Biological Sciences PG Programmes

Date

27 Jun 2016

Attendees

Goals

Discuss triggers and information needs of Postgraduate students doing biological sciences.

Discussion items

Item	Notes
Contacts	Kevin mentioned he is an expert in a very specific outliying area of the discipline and he is new to being the postgraduate person. Kevin is a biogeographer and his days are spent on a computer doing modelling, not in a lab. Kevin recommends Ken Ryan as someone who has a wide knowledge of the area as he has a long history with the programme at Victoria. Simon Davies Malaghan - Melanie? Paul Teasdale-Spitatal - will be able to give a rundown on the equipment the School has
Messaging	Top ranked PBRF department There are very diverse and accessible ecosystems close to Victoria - this is unique to Wellington (e.g. Christchurch doesn't have that). Urban ecology and Coastal ecology are specialties at Victoria and the surrounding ecosystems support this. Physical proximity to employer organisations - people from these organisations will attend presentations and present. Usually there are opportunities to network e.g. MPI, DoC Great facilities: New building - Science Gateway' Marine lab - purpose built Close links to Malaghan
Information needs	The ranking of the discipline is more important than the institution The students are shopping for a supervisor, They are interested in their standing as a scientist - publications/patents is a common way to assess a supervisor. It is more difficult to assess the applied programmes like the one through Ferrier as they work get the same rich google results if they search.
Funding/Support	Each programme director gets a stipend to administer based on number of students, this is done differently by each Programme Director so it is hard to make any specific statements. Students aren't in control of this funding. It is often spent on research expenses or on conferences No endowment fund Scholarships are created based on grants received. They do quite well from Marsend, DoC, HRC Opportunities to work on campus - Teaching Assistants
Student experience	Seminar series that students are expected to contribute to. Collaborative and Supportive - Journal Club and joint labs Lord Howe Island trip Phil Lesters students get great jobs downtown (this would be a good source of stories).
Pathways/Qualifications	Taught Drug Discover - Ferrier Immunology Research qualification associated with particular grant Research qualificsation which is independent If you want a job involving research you will probably need PG study as there can be a lot of competition for roles and Hons is usually a minimum.
Future	It can't be made use of yet in marketing but a Memorandum of Understanding has been drawn up between Victoria and Zealandia. This should eventually turn into some concrete activities.