Tuesday 12 July 2022 10:46am
Sciences Division HR Senior Manager Tana-Lee Henare and Kaitohutohu Māori Hata Temo
The new Science Divisional Office has officially opened in the heart of the Science Precinct.
Professor Richard Barker and Campus Development Director Tanya Syddall
The new location, on the third floor of the Science Library, is open plan and includes meetings spaces, to enhance collegiality and collaboration while maximising the use of space.
After Kaitohutohu Māori Hata Temo performed the mihi whakatau, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Sciences Professor Richard Barker welcomed those who attended the opening.
He thanked all the teams that had been involved in the project.
“We decided to have a bold and innovative design and I am so pleased that we chose to do this. Coming around the corner and seeing this marvelous entrance is just stunning,” Professor Barker says.
He thanked designer Morgan Mathews-Hale (Ngāi Tahu, Tainui, Ngāti Porou) from Rūnaka based consultancy service Aukaha, who he said had, “done an excellent job, including the piece in the foyer, thanks for your bold vision”.
“I’d like to thank all the team from the divisional office. It’s not been easy for everyone to prepare themselves for the change. I’d like to thank Carolyn King and her team for helping make the transition smoother.
“It’s an important signal to the rest of the University, this is the way of the future and we all have to come along for the journey. In fact, the best work experience I have had so far in my career was in an open plan environment, there are definite advantages to this working space. It’s not the buildings that make a university, it is the people within it,” Professor Barker says.
The new office incudes:
- A reception area with seating
- 36 open plan desks
- Two enclosed offices – Pro-Vice-Chancellor and HR Manager
- A boardroom
- Two meeting rooms
- Two quiet rooms
- A centralised kitchen and breakout space with tables and chairs
- Unisex toilets and two showers in the new corridor leading to the Dodd-Walls Centre.
Science Division staff were relocated from the Union Court building, which will be demolished.
- Kōrero by Kerry Dohig, Communications Adviser (Projects)