Thursday 2 July 2020 7:57pm
‘Our people. Our place.’ has been launched as the new brand identity for the Division of Sciences to capture the essence of its competitive attributes.
The new identity, formally launched today, encapsulates both the stunning environment that acts as a ‘natural laboratory’ for the Sciences, together with the vast breadth of expertise and experience that contributes to the Division’s mahi.
The hero of the project is a two-minute video that shows the influences that ‘Our people’ have on ‘Our place’, and the reciprocal effects that the land has on our people.
"I’m so proud of the result that includes the work of all 14 Departments and Schools across the Division, and its authenticity is due to the individuals who got involved at every step of the project from planning to execution."
While “people” includes our staff, students, alumni and the wider community, “place” stretches far beyond the Dunedin Campus to include Antarctica, the Pacific, and even up into space where science research takes place and applies.
The concept was initially developed through a collaboration between Sciences Pro-Vice-Chancellor Richard Barker, Divisional Heads of Department, and Marketing Services, when a unique identity and “positioning” was recognised as a key priority in the Divisional Marketing Strategy.
The planning for the video began last year and culminated in an intense four days of filming which was completed as the country went into lockdown.
Cara Duffy, the Division’s Marketing Adviser, says the resulting film owes its success to the involvement of both staff and students across the Division who contributed to the project at all stages.
“I’m so proud of the result that includes the work of all 14 Departments and Schools across the Division, and its authenticity is due to the individuals who got involved at every step of the project from planning to execution,” Cara says.
"People and place align strongly with my mahi as I’m a kaupapa Māori lecturer who teaches and undertakes research drawing on tangata (people) whenua (place), wai (water) and moana (ocean/sea) ways of thinking about the world."
Associate Professor Anne Marie Jackson, co-director of Te Koronga, the Māori research excellence Kaupapa, says getting involved in the filming was not only a great reason to get the waka out on the Otago Harbour, but that the meaning of people and place sits naturally with how she thinks about the world.
“People and place align strongly with my mahi as I’m a kaupapa Māori lecturer who teaches and undertakes research drawing on tangata (people) whenua (place), wai (water) and moana (ocean/sea) ways of thinking about the world,” Associate Professor Jackson says.
“Te Koronga is about our people, and honours the gifts and talents everyone possesses to become servants of our communities.”
While this initiative was driven by the Sciences Division, Professor Barker says ‘Our people. Our place.’ applies University-wide as it broadly captures Otago’s competitive attributes including its unique location and the assembly of great individuals and research teams.
“Our place should appeal to any potential student from anywhere around the world where they can learn in a stunning part of New Zealand alongside fantastic people doing world-leading research,” Professor Barker says.
The video and associated collateral will be used with recruitment campaigns and as a resource for activities such as schools’ liaison, international marketing, community engagement and research proposals. It will also be used for other events such as Tertiary Open Day and at New Zealand-wide careers expos.
"Our place should appeal to any potential student from anywhere around the world where they can learn in a stunning part of New Zealand alongside fantastic people doing world-leading research."
Taylor Davies-Colley (Ngāpuhi, Te Hikutu) was one of the postgraduate students in the Department of Botany who made a huge contribution to the film. He is also an environmental educator at Orokonui Ecosanctuary which was one of the locations used for filming.
Taylor reflects that the University can market itself by its grades, pass rates or facilities, but on top of already having all these things, he says Dunedin is an “ultimate location” for sciences to take place.
“Dunedin is full of amazing wild places and wildlife and having this resource available to me while studying is something that I can't imagine not having,” Taylor says.
However, he also believes that one of the reasons the region has so much wildlife is because of the people who love their place, are also passionate about protecting and enhancing the local environment.
“It is the influence of both these things that has guided who I am and what I am doing in terms of being a young scientist. But on top of that it has been huge in guiding who I have become as a member of the community.”
Story by Guy Frederick (Communications Adviser, Division of Sciences).