Kia ora koutou,

The past three months have been an incredibly busy and important period for our school. A number of significant activities have taken place, each of which has impacted us in different ways. I want to take a moment to acknowledge this and

to sincerely thank everyone who has contributed their time, energy, and expertise. In particular, I want to acknowledge the significant impact that the Technical and Administrative Staff Reviews have had on many of you. I know that these processes have been challenging, especially for those directly affected. Thank you to the HoDs and staff who have provided input into the reviews.

I also want to thank everyone who took part in the recent Kōrero Mai University Staff Engagement survey. Your feedback is essential in shaping our school’s direction. I will be organising an interactive school forum to review our results together

and identify the key action areas we want to prioritise. On a broader level, the Signature Research Areas survey outcomes have guided the themes for the upcoming faculty workshops this week. For those who are not directly involved, please know there will be further opportunities to engage in the SRA selection process.

The recent faculty update on teaching reflects just how much progress is being made in this space. Of particular importance for SMS are the development of the new BBiomedSci Programme and the review of OLY. I would especially like to thank Alan and Rachelle for their leadership and dedication to the development of the BBiomedSci Programme, especially given the tight timeframes. It has also been wonderful to see so many of you joining the Zoom sessions—if you haven’t yet been involved, I warmly encourage you to take part.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the achievements of our staff and students, who continue to do outstanding work. Congratulations to:

• Prof Bronwen Connor, Asoc Prof Kim Mellor, Dr Justin Rustenhoven, Dr Raewyn Poulsen, Prof Alan Davidson, Asoc Prof Gus Grey, Dr Victor Dieriks – who were awarded HRC Project Grants
• George Laking – who was awarded an HRC Programme Grant
• Rebecca Watkins- Ward for being awarded the Butland Clinical Teacher Awards
• Prof Cherie Blenkiron for being awarded the Faculty Innovation in Teaching Award
• To all the students (an impressive 12) who won a prize at HealtheX – check out the details in our newsletter https://sms-newsletter.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/

As we look ahead, I know the pace of change and activity can sometimes feel daunting and demanding. It is the collective effort, dedication, and generosity of our community that enables us to keep moving forward and achieving so much together.

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi

With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Clare