Parks and Facilities Advisor

“I was born and raised in India, specifically Bengaluru. I came to Aotearoa as an International student in March 2019. In high school, I joined a group called Our Lakes Our Voices (OLOV) which spread awareness on the lakes of Bengaluru and the threat to their biodiversity through industrialisation and urban sprawl of the city. I thought the Sustain module would be a perfect opportunity to reflect on what we did as a group and where we could have possibly improved.

“I was honestly interested in it only because one of my favourite lecturers from my very first class at Uni (Joe Fagan from GEOG101) was going to coordinate it and I loved his teaching style. I also thought it was a good addition to my other two majors in Geography and Economics. In geography we learn about our surroundings and so it just felt right to learn how we can sustain them for everyone (now and in the future). In Economics, we do go over sustainable development but that has always been at a surface level. Basically, I thought this specialisation would give me the tools and a unique perspective to apply to my other fields of study in university.

“I enjoyed so many things about the programme! The faculty: we never learn from a single perspective. The core team of lecturers and tutors come from different academic backgrounds. It gives us a holistic perspective on sustainability and hence making us better prepared for any sustainability challenges that might come our way. They have also been very engaging and love to hear our thoughts and ideas about the topics shared in class. It makes for a very inclusive and warm environment that fosters learning. The guest lecturers were also fantastic. I loved Dan Hikuroa and Andreas Neef’s guest lectures through the course of the module. Being part of the ‘guinea pig’ batch, I loved the openness of the faculty and always asking for feedback and striving to improve the course.

“My peers: the Sustain modules have consistently had the most enthusiastic classmates/peers I have ever had. Everyone is willing to learn and also share their experiences. I also loved the diversity in terms of students from different faculties. In the final module, my group had students from Law, Medicine, Commerce, Global Studies and myself coming from the Arts. This made discussing things we learnt in class as well as working on our practical assignment very engaging as we had the chance to learn and implement the idea of ‘sustainability’ from different perspectives.

“The course Structure: As someone who has taken all three courses of the module, I appreciated the gradual steps across the three courses. Sustain 100 looked at sustainability in a small scale, Sustain 200 looked at sustainability for the community and Sustain 300 looked at sustainability at a global scale. Dedicating a semester for each of these helped us understand the basics while also giving us an opportunity to apply these learnings onto the next stage.

“The faculty also recognises the importance of sustainability in the real world and it shows in the course structure. Every module has a 60/40 split, for practical and theoretical examination, respectively. I have loved the practical component of each of the three courses of the module. They were a new challenge and forced you to think out of the box while also being the perfect opportunity to apply what you learn in class.

“If you’re considering studies related to sustainability, meet and get to know the faculty lecturers and tutors. They are some of the kindest, most understanding people I have ever met. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the Sustain Module if anyone else would have taught it. They will be willing to help you along the way and are always game for any new ideas you have for them. Even if you have doubts or concerns with clashes of classes, the faculty is super accommodating.

“Also participate in the activities available. The Sustain module largely runs on in-class activities. Participating in these activities will help you in remembering and applying the learnings from class a lot easier. I still remember participating in Niki Harré’s class experiment two years ago for Sustain 200 about our innate ability of working/collaborating together.

“I completed my studies in November 2021 and graduated in May 2022. I haven’t started just yet, but I am going to be the Parks and Facilities Advisor for the Matamata-Piako District Council. I am looking forward to apply all my learnings from the Sustainability module to this role.”