2025 LECTURE PROGRAMME

March Series

Aotearoa/New Zealand: 'the times they are a'changing '

NOTE NO LECTURE ON MARCH 7

• February  28   "The Demographics: deficits, diversity and depopulation "

  Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley, Honorary Research Associate,

 the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University 

• March 14       " The Infrastructure Deficit in New Zealand"  

Vincent Minett, Director Investments at WSP New Zealand.

WSP is a global engineering and professional services firm                   

• March 21      "Treaty Relations Today"

Avril Bell, Honorary Associate Professor​ in Sociology,

 Waipapa Taumatu Rau, University of Auckland

• March 28  ​   "Great Changes Unseen in a Century?  - New Zealand, China and the Changing Order"

Jason Young, Director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre​​, and

Associate Professor in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Victoria University of Wellington

 

​May Series   "Health Matters"  

• May 2    "The causes of ill-health: looking backwards and now searching forward"

Allan MacLean, Professor Emeritus Women's' Health at the University College of London​

• May 9   "The modern epidemic of obesity & diabetes"

Sir Jim Mann KNZM, a Professor in Medicine and Human Nutrition & Edgar Chair in Diabetes Medicine, and Andrew Reynolds, an Associate Professor with the Department of Medicine​, University of Otago

• May 16  "The modern Approaches to Cancer"

Dr Chris Atkinson CNZM, Inaugural Dean of the Faculty Radiation Oncology​

• May 23   "The modern brain: how to preserve its functions as we age"

Sir Richard Faull KNZM, University Distinguished Professor, University of Auckland​

• May 30   "Flu, Covid, genetic engineering or something else: where will our next infectious disease    challenge come from, and how do we prepare?"

 Michael Baker​ MNZM, Professor in the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington​

June

June 20 - One-off lecture from a former Mount Aspiring College Student

• Alex Black a former MAC student and recipient of the 2010 ODT Class Act Award, will speak on his role as CEO of ADInstruments, a Dunedin based organisation with nearly 200 employees in 15 offices around the world. The company's mission is to make science easier, and they provide a range of hardware and software used for life-science research and education. The company's clients include Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard & Stanford Universities. Alex is a guest lecturer at Otago University.​

Alex

July Series    “The Pacific Ocean; a fragile and uncertain sea”  

• July 4  Assoc Professor Inga Smith, department of Physics, University of Otago

• July 11  Dr Rob Smith, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago

• July 18  Professor Rupert Sutherland, School of Geography, Environment & Earth Sciences, Victoria, University of Wellington

• July 25  Dr Trisia Farrelly, Cawthron Institute, Nelson

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One-Off August Lecture - To be confirmed

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October Series    To be confirmed

• October 3 

• October 10  ​

• October 17 

• October 24

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The Committee aims to keep the lecture programmes stimulating and current, and reserves the right to change the

above 2025 Programme as required by events and/or the availability of the speakers. 

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Unless noted otherwise, all lectures are held at:

• Wanaka Presbyterian Church Hall at 91 Tenby St, Wanaka, 

• from 10:00am until noon.

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Venue space restrictions require that members must register for each lecture that they wish to attend, when the series announcement is emailed to members three weeks before the series commences, with enrolments due one week

before the series commencement.