As we launch AUT Research Week for 2025, we invite you to join us for words of welcome, refreshments, and a dose of inspiration. Deputy Vice Chancellor Research, Professor Mark Orams, will formally open the week and share highlights from the programme. We will then hear from the winner of the 2024 AUT Matariki Award for Te Huihuinga o Matariki Researcher of the Year in Excellence. Join Professor Alice Theadom to hear about her exceptional contributions to the understanding of mild traumatic brain injury. Professor Theadom will discuss how research can and does change people’s lives for the better; and how we as researchers can maintain a focus on making a difference. All are welcome! 

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.  

Venue: AZ100

Tēnā koutou. Be there when AUT officially switches on its newest pan-university Research Network! The AUT Transformational Technologies Research Network (AUT TTRN) brings together engineers, designers, computer scientists, business thinkers, health experts, mātauranga Māori scholars and creative technologists to tackle Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest challenges—from climate-smart cities and AI to digital health and inclusive media. Join us for a fast-paced morning of lightning talks, demos and kōrero with the Network’s founding researchers and industry partners, followed by an informal networking lunch.

Target audience: Open to all

Venue: WZ100c

Māori scholars will present research and insights into Kaupapa Māori as a research paradigm informing theory and practice for social change. Professor Ella Henry will lead a discussion on the evolution of Kaupapa Māori as an ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology, a research paradigm underpinned by aspirations for cultural revitalisation. Sophie Coomber uses decolonised methodologies to find legal solutions in tikanga and asks how those solutions can be translated to law. Dr Jack Barrett, who focuses on community-led projects, economic transformation, and Indigenous-led projects, will share a study from Tai Rawhiti. Dr Megan Phillips focuses on Māori and the emerging literature on ethical and social marketing.

There will also be a presentation by Donna Coventry and Alissa Hackett from Te Mātāpuna Library on Māori data sovereignty and local context licenses.

Target audience: AUT staff

Venue: WG702-703

Explores how we can use Copilot for aspects of the research writing process. We begin by summarising important knowledge about arguing for the significance of your workshop and then introduce a ‘choice map’ to outline the types of tasks we could ask Copilot to perform. Together we will craft and refine prompts and continuously critique responses. Bring your own reading and writing as we dynamically use Copilot for drafting and reflecting on research writing.

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Venue: WA414G

The African Postgraduate Research Symposium aims to provide a platform for emerging scholars to showcase their research, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, contribute to knowledge exchange, and be known to and recognized as part of the AUT academic community. The Symposium is focused on supporting postgraduate students to highlight their research skills while networking with peers, academics and colleagues.

Target audience: Open to all

Venue: WG607

The Pacific Tourism Data Initiative is a long-term research project that aims to collect data for decision-making on tourism matters in the Pacific. International visitors, tourism operators, and community members have been surveyed for over a decade on their perceptions, concerns, and attitudes about tourism. With multiple funders supporting country-specific data collection in eight Pacific nations, this project is an ambitious example of how research can balance a wide reach with local nuance to enhance economic development.

Target audience: Open to all

Venue: WG701

Join us as we launch one of AUT’s newest research networks, dedicated to enhancing wellbeing across Aotearoa and beyond. Grounded in a holistic, strengths-based understanding of wellbeing—encompassing mind, body, and community—Toi o te Ora brings together a diverse collective of researchers, methodologies, and communities. Our work is anchored in Māori and Pacific knowledge systems, and prioritises co-created, transdisciplinary approaches to address some of the most pressing social, health, environmental, and technological challenges of our time. Through this network, we aim to remove barriers to meaningful, active participation in society and generate real-world impact that matters to whānau and communities across the motu.

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.

Venue: AZ100

The School of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences invites you to a Research Showcase. Highlights will include presentations from our Early Career Researchers in the morning, and a showcase of our five newly established research centres. The lunch period from 12 – 1:30pm will feature demonstrations as well as delicious kai. All welcome! 

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.

Venue: WZ100c

Nau mai, haere mai, tahuiti mai ki tēnei huihuinga o ngā kairangahau Māori ki AUT!

Ngā hua a Tāne-te-wānanga – AUT Māori Research Symposium 2025, where we celebrate the power of connection within our vibrant research whānau. Building on 2024’s event, we welcome Māori researchers at all stages — from leaders to emerging voices. Share and explore indigenous methodologies, interdisciplinary innovation, and transformative thinking. Together, we weave a whāriki of knowledge that highlights the essential contributions of Māori research to Aotearoa, New Zealand. 

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, kia ora ai te iwi.

With your basket and my basket everyone will flourish/benefit/thrive (all will be well).

Target audience: Open to all 

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.  

Venue: WZ416

Have you got a research story to tell? This workshop will help you craft a newsworthy script for a short form video - think Instagram reels, TikTok or YouTube Shorts. 

Be prepared to tell the story of a recent or current piece of research. 

Presented by the faculty communications team behind AUT Uni News on Instagram. 

We will have a filming set up on the day so you can practice filming your script too.

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Venue: WG701

Learn some key concepts for research ethics and practice applying them in different scenarios.

Target audience: AUT staff, supervisors and research students

Venue: WA414G

In this facilitated discussion, led by Te Mātāpuna's Research Services team, we will explore issues which the use of GenAI tools in research present, including:

·         What impact does GenAI have on the development of critical thinking?

·         In what ways does AI reinforce stereotypes and biases, and proliferate misinformation? What does this mean for our research culture?

·         What are the effects on privacy, copyright and cultural sensitivity? How can we safely use AI in the context of Te Aronui?

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Venue: WG608

What are “queer comics?” For that matter, what is “queer art?” Dr. Tof Eklund, co-author of the forthcoming Queer Comics: An Introduction, draws a line from ancient cave art and the Kajuraho temple sculptures through lesbian shunga and physique magazine pinups to arrive at a vibrant, international queer comics and cartooning scene. Queer webcomics and crowdsourced publication models have made it possible for artists from places as far apart as Mexico, Morocco, Sweden, the Philippines, and Aotearoa New Zealand to communicate and share their work, but a renewed backlash against queer liberation threatens their work and their communities.

Target audience: Open to all

Venue: WG609

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition where research students have just three minutes to present their thesis and its significance in an inspiring and captivating way. 

This year's competition is by video submission, and we're looking forward to screening our finalists' videos live at this event, taking place Tuesday 9 September 2025 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm, both face to face and livestreamed! Watch our 2025 AUT 3MT Competition finalists' videos, cast your Audience Vote, and hear the judges' decisions. Those attending in person will have the opportunity to network over nibbles and non-alcoholic drinks.

Target audience: Open to all

Venue: AF116 & AZ100

The 3rd IBTec/IEEE Symposium on Industrial-based Biomedical Engineering Research (SIBER) will be held this year in response to the growing interaction between the field of Biomedical Engineering and Healthcare Industries. The Symposium will provide a national/international technical forum for experts from the industry and academia to exchange ideas and present ongoing research results in the state-of-the-art in Biomedical Engineering.

Come along to hear from Keynote Speakers, Researchers, Postgraduate Students and Industry Leaders.

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event. 

Venue: WZ416

This research showcase will feature a programme of presentations reflecting the rich and diverse range of design and creative practice in the School of Art & Design. Sessions will include staff research undertaken during Research and Study Leave, presentations from school research centres, and notable collaborative research projects that that have demonstrated significant impact. There will also be a session looking at strategies around external research funding and approaches to effective publishing in the design and creative practice field.

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.

Venue: WZ100c

This will be a dynamic seminar showcasing recent research and works in progress by SoCS staff. Topics will span AI in communication, public relations strategies, social change research, and media analysis. It’s a chance to share insights, receive feedback, and stay updated on the impactful work happening within the school.

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event 

Venue: WG707-708

Learn some key concepts for research ethics and practice applying them in different scenarios.

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Venue: MA204

The Postgraduate Research Symposium provides an opportunity for AUT postgraduate research students to take part in the abstract review process, and to showcase and present their research to their friends, family, and peers.

Join us in celebrating our amazing postgraduate students and the impressive research they perform! This event will take place on the North Campus on Thursday 11 September 2025 as part of Research Week. The day will begin with a keynote address by Dr Balakrishnan Nair, followed by oral presentations, creative exhibitions, and poster presentations by postgraduate research students.

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.

Venue: AZ100 and AF116

We invite you to take part in the Pacific Research Day as we explore the vibrancy of Pacific research in Aotearoa. Hear from innovative Pacific research leaders and the future leaders among our postgraduate students. We will also showcase interdisciplinary work with relevance to Pacific knowledge systems, languages, and cultures. 

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.

Venue: MH102

The School of Future Environments (SoFE) at AUT is proud to take part in Research Week 2025, showcasing the depth and impact of our future-focused, transdisciplinary research across architecture, built environment engineering, and creative technologies. As a dynamic nexus of transformative technologies, collaboration, and applied learning, our school is uniquely positioned to anticipate and shape the global and local challenges that define our future environments.

This year's theme, "Research that Makes a Difference," aligns strongly with SoFE's mission: to shape sustainable, resilient, and future-ready environments. Our programme highlights the real-world impact of our research through partnerships with industry, student-led initiatives, and our four emerging Research Centres.

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.

Venue: WZ100c

If you are just starting (or within the first few years of) your research career, this is the event for you! Join the Early Career Academics Network as we explore strategies for success in this phase of your research journey. We'll discuss balancing your workload; resourcing your research; building the skills for long-term achievement; and much more. Meet others at a similar career stage, gain tools for maximising your precious research time, and enjoy some shared kai. All AUT early career academics are welcome!

Target audience: Open to all AUT early career academics

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event.

Venue: WG609

Learn some key concepts for research ethics and practice applying them in different scenarios.

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Venue: AL120

When it comes to research data you can start feeling out of your depth. This introductory workshop covers what you need to stay buoyant throughout the data lifecycle. We'll cover good ethical practices in describing, storing, accessing and sharing data.

Target audience: AUT staff and research students

Please note: This workshop does not cover data analysis

Venue: WZ502-503

Encouraging reading is within everyone’s power: Research insights and shared actions.

Since 2020, the LitPlus Research and Professional Learning Community at AUT has explored the role of reading for pleasure in the lives of children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

We embed our work within communities, so this session includes: 

• A big-picture overview of key findings on reading for pleasure 
• Voices from the field, insights from a study spanning Early Childhood to Secondary learners 
• Action-focused workshop, a collaborative exercise to explore how we can apply these insights as whānau, educators, librarians, and researchers 

Join us to reflect, connect, and co-create ways to champion reading for pleasure in our communities. 

Target audience: Open to all

Venue: WG702-703

We are the Auckland University of Technology, innovative by nature and by reputation. 

Join us at the AUT Innovation Showcase to explore the projects and services that AUT offers to the world. From early-stage research to full-scale prototypes, you’ll discover commercialisation initiatives alongside a range of expertise and capabilities we make available to industry.

Come and see what’s emerging from AUT and meet the people making it happen.

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event

Venue: WZ100c

We are excited to announce the official launch of the AUT Regenerative Environment Network - RegEN — a bold new initiative working toward a better future where built and natural environments have been restored and improved. Join us for an inspiring showcase and presentations highlighting innovative and ongoing projects that are already driving change within the RegEN. These projects embody our mission: Solving local, national, and global environmental problems and creating opportunities through the application of cutting-edge transformative technology, approaches, and practices, and high-impact transdisciplinary research. This launch marks the beginning of a collaborative journey toward environmental regeneration and resilience. Stay tuned for more details on the event agenda and how to participate. Let’s shape a regenerative future together.

Target audience: Open to all

Venue: WZ100c

In this very special closing event, we will hear from the winner of the 2024 AUT Matariki Award for Tupu-ā-nuku Early Career Researcher of the Year. Join Associate Professor Shahab Ramhormozian as he discusses his career as a seismic engineer, and how he balances academic research with a focus on the real-world implementation of earthquake-readiness solutions.   

Target audience: Open to all

Please note: Refreshments will be served at this event

Venue: WZ100c