SUMMER 2012 ictoriousMAGAZINE FOR FRIENDS AND ALUMNI OF VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON Creating successful companies Bridging two worlds Korea goes viral Unearthing ancient secrets When Dr Brent Alloway travelled to Indonesia’s “It really is an incredible experience and a once- “It was almost unimaginable, and incredibly Liang Bua cave where Homo floresiensis Flores Island earlier this year, he had little inkling in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of research exciting, to find such stone tools of this age, was discovered in 2003. Photo: Dr Brent Alloway that fundamentally seeks to reveal more about undisturbed since the day they were discarded.” Inset: Dr Brent Alloway holds the ancient bifacial flake tool he was about to uncover some remarkable he discovered on Flores Island. Photo: Dr Brent Alloway our ancestral origins,” says Brent. Brent says finds such as these are remarkable, archaeological finds. His investigations are helping scientists better because almost identical tools have been found Flores Island, located in eastern Indonesia, is understand the environment hominins would alongside remains at Liang Bua, indicating that famous for the 2003 discovery of a nearly have encountered on the island—home to 14 similar tool-making techniques may have complete skeleton of a new hominin species active volcanoes—and assess the impact major survived on Flores Island for at least one million Homo floresiensis—nicknamed ‘the Hobbit’, as volcanic activity may have had on local fauna years. it would have stood just over one metre tall. The and the environment. “It raises some very interesting questions about spectacular fossil was unearthed six metres Brent made two surprising finds during his first who might have originally made these tools, underground in a grand, cathedral-like cave two-week trip to the So’a Basin: he discovered how and when hominins arrived on Flores, and along with a range of stone artefacts, and the two ancient hominin-made stone artefacts. where they originated. skeletal remains of other individuals. The first was a bifacial flake, found preserved “Travelling to Flores has made me a firm Brent was invited to join a team of beneath a volcanic deposit around one million believer that we should never underestimate the archaeologists and scientists from Indonesia, years old. ability of our ancestral relatives to disperse Australia and the United States to conduct a The next day, at a different site, Brent found a well- around the world and, along the way, negotiate detailed analysis of volcanic ash layers in two formed radial core stone made of chert, used by formidable environmental obstacles.” areas where hominin remains and artefacts have hominins to make the smaller stone flakes, almost been found—the So’a Basin in central Flores, immediately beneath the same volcanic deposit. [email protected] and the Liang Bua cave where the species was +64-4-463 5844 This makes the tools and core that Brent found first discovered. more than one million years old. From the Vice-Chancellor Victoria has spent significant time this year looking to the future, and it is with anticipation we approach 2013. Much of our focus has been articulated in our third Investment Plan, which specifies our goals up to 2015. While the plan is required by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), it’s also an important mechanism to regroup, pause and reflect on Victoria’s best next steps. A considerable amount of thought has gone into setting out our institutional mission. While universities are more alike than different in character, our successes can be found, and will increasingly be found, in the areas that make us distinctive. It is my view that Victoria is a university characterised by its engagement with New Zealand and the world. While all universities have relationships beyond their campuses, it is the depth and breadth of Victoria’s engagement and our unique bond with the capital city that makes us a leader in this area. Our engagement takes multiple forms: collaboration with local, national and international communities; partnerships with key stakeholders; and engaging with big issues, good ideas and original thinkers—wherever they may be. While Victoria is already a highly internationalised institution, we are ambitious to become even more so. We have set ourselves the objective of developing graduates who will shape and lead their chosen fields, and do so imbued with a global perspective. We need to ensure all of our students leave Victoria well placed to forge their future, so the plan also articulates how we will continue to improve students’ experiences of their university education. We remain committed to increasing the use of simulating digital technologies in learning and teaching, and offering students the opportunity to acquire additional skills through internships, leadership programmes and other extra-curricular activities. All universities have also been charged by the TEC with improving levels of Māori and Pasifika achievement. We offer a range of services and programmes to support every Victoria student, but it will be important for us to identify and understand why some forms of support are more successful than others so our resources can be used most effectively. All this work will require ingenuity, tenacity and cooperation. However, our goals are achievable, and Victoria stands ready to grasp the opportunities that lie ahead. Thank you all for your continued support this year. I wish you a safe and happy festive break. Liang Bua cave where Homo floresiensis was discovered in 2003. Photo: Dr Brent Alloway Inset: Dr Brent Alloway holds the ancient bifacial flake tool he discovered on Flores Island. Photo: Dr Brent Alloway Professor Pat Walsh, Vice-Chancellor Victorious is published by Victoria University of Wellington, Te Whare Wānanga 2 Research and Innovation 17 Gifting o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand. A look at the diverse range of research Stories about those who have donated www.victoria.ac.nz by our staff and students funding, resources and time to support To notify a change of address, or to sign up to the email newsletter Life after Vic, 9 Policy and Planning the University email [email protected] or call +64-4-463 9665. How Victoria is responding to 18 Off the Press Editor: Heidi Stedman decisions made in the tertiary sector Reviews of recent publications by Editorial Team: Briony Pentecost, Haley Small, Elizabeth Fulton, Kate 10 Learning @ Victoria Victoria University Press Arrowsmith, Katherine Edmond, Shelley Cartwright and Stephen Garrett. Showcasing learning and teaching at 19 Town and Gown To contact Victorious or to submit a story idea, email [email protected] Victoria Where Victoria meets the community Photographs (unless otherwise credited): Image Services, Victoria University of 13 Alumni News for activities, performances and the Wellington. Cover image: Robert Cross, Image Services Contents News from graduates and events of sharing of expertise Cover image: On the left is Dr Ocean Mercier and on the right is Professor Kate interest to alumni and the university McGrath (stories on page 10) community ISSN 1172-0387 ©Victoria University 2012 Disclaimer: The views expressed in Victorious are not necessarily those of Victoria University of Wellington. -> Victoria’s academic staff are leaders in their fields of research expertise. If you have a Research and Innovation project that requires the skills and knowledge of our staff, contact Professor Charles Daugherty. Email: [email protected] Tel: +64-4-463 5572. Korea goes viral Dr Stephen Epstein isn’t surprised the single “Korean pop culture has become a key selling He says its makeup is also changing with 1.4 Gangnam Style by South Korean rapper Psy has point of the Korean wave that’s taking the world million foreigners now residing in South Korea. by storm. “That’s a big shift for a country that has become the most-liked video of all time on YouTube. “Gangnam Style illustrates that culture—it’s traditionally seen itself as ethnically visual and catchy and made by an artist who homogenous and coming from one bloodline.” typifies an aspect of modern identity. He’s Among them are around 400,000 ethnic strongly Korean but studied in the US, speaks Koreans from China as well as 25,000 North English well and can take advantage of media Koreans who have migrated south, says opportunities with style and flair.” Stephen, contributing to a growing sense of Stephen, Programme Director of Asian Studies South Korea’s distinctiveness. in the School of Languages and Cultures, has “Here are people who speak the same language, Marsden funding to research how information eat the same food and have the same traditional and communication technologies (such as customs, but they are not South Korean. YouTube), travel and migration are reshaping “It strengthens the view of South Korea as a national identity in South Korea. distinct nation and has also changed attitudes He describes Korea as a “laboratory for to their northern neighbours. North Korea is studying social change”. increasingly viewed as another country rather “The country has experienced turbo- than the ‘evil half’ of the Korean self,” says modernisation, moving from being one of the Stephen. world’s poorest nations in the 1960s to having one of the most powerful economies in the [email protected] +64-4-463 5703 2000s.” Deep beneath the Southern Alps Dr Carolin Boese travelled all the way from her home in Germany to study earthquakes on New Zealand’s most hazardous fault line; and then hiked 12 hours to reach her most remote research station. With assistance from her supervisors Professor Tim Stern, Professor Euan Smith and Dr John Townend from Victoria’s School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Carolin installed 11 specially designed stations in the central section of the Alpine Fault on the South Island’s West Coast—regarded as one of New Zealand’s harshest environments.