Kia Ora Koutou from the HERDSA-NZ Branch

I am delighted to report on a very successful Tertiary Education Research New Zealand (TERNZ) conference in Dunedin, hosted by the Higher Education Development Centre. The conference is our Branch’s annual event, which had been put on hold due to the pandemic. However, with the easing of restrictions, the other conference organisers and I were delighted to welcome over 60 delegates to the conference. In addition to thoughtful presentations, conversations and the conference meal, we held our AGM and welcomed five new committee members – Qian Liu, Sheena Townsend, Farah Shawkat, Rachel Spronken-Smith, and Susan Geertshius. Another important event at the conference was the presentation of the HERDSA/TERNZ Research Medal. The Medal recognises a team or individual who has contributed outstandingly to tertiary education research in New Zealand. This includes tertiary education research itself and/or service to tertiary education research. Because of the pandemic and the nature of the TERNZ conference, we have not publicly awarded the medals for 2021 and 2022 so I invited the other two recipients to write about what being awarded the medal meant to them personally.

Nakū noa, nā – Rob