The club had a thoughtful presentation from Professor Bryony James, the new Vice Chancellor at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. Presenting a vision for the University, Bryony highlighted the importance of the university for Wellington and vice versa, with the student population being 10% of Wellington as a whole.
Key points from her presentation included the soft power diplomacy of the international student experience in New Zealand; the university’s legislated role as critic and conscience for the country; the impact of AI on student assessment, and on training students to critique AI answers; the importance of collaboration; and its relationship with tangata whenua. During the questions, the opportunity for more collaboration between Rotary and the university was highlighted.