Organised by SIT Tutor and Science Developer, Dr Enzo Reyes, the half-day “mini” showcase on 20th May brought together a diverse line-up of student, academic and international guest speakers, presenting on conservation science topics ranging from wildlife monitoring to ecosystem restoration.
Dr Reyes said the EM team were very happy with outcomes from the presentations.
“The students loved it; they were very engaged with questions and paid a lot of attention. A couple of students emailed me later just to be put in contact with the guest speakers because they want to explore possibilities for volunteering or how they can get involved.”
“We also had a couple of HyFlex students joining the event from other parts of New Zealand – it's really nice to see that happening.”
Dr Reyes said their team’s newest staff member, Tutor Dr Laura McDonald, was very excited about presenting her PhD research on sediment cores and what they reveal about past landscapes, events and climate, adding the international speakers who joined the event online and presented their research from Germany and the USA, also appreciated the invitation speak to an audience and practise in front of the class.
“…Lauren (Wiseman-Jones) just recently got her PhD, so she was thrilled… she's been teaching in her university but presenting to New Zealand students and invited managers which gave her a different culture and a different context and is broader. And same with Kirtana (Kumar), who is still completing her PhD; she's mentioned that this is a great experience for her future career.”
Inspiring future environmental professionals
Jordon Traill, Programme Manager – Environmental Management, says the showcase provides students with valuable exposure to real-world research and industry perspectives, and reinforced SIT’s applied learning approach.
“We have a long-standing tradition of students conducting high-quality research in our bachelor’s degree, with our symposium often their first step before taking their research to national conferences, getting published into academic journals or inspiring them to continue research in master's or PhD programmes.”
Mr Traill pointed out it was a great event for deepening students’ knowledge of the sciences and sharing research findings that contribute to their better understanding the environment. “And it was fantastic to have international speakers sharing their research and answering questions from the bachelor students.”
Event organised to connect research and practice
The showcase featured student speaker - Ryan Conner - who presented on field evaluation of non-toxic baits, while SIT academics covered topics including Fulbright scholarships, conservation research, and innovative monitoring techniques in wildlife populations.
Global insights from guest experts
International guest speakers also contributed to the event, sharing research from around the world - Dr Lauren Wiseman-Jones, Washington University in St Louis, USA: "Flexible responses of Mountain Gorillas to anthropogenic stressors: implications for conservation." And PhD candidate Kirtana Kumar, University of Wurzburg, Germany: “Ecosystem impacts of a large-scale eradication attempt on a Galápagos Island."
Dr Wiseman-Jones says she was pleased to share with SIT students how her research on the responses of mountain gorillas to snare encounters can directly inform conservation and management efforts.
“Even for highly protected species such as mountain gorillas, it is essential to assess and address emerging and ongoing threats. We must also ensure that we develop adaptive and dynamic mitigation strategies that not only respond to these challenges but also consider the wellbeing and needs of communities living alongside wildlife.”
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Enzo and the rest of the team for inviting me to be a part of the showcase. It was a lovely experience, and I enjoyed hearing about the research of the other speakers.”
Dr Reyes says the event was designed to expose students to a range of research approaches which will help them with their own studies.
“This showcase is associated to a research paper where we teach students how to conduct research, and they create their own research and present it. The showcase is run in the style of a three-minute thesis competition.”
Alex Ludlum said as a first-year student, seeing future work early in the programme was important to inspire the students and help them find their passion. “I am studying because I would love to get into environmental research, so having an opportunity to see this in action and what it really looks like is fantastic.”
Miss Ludlam thought the range of topics was impressive and gave her lots to think about for future work possibilities. “An emerging topic, which I did not realise I was so passionate about, has been planetary cycles. Seeing its application in research allows me to see where I'd like to go with it. “
She also appreciated having time to speak with presenters. ”It was great. Seeing what our tutors are up to outside of teaching us is amazing, knowing the knowledge they give is authentic and real-world tested.”
“I really enjoyed [the day]. It was so great to see the content of our study in real-world application.”
Third-year student, Matthew Hart, was fascinated with the presentation on gorillas in Rwanda. “I did not know gorillas were capable of identifying traps and disarming them,” he said, adding the best takeaway from the day was asking the presenter of the gorilla study how to go about volunteering or working in Rwanda.
“As a third-year student, seeing all the potential research that can be done in the future, led by my own passions, was really cool. Listening to Jordon Traill's presentation about his plans to visit the Ivory Coast in Africa was also interesting and inspiring.”
Dr Reyes said events such as the Environmental Management Research Showcase demonstrate SIT’s commitment to preparing students with real skills for careers in sustainability and conservation, while connecting programme learners from Southland and other parts of New Zealand with international expertise and real-world research. The next event in second semester will have a stronger focus on SIT student research with a greater number of Environmental Management students expected to present.