Theme: New research and new perspectives on some of the World's most challenging issues

As part of its 60th birthday, the University of Waikato is hosting an event to celebrate research achievements, thought leadership and new perspectives on some of the World's most challenging issues - climate change, social injustice, education, sustainability, racial and gender equality, biodiversity loss, and changing demographics to name a few. Our speakers will be drawn from across the University community from those early in their research careers to those more established and from the breadth of disciplines offered by the University (from sciences to social sciences, business to education, health sciences to engineering). Each speaker will bring their own unique perspective on the topic and the research contribution they have made along with some insight as to what we can all do to improve the outcomes. The speakers and their topics will not be advertised in advance - you need to be there on the night ready to learn and be entertained by some world class scholars. The event is by invitation and spaces are limited to 100 seats. We plan to use this birthday event as a catalyst for more regular events with larger audiences.

Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts
Gate 1, Knigton Road
Unviersity of Waikato
Hamilton, Waikato, 3216
New Zealand

Amanda Williamson

Amanda, an award-winning lecturer, focuses on the adoption of artificial intelligence in business and research. She brings extensive knowledge of data analytics, machine learning, and innovation strategy to her role and has experience leading high-performing research teams internationally. Additionally, Amanda is a member of the governance board of the Artificial Intelligence Researchers' Association in New Zealand and holds a full-time position as an Associate Director and Generative AI Lead at Deloitte New Zealand.

Iain White

Iain White has been Professor of Environmental Planning since 2013 and is currently the Assistant Vice-Chancellor Impact. Prior to this he was the Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Ecology at the University of Manchester in the UK. He was previously the Associate Dean Research for Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Science (2020-23), a Hallsworth visiting Professor at the University of Manchester, UK (2018-2019) and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia (2019-2022) and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester (2022-2024). In 2020 he won the University of Waikato Vice Chancellor's award for Research Excellence and in 2021 the New Zealand Planning Institute John Mawson Award of Merit. He is also the Co-Chair of the Australasian Cities Research network and was previously Chair of the Hamilton Arts Trust, which designs and organizes the successful BOON Street Art festivals. He is currently New Zealand's National Contact Point for the European Union Horizon Europe programme for 'Climate, Energy, and Mobility'. He is the author of four books. 'Environmental Planning in Context' (2015) with Palgrave and 'Water and the City' (2010) published by Routledge. His most recent books are: The Routledge Companion to Environmental Planning (2019), with Prof Simin Davoudi (University of Newcastle, UK), Prof Hilda Blanco (USC Price, US), and Richard Cowell (University of Cardiff, UK); and Why Plan? Theory for Practitioners (2019) with Prof Graham Haughton (University of Manchester, UK). He has over 50 peer reviewed articles or book chapters. He has led or co-led over 20 research projects, many of which are within multi-million dollar programmes. These awards have come from a number of sources: research councils, the European Union, government agencies, NGOs, the Asia-Pacific network and the private sector. He is currently leading teams of researchers in the National Science Challenge: Resilience to Natures Challenges ($40m, 2019-2024), Natural Hazards Commission ($450,000, 2024-2026) and also the MBIE Endeavour project 'Reducing flood inundation hazard and risk across Aotearoa-New Zealand' ($15.5m, 2020-2025). To support this approach he is also active in science communication and engagement. He is a TEDx speaker and often presents to stakeholders, chairs public debates, and has frequently been interviewed by the press, including for The Guardian, BBC TV, BBC Radio, TVNZ, Stuff, The NZ Herald, The Spinoff, Dominion Post, The New York Times, and RadioNZ.

Jason Mika

Jason is Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu. He is a professor of Māori business at Te Raupapa Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, in Hamilton, New Zealand. Jason’s research, teaching, writing, and practice centres on Indigenous business philosophy in multiple sites, sectors, and scales, including Indigenous trade, tourism, agribusiness, and the marine economy. In 2015, Jason completed a PhD in Māori entrepreneurship at Massey University. In 2019, Jason was a Fulbright-Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga senior scholar at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment and the University of Arizona’s Native Nations Institute. Jason is a member of the Academy of Management, Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, and Te Apārangi Royal Society of New Zealand. Prior to academia, Jason was a management consultant and policy analyst in Māori economic development. Jason’s research has influenced several areas of public policy, including trade, environment, and statistics.

Jesse Whitehead

Senior Research Fellow University of Waikato, Te Ngira Institute for Population Research PhD, Population Studies/Demography University of Waikato, New Zealand

Luke Harrington

Dr Luke Harrington is a Senior Lecturer in Climate Change at the University of Waikato. He completed both his undergraduate degree and PhD in Geophysics at Victoria University of Wellington, before accepting a postdoctoral research position at the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute (ECI) in early 2017, with a focus on changing climate extremes and their impacts. Luke also spent several years as a Stipendiary Lecturer in Physical Geography at St. Peters College within Oxford University, and has more recently worked as a freelance consultant, providing advisory services for clients including HelpAge International, ClientEarth and McKinsey. Luke was named in the 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list. Luke is an expert in climate change emergence, understanding warming-driven changes to extreme weather and their impacts, and methods relating to probabilistic event attribution.

Marie Magnusson

I am a phycologist (I study algae!) and lead a multidisciplinary research group delivering fundamental and applied science to underpin the development of a sustainable seaweed aquaculture industry in NZ. My leadership role has a strong focus on industry engagement, research supervision, commercial outcomes, and communication and outreach. My broad expertise covers algal production from early life-history stages and hatchery to grow-out, and algal biotechnology and bioproducts development. I am passionate about providing real-world solutions to people, communities, and industry using science, and about mentoring students to empower them to find their own path in applying their skills and passions.