Social Impact Studio Te Taupuni Auaha Manager Sze-En Watts and her team work with students to grow the giving culture at Otago.
Sze-En Watts reckons for many tauira these days, engaging in community is just a part of who they are and how they live their lives.
“Students are curious and keen to learn about their communities from the inside out, so they can serve them better as future professionals,” Sze-En says.
As Manager of Otago’s Social Impact Studio Te Taupuni Auaha, she plays a key role in channelling student creativity, vision and insight into opportunities for tauira to create positive change.
“We want to make community engagement part of the Otago experience, not just something extra, but something central to life as a student here.”
And while the Studio started out with the idea of creating a more intentional way for students to engage in meaningful service to society through volunteering, today it functions as a conduit for “our University community’s collective potential for positive change”.
“We’ve shifted from being primarily a mechanism that connects students to volunteer opportunities to leading with a bigger vision.
“We run our own community and leadership events and programmes, listen closely to the needs and priorities of our community, and work alongside them to meet shared goals.”
Medical student Megan Townshend reads to a primary student at Carisbrook School as part of the Reading Oasis programme.
Reading Oasis and Minds Together are examples of two programmes organised with community partners.
“Reading Oasis, run alongside Catalytic Foundation, is a popular literacy programme where university students read to primary school children.
“Each semester, we have about 40 students who deliver around 700 individual reading sessions. It’s simply about sharing the love of learning.
“Minds Together is a collaboration with Alzheimers Otago and this programme pairs students with people living with early-stage dementia, creating intergenerational experiences that are deeply rewarding for everyone involved.”
The Studio has plans to grow its reach, building on an already successful model where students and community partners mutually benefit from creating positive change together.
“We stand out for our creative, human-centred approach, strong student leadership, and the way we build in the values we hope to nurture in our students.”
Every week there are hundreds of tauira involved in volunteering in all sorts of ways, she says.
“We have students who lead clubs and associations, to students who undertake more traditional volunteering, and those who engage in culturally embedded acts of service within their communities.
“Staff are also involved, taking advantage of the University’s Social Impact Leave, and we’re always happy to help match them with opportunities.”
Neuroscience Honours student Connor Nicholls with Alzheimers Otago member Tom, on a visit to the Geology museum in 2023, the first run of the Minds Together programme.
Numbers are never the full story though, Sze-En says. Success for the Studio looks beyond the numbers, to community, partnerships and connections that endure.
“Ōtepoti Dunedin is a close-knit, generous community, and people genuinely want to help, so they get out there and do it. Our community organisations are also wonderful hosts, so students feel welcome and want to keep going back.
“Some of my favourite anecdotes I’ll hear from students right after a volunteer experience, and when volunteering has led to friendships that have lasted long after students have left Otago.”
For Sze-En though, the reward is in coming to work every day.
“It’s absolutely the best job.
“It’s hard to have a bad day when your day-to-day conversations and interactions are loaded with generosity and hope.”
~ Korero by Sandra French, Adviser, Internal Communications
Create change in our community
Explore meaningful opportunities to channel your creativity, vision, and insight into student-driven change through volunteering and leadership through the Social Impact Studio.
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