Archipelago, and she lives in Ōtautahi. UC Teece Museum, 3 Hereford St, Chch Tuesday 10 October 2023, 7.30pm. Doors open 7.15pm. Entry is free, but seats are limited so registration is essential. All our events for the Christchurch Heritage Festival are a collaboration with the Christchurch City Council.

Join us to celebrate UC’s 150th Anniversary and hear UC Business School Adjunct Senior Fellow, and Director of Research First, Carl Davidson, and UC Business School Associate Professor Sarah Wright, offer insights into tackling social isolation and loneliness in our organisations and communities. The future of work is here! Fast-tracked by the pandemic, technology is changing how we interact with work and our colleagues faster than any other time in modern history. Given the lingering impact of COVID and the increase of working-from-home, it is clear that now more than ever, loneliness needs our attention. Leaders have an opportunity to foster a culture of companionship, one in which relationships can naturally grow and thrive. In an increasingly digitally connected world loneliness is becoming a hidden challenge undermining the workplace. Globally, loneliness has been described as ‘a silent epidemic’, and in May of this year the U.S. Surgeon General called loneliness ‘an underappreciated public health crisis’. Yet while loneliness tends to be talked about as a social or public health problem it is also very much a business one. The link between loneliness and workplace health and wellbeing is clear, with lonely staff engaging less, producing less, and being more likely to leave. Research out of the UK showed that loneliness costs UK employers £2.5 billion a year. In this presentation Carl will share insights from Research First’s Pulse survey that asks the question: How are we really doing in Christchurch? Then Carl will be joined by UC Business School researcher Dr Sarah Wright for an interview style discussion with MBA Director Elsamari Botha. Carl Davidson - Adjunct Senior Fellow of the UC Business School, Director - Research First Carl is one of New Zealand's best-known social researchers and a Fellow of the Research Association of New Zealand. His career stretches over 30 years and includes stints as an academic, practitioner, and author. Carl is the author or editor of ten books and in 2023 he was named as one of the Global Insight250 winners, an award celebrating worldwide pioneers, leaders and innovators in market research, data-driven marketing and insights. Dr Sarah Wright - Associate Professor - Management, Marketing and Tourism, UC Business School At the heart of Sarah’s research and teaching is a focus on human relationships within groups and organisations, with a particular focus on workplace loneliness and relationship quality. Sarah is a scientific advisor for Ending Loneliness Together in Australia, a research advisor for the Coalition to End Loneliness in NZ, and the Foundation for Social Connection in the USA. Sarah has published in leading academic journals such as Human Relations, Journal of Business Ethics, The Leadership Quarterly, and contributed to managerial articles in Harvard Business Review, and the New York Times. She is a Fellow with the Higher Education Association and is a Director for the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society in the USA. UC MBA Thought Leadership Series 2023 The UC MBA Thought Leadership Series brings together leading business minds from New Zealand and abroad to feature in our Thought Leadership Series. Industry, students, and alumni are invited to be inspired by innovative and insightful expertise from executives and entrepreneurs.