AUT - News
News
16 May 2009 Taking Event Management skills to the community
07 March 2009 Ski-fields await snow bonanza
27 November 2009 Patisserie students showcase their talents
6 January 2010 Recognition for Maori and Pasifika students
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Academic Equity Leader, Lisa Sadaraka (L) with School Tuakana and student, Heena King |
Recognition for Maori and Pasifika students
The success of Maori and Pasifika students in the School of Hospitality & Tourism was celebrated in December with speeches and performances.The achievements of Maori and Pasifika students thus far in their academic programmes was noted by the Dean- Nigel Hemmington, faculty staff as well as family and friends of the students.
Guest speaker for the evening was Uluomatootua (Ulu) Saulaulu Aiono- Chairman on the Pacific Island Chamber of Commerce, Founder of the multi-national Company, Cognita, AUT University Council Member and a member of its Ethics Committee and Member of Manukau City Tourism Forum.
Students' successes were celebrated in Patisserie, tourism, events management, culinary arts, travel and tourism, international hospitality management and Bachelor of Arts programmes.
Refreshments, singing and dancing rounded off the evening.
Patisserie students showcase their talents
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Busy student chefs have been mixing, baking, icing and decorating their way towards showcasing their end of year talents.
First year Diploma and Certificate Patisserie students in AUT’s School of Hospitality and Tourism showcased their baked offerings in a ‘Mad Hatters Tea Party’ display for friends, family and AUT staff earlier this month.
Second year Patisserie Diploma students had the trickier task of having to produce a buffet presentation consisting of seven components. These particular items had to relate to a theme each student had chosen for their presentation.
The showcase marked the end of a busy year for the Culinary Arts section of the Hospitality & Tourism School at AUT University.
In October AUT’s lecturer in gastronomy and food personality, Ray Mc Vinnie, was selected as a judge for the new TV ONE series of MasterChef. McVinnie will sit alongside Simon Gault of Euro Restaurant and Ross Burden, a finalist in MasterChef UK in 1993, to find New Zealand’s best chef in the series which will air in 2010.
"An ideal contestant on MasterChef New Zealand would be someone with a great love of food and eating, a well-rounded person who can appreciate and understand flavour, with a good grounding in cooking technique, who is modest and willing to learn, but with an unshakeable pride in themselves. Someone who is meticulous in their attention to detail, and has a great deal of stamina," says McVinnie.
Industry advisory boards and meetings with major players in the industry ensure that AUT is offering the most relevant programmes and equipping students with the skills that employers need and want. One such meeting with Dilmah Tea has led to discussions around AUT potentially including a ‘tea paper’ into its programme.
Dilhan Fernando, son of Dilmah Tea founder Merril J. Fernando, recently met with Head of Department- Culinary Arts, John Kelly, to talk about the possibility of AUT capitalising on the huge growth in tea drinking that New Zealand is seeing.
“Tea, is clearly in vogue again, and is a study area we are looking to focus on. We’re looking forward to working with Dilmah to possibly incorporate this into some of our programmes,” Kelly says.
Earlier in the year Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas hosted Bill Hardy of Hardys Wines for a wine tasting and blending session with his Professional Wine Studies students.
"It's important to take advantage of international experts like Bill while they are in NZ. I want people to be able to see how impressive his depth of knowledge is and then I want them to know that we can teach them some of that,” says Douglas.
Students themselves have also been in the limelight this year with Bachelor of International Hospitality Management graduate, Leo Xia, scooping the NZ Service Professional of the Year award at the National Culinary Fare.
Patisserie student, Sarah Harrap, picked up the coveted Weston Milling Trainee of the Year award at the annual competition in September this year. A Diploma student, Sarah competed in the Wellington final after beating 90 odd entries in the preliminary regional round to make the top 10 for the final.
For more pictures see the AUT News section
A Leader of Leaders
Sir Peter Blake was one of New Zealand’s most revered leaders and his skill in
assembling, managing and leading teams is discussed in Professor Mark Orams new book.Blake: Leader looks at Sir Peter’s successful style of leadership from Oram’s personal viewpoint. Sailor, marine scientist, environmentalist, adventurer, AUT Professor of Tourism and Associate Director, New Zealand Tourism Research Institute, Oram sailed around the world with Sir Peter and worked with him at Team NZ and Blakexpeditions.
The book provides insight from Oram and other crew mates and colleagues, who worked closely with Blake, with observations of his leadership before he was tragically killed in 2001. It book also includes a DVD of Sir Peter talking about great leadership.
The book will be officially launched on 3rd July to coincide with NZ Leadership week; an event started by the Sir Peter Blake Trust. Oram was the inaugural executive director of the Trust from 2004 to 2007.
Sir Peter attended AUT from 1966 and completed his Mechanical Engineering Degree in 1968. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2000. The book is available in stores now. For more information visit randomhouse.co.nz.
Taking Event Management skills to the community
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ocal Community organisation, Seido Karate has taken advantage of AUT University’s Event Production students, and the skills they have, to run their own event.
Every semester, the Diploma and BA in Event Management offers Event Production challenging students to create a plan and then design and produce a live event with no budget for a community organisation. This semester the project was a celebration for the 10th Anniversary of the Seido Karate’s Morningside Dojo.
The successful event attracted people trying Seido Karate for the first time as well as family and friends who already use the Dojo. “It was a wonderfully organised event,” says Helen at Morningside Seido Karate.
As part of the celebrations students organised for eight senior black belt practitioners to showcase basic techniques and educate guests that there is more to karate than self-defence. The showcase was rounded off with a demonstration of an exhilarating weapons display.
Seido Karate sees themselves as part of the wider community so AUT is perfectly placed to assign students to local organisations like this to help with the event and to ensure students get first-hand industry experience while still studying.
“It’s important that students can apply the theory they have learned to a real event and this is the perfect collaboration for that,” says Event Management lecturer Alison Booth.
Find out more about the Diploma and BA in Event Management in the School of Hospitality and Tourism.
Ski-fields await snow bonanza
The impact of a global recession on international tourism has sent shivers throughout the New Zealand tourism sector except, it would appear, in the ski industry. Skiers and snowboarders with "snow interwoven in their DNA" will limit any impact the recession will have on South Island ski-fields this year. The economic value of the southern ski-fields cannot be underestimated. A New Zealand Tourism Research Institute study on the economic benefits of the 2005 winter found an estimated $92.8 million was spent in the Southern Lakes region in that year's ski season, with a further $68.1m spent elsewhere in the country by those visitors. Read the full article here.