Auckland University of Technology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Not to be confused with University of Auckland.
Auckland University of Technology
Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau
Auckland University of Technology logo.svg
Established 2000 (lineage back to 1895)
Type Public
Chancellor John Maasland
Vice-Chancellor Derek McCormack
Students 27,299 (2013)[1]
Location Auckland, New Zealand
Campus Multiple
Affiliations ASAIHL, AACSB, ACU
Website www.aut.ac.nz
WF (Business) Building at AUT's Auckland City Campus.

The Auckland University of Technology (AUT) (Māori: Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand. It was formed on 1 January 2000 (1895 originally Auckland Technical School) when the Auckland Institute of Technology was granted university status. Its primary campus is on Wellesley Street in Auckland's Central business district (CBD). AUT has three secondary campuses: North Shore, South, and the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health (AUT Millennium Campus). For branding purposes, since 2010 the Auckland University of Technology refers to itself as AUT University.

History[edit]

AUT was originally founded as Auckland Technical School in 1895, offering evening classes only. Daytime classes began in 1906 and its name was changed to Auckland Technical College. In 1913 it was renamed Seddon Memorial Technical College. In the early 1960s educational reforms resulted in the separation of secondary and tertiary teaching; two educational establishments were formed; the tertiary (polytechnic) adopting the name Auckland Technical Institute (ATI) in 1963 and the secondary school continuing with the same name. For three years they co-existed on the same site, but by 1964 the secondary school had moved to a new site in Western Springs and eventually became Western Springs College. In 1989 ATI became Auckland Institute of Technology (AIT), and the current name was adopted when university status was granted in 2000.[2]

The first chancellor of AUT was Sir Paul Reeves.[3]

University population[edit]

AUT enrolled 27,299 students in 2013, including 3,101 international students from 85 different countries, and 1,735 postgraduate students. 87% of students were enrolled in a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification. AUT’s student population is diverse with students having a range of ethnic backgrounds including New Zealand European/Pakeha, Asian, Maori and Pasifika. Students also represent a wide age demographic with 37% of students being over 25. AUT University employed 2,063 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in 2011, including both administrative and academic staff members.[4]

General information[edit]

AUT promotes itself as an advocate of innovative approaches to teaching, learning and research. In particular its focus is on providing a pragmatic 'real world' approach, ensuring excellence in learning, teaching and developing outstanding graduates for practice in their chosen fields. AUT's learning environment encourages interaction between students and with their lecturers. This approach aims to develop skills of high value to employers .[5] The most recent data available suggests that 91% of AUT's graduates obtain employment or progress to further study within 6 months of graduating.[6]

Campuses and facilities[edit]

AUT has four campuses: City (Auckland CBD), South, North Shore and Millennium. City and North Shore campuses both offer neighbouring student accommodation (498 rooms and 207 rooms, respectively). AUT runs a shuttle bus between campuses.

Since becoming a university, AUT has invested heavily in infrastructure, staffing and programmes. It is halfway through its $245 million building programme on both the Wellesley and North Shore campuses. Since 2000, new engineering, design, library, and business buildings have been constructed.

New WG Precinct at AUT University's City Campus

The most recent building project completion is the new $98 million WG precinct at Wellesley campus. Named after the former Chancellor of the university, the Sir Paul Reeves Building hosts the School of Communication Studies. The new building was officially opened by Prime Minister John Key on March the 22nd, 2013. The 12-storey Sir Paul Reeves Building provides an additional learning space of about 20,000 square metres that consists of spacious open convention spaces, modern and elaborate screen and television studios and a motion capture, sound and performance studios among other things.[7]

City campus[edit]

The City campus spreads over several sites in the heart of central Auckland. The largest site is situated on Wellesley Street and is home to most of academic units and central administration, including the Vice-Chancellor's Office and research centres. The Faculties of Applied Humanities, Business and Law, Design and Creative Technologies, and Te Ara Poutama share this location.

Facilities of the campus include:

  • Early Childhood Centre (also known as a creche or pre-school centre)
  • AUT Central Library (encompassing over 245,000 books and journals on four floors)
  • International Student Centre
  • Auckland Student Movement (AuSM)
  • PrintSprint Customer Service Branch
  • University Bookshop (UBS)
  • Fitness Centre
  • Piko Restaurant (was a purely training restaurant, commercialised since 2011)
  • Four Seasons Restaurant (not related to Four Season Hotels, was a purely training restaurant, commercialised since 2011)
  • St Paul St Gallery
  • AUT Chinese Centre
  • Pasifika Student Support Service
  • Postgraduate Centre
  • Te Tari Āwhina – The Learning Development Centre
  • AUT Shop
  • AUT Marae
  • Wellesley Student Apartments
  • Cafes, restaurants and bars (including Vesbar)[8]

South campus[edit]

Entrance of AUT's Manukau Campus

AUT opened the South campus (formerly Manukau campus) in 2010, creating the first university campus based in the region. It offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, specialising in business, computer and information sciences, education, health sciences, as well as sports management and science. South campus hosts its own library, student lounges, student information centre, course information centre, computer labs, wireless network, and café. The campus also boasts astro turf courts with tennis, basketball, netball, volleyball, touch, and soccer equipment available for hire.[9]

North Shore campus[edit]

The North Shore campus is located on Akoranga Drive in Northcote. The Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences (including the Sport and Recreation division) and School of Education share this campus, which has attractive park-like grounds. AUT's main sport and fitness centre is located at this campus, encompassing a gymnasium, weights room, testing equipment, golf swing clinic, and indoor courts. The campus also offers a library, student services centre, early childhood centre, AuSM branch, PrintSprint shop, health counselling and wellbeing centre, university bookshop, and food outlets, including Vesbar. In addition, the campus provides five health clinics (oral, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychotherapy, and ultrasound), which are open to the public. North Shore campus is closely linked with the nearby AUT Millennium Institute of Sport and Heath.[10]

AUT Millennium campus[edit]

Like AUT's North Shore campus, the Millennium campus is located on Auckland's North Shore. The Millennium Campus provides world-class sports training, and hosts both national and local sports organisations, including Swimming New Zealand, New Zealand Water Polo, Northsport Olympic Weightlifting, and Sport and Recreation New Zealand. The focus of the facility is high performance athlete development and success. The campus has world-class training facilities, athlete accommodation, sports science laboratories, an aquatics facility, and a commercial gym.[11]

Other facilities[edit]

AUT maintains a number of facilities off campus, including the AUT Radio Telescope – New Zealand's first radio telescope. A 12m device near Warkworth, Rodney District, it is a major step towards New Zealand's participation with Australia in the international, mega-science project, the Square Kilometre Array.[12]

Faculties[edit]

AUT is divided into five faculties. These are:

  • Culture and Society
  • Business and Law
  • Design and Creative Technologies
  • Health and Environmental Sciences
  • Te Ara Poutama

Programmes[edit]

AUT offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate (both PhD and Master) degrees, as well as sub-degree qualifications such as diplomas and certificates. Programmes are offered in the areas/fields of applied sciences, art and design, business, business information systems, communication studies, computer and information sciences, education, engineering, health care practice, hospitality and tourism, languages, law, mathematical science, midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, oral health, paramedicine and emergency management, Māori development, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, public health, rehabilitation and occupation studies, social science, sport and recreation, and sport and recreation.

AUT's Business School was recently recognised as one of the top business schools in the world by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.[13]

Research[edit]

In 2010, AUT secured $18.5 million in research revenue, representing a 9% increase from 2009. Similarly, university research outputs increased by almost 25%. As a relatively new university, AUT came in eight place in the most recent (2006) Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) round, but has shown the greatest improvement in PBRF rating of New Zealand's eight universities.

AUT is investing heavily in research, and has recruited large numbers of leading local and international researchers and experts to further its research profile. Research partnerships and exchanges have also been established with some of the world's leading universities. AUT's growing research profile and reputation has seen an increase in research programme enrolments and external funding, as well as research institutions. AUT has 16 research institutes,[14] including:

  • Biotechnology Research Institute (KODE Biotech)
  • Creative Industries Research Institute (CIRI)
  • Earth and Oceanic Sciences Research Institute (EOS)
  • Engineering Research and Innovation Cluster (ERIC)
  • Health and Rehabilitation Research Institute (HRRI)
  • Institute for Culture, Discourse and Communication (ICDC)
  • Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research (IRASR)
  • Institute of Biomedical Technologies (IBTec)
  • Institute of Public Policy (IPP)
  • Institute of Sport and Recreation Research
  • Knowledge Engineering and Discovery Research Institute (KEDRI)
  • National Institute for Public Health and Mental Health Research (NIPHMHR)
  • National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences (NISAN)
  • New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI)
  • New Zealand Work and Labour Market Institute (NZWALMI)
  • Te Ipukarea: National Māori Language Institute

Within these key research institutes exist a large number of research centres and units. The NIPHMHR administers the Pacific Islands Families Study.[15]

Notable alumni[edit]

Main category: Auckland University of Technology alumni

Business and Law[edit]

Media and Communications[edit]

Technology[edit]

Student union[edit]

AuSM (Auckland Student Movement) is the student union at AUT. It runs the campus bars, Vesbar, at the Wellesley Campus, and Vesbar @ Sports Cafe, at the Akoranga Campus.

References[edit]

  1. ^ AUT University 2010 Annual Report extract: Year in review
  2. ^ AUT University: Celebrating the first ten years[dead link]
  3. ^ Hayden Donnell, NZPA and NZ Herald staff (14 August 2011). "Sir Paul Reeves dies, aged 78". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
  4. ^ AUT Annual Report 2011
  5. ^ AUT University: Celebrating the first ten years[dead link]
  6. ^ AUT University annual report confirms a successful first decade
  7. ^ Jones, Nicholas. "New building a milestone for university". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 March 2013. 
  8. ^ AUT Website – City Campus
  9. ^ AUT Website – South campus
  10. ^ AUT Website – North Shore Campus
  11. ^ AUT Website – Millennium Campus
  12. ^ AUT Website – News – Big step forward for NZ-Aust SKA telescope network
  13. ^ AACSB Media Release August 2011
  14. ^ AUT Website – Research Institutes
  15. ^ AUT Website – Research Institutes – NIPHMHR – Centre for Pacific Health and Development Research

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Auckland University of Technology.

Coordinates: 36°51′12″S 174°46′00″E / 36.8533°S 174.7667°E / -36.8533; 174.7667

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auckland_University_of_Technology&oldid=620556866"