World Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences - assosciation between NIWA and University of Auckland
An international centre for post-graduate study in ocean and atmospheric research is being established in Auckland. The Institute of Aquatic and Atmospheric Sciences will be a joint project between the University of Auckland and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
It is believed to be the first formal association between a university and a Crown Research Institute to offer such an extensive post-graduate programme. Linked to the University Schools of Biological Sciences, Engineering, Geography, Environmental and Marine Sciences, and the Departments of Geography, Geology, Mathematics and Physics, it will concentrate on educating MSc and PhD students.
Acting University Vice-Chancellor Professor Alastair MacCormick and NIWA Chief Executive Paul Hargreaves said that the two organisations intended the new institute to take its place among the most respected international centres of learning in ocean and atmospheric research.
The Institute is to be based on the University’s city and Tamaki campuses and will cover a diverse range of research areas including atmospheric chemistry, meteorology, climatology, oceanography, fisheries science and management, freshwater ecology, hydrology, hydraulics, coastal and estuarine marine science, ecotoxicology, marine and freshwater taxonomy, and aquaculture.
"By linking the resources and expertise of these two institutions with an international reputation for the quality of their work, we believe we can create a centre of excellence that will attract top students from around the world."
Professor MacCormick said that the new institute will enrol students for a programme scheduled to begin June 1999. NIWA will join with university staff to provide a broader selection of teaching programmes, which will be complemented by an increased range of post-graduate research opportunities.
"This new development represents an exciting phase in the expansion of learning facilities at our university. NIWA brings to this venture a research capability equal to any available internationally. Students will have access to its full range of facilities which include research vessels and some of the most sophisticated instrumentation world-wide in these fields of expertise.
"Students will be able to seek entry into the new institute as part of their existing study programmes. The Institute has been designed to provide a seamless pattern of development from undergraduate studies through to qualifications at post-graduate level.
"Qualifications and excellence in these sciences leads into research areas that are international in their application. A global shortage of specialists means that those who pass through the institute will have many future opportunities for advancement.
"We are confident that this venture will contribute significantly to the university’s drive to provide quality research facilities at post-graduate level. New Zealand desperately needs a fresh stream of qualified recruits into many areas of atmospheric and aquatic research and this Institute will help to provide them.
"Enrolments will not, however, be confined to New Zealand students. We expect applications for entry from Europe, North America and Asia. Standards of entry will be high in keeping with the tradition of excellence we intend to establish."
Mr Hargreaves said NIWA believed that the association with the University of Auckland represented a logical development in strengthening New Zealand’s research capabilities.
"NIWA currently contributes to centres of excellence at a number of universities which have courses related to atmospheric and oceanographic sciences. It is our view, however, that the breadth of courses available should be expanded in a manner that gives graduates an opportunity to gain greater levels of understanding and expertise not available through these other courses.
"We see the new institute as becoming the major learning facility in these fields for post-graduate study. Students will obtain hands-on learning experiences and emerge from the university well equipped for entry into respected high-level research organisations."
Co-Directors of the new institute will be Professor Geoff Austin, head of the Physics Department of the University of Auckland, and Dr Rick Pridmore, Research Director at NIWA.