IRANZ news briefs
Interns Léa Cabrol (left), Tijmen Krijen (centre), and Josselin Blanchard are enjoying being able to put their knowledge to work at Lincoln Agritech. Photo: Lincoln Agritech.
Interns get chance to shine at Lincoln Agritech
Three European students say coming halfway around the world to do internships at Lincoln Agritech is giving them real confidence in their abilities.
Léa Cabrol and Josselin Blanchard are both doing degrees in agronomy engineering – Léa at the Institut Agro Montpellier and Jossellin at the Institut Agro Dijon, both in France. Tijmen Krijen is doing a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management at Hanzehogeschool Groningen University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.
Scarlatti: Internships a win-win for interns and business
Internships are a win-win for both interns and businesses; companies benefit from interns’ contributions and innovative ideas, and interns can gain real-world experience, writes Grace Zhao, an intern with Scarlatti over the summer break.
Scarlatti hosted three interns over summer, Scarlatti aims to foster a healthy work culture supporting critical thinking and problem-solving. Interns are encouraged to participate in generating new ideas and contributions.
“A lot of the work at Scarlatti is centred around approaching problems and projects from different angles and developing effective strategies to work through them,” says Declan Barrett. As an intern, I was always encouraged to contribute my ideas and gained valuable feedback from others in the team.”
NZBRI: Grant to investigate Parkinson's hallucinations
Dr Kyla-Louise Horne from the New Zealand Brain Research Institute has been awarded an $180k Emerging Researcher Fellowship by the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation to support her two year research project investigating hallucinations experienced by those with Parkinson's disease.
The condition affects more than 12-thousand kiwis and this project has the potential to hugely improve their lives.
Listen to Kyla’s RNZ interview >>
$715k donation to Mātai as QET winds up
Following the winding up of Gisborne charity Quest Enterprise Trust, the trust has donated more than $700,000 to Mātai Medical Research Institute.
The funding will sponsor a research and education space in the new Mātai building on Childers Road and provide scholarships and internships to Gisborne Girl’s High School students, as well as other scholarship opportunities open to all Tairāwhiti students.
“After 37 years the decision was made to dissolve the trust and donate the accumulated funds to Mātai, which continues the objectives of the trust to provide training, skills and scholarships to GGHS students for the benefit of the East Coast region, QET foundation trustee Anne Pardoe said.
Mātai chief executive and research director Samantha Holdsworth welcomed the donation.
“We are so grateful to Quest Trust for providing GGHS students opportunities in advanced medical sciences and related technology through Mātai.”
Mātai Quest scholarships open in September and internships open in July.
Verum Group’s William Porter on NZOHS council
Verum Group is proud to announce that Industrial and Workplace Manager William Porter (Billy) has been nominated and accepted to become a member of the New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society (NZOHS) council. The New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society is a network of occupational hygiene professionals who further the practice, professionalism and recognition of the industry in New Zealand. Billy says his nomination to the council will enable him to give back to the occupational hygiene community and work with the best in New Zealand. William and other Occupational Hygienists play a significant role in preventing and reducing disease from workplace exposure in New Zealand and around the world.
Read more about Verum Group >>
Meet one of HERA’s new 2023 Whanake Scholarship recipients: Brock Colson
“Kia Ora, my name is Brock and I am honoured to be a recipient of the Whanake Scholarship. My high school years were spent at Kaipara College where I studied Calculus, Physics, Media, Earth Space science and Automotive Engineering. I have followed this pathway since the beginning of high school as I have always had an interest in Engineering and the automotive industry and I want to further develop this interest. I am now studying for a Bachelors in Mechatronics Engineering at Massey University. For me to receive this scholarship means that I have been given time, time that would have been spent at a part time job can now be spent studying and giving back to the community. In 2016, only 6% of engineers in Aotearoa were Māori, this is something I would like to help change as I believe it is important to have high Māori engagement in the science and engineering fields. I want to positively influence the next generation of Māori to get involved in engineering to carve a path forward and ultimately change the industry for the better.”
Aqualinc: Future Focused Freshwater Accounting
Dr John Bright led an expert panel that produced a think piece report Future Focused Freshwater Accounting for the Ministry for the Environment.
This report provides options and concepts for implementing accounting systems to support freshwater outcomes. It provides recommendations on how freshwater accounting systems can be used to understand the state of the environment, including whether objectives, limits and targets are being met, and to provide consistent and transparent reporting of compliance with allocation limits.
Bragato Research: Hearing from New Zealand’s winemakers
Over the past six months, the Bragato Research Institute team have visited winemakers in Marlborough, Auckland, and Hawke’s Bay to hear their thoughts on what areas of winemaking need more research in New Zealand, ahead of their next wave of wine science.
If you missed out and want to contribute, Bragato have a survey available online.
Gillies McIndoe Research Institute: New chapter
Gillies McIndoe Research Institute congratulates its researchers Dr Sabrina Koh, Dr Ethan Kilmister, Dr Matthew Munro, Dr Clint Gray, and Dr Swee Tan for publishing an invited chapter, “The Renin–Angiotensin System and Cancer,” in the book The Renin Angiotensin System in Cancer, Lung, Liver and Infectious Diseases, published by Springer Publishing.
Read more about Gillies McIndoe >>
Gillies McIndoe Research Institute: Man with inoperable brain tumour thriving seven years after diagnosis – Press Article
Research by the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute recently featured in a Press article by reporter Kristie Boland. The article outlines the inspirational story of Jonathan Densem who is living with glioblastoma - following his diagnosis in 2016 and joining the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute phase I clinical trial in 2017.
Verum Group: Upgrade at National Lab
Verum Group’s National Laboratory has something new and glowing. Mike Young, Verum Group’s National Laboratory Manager, has recently overseen the installation of a LECO 828 Series Combustion Analyser for detecting carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, with an S832 add-on for independent sulfur determination.
Mike says the new equipment replaces an old instrument that needed continual maintenance.
“We’ve always produced quality results - Verum is trusted for it, but it’s now a lot easier. I’ve also seen a significant improvement in throughput."
Date posted: 20 June 2023