Scholarship students get extra from experts

Media Release

17 August 2015

Scholarship students get extra from experts

Geography scholarship candidates from around the region were getting a high-tech vision of the not-so-distant future of agriculture today, which includes new uses for their smartphones and even drones.

With agriculture as the theme of the scholarships this year 32 students and teachers came to our Te Waihora (Lincoln) campus today for the Geography Scholarship Day put on by our SchoolsLinc team, who coordinate with schools around the country to show what we have to offer prospective students.

Dr Stuart Charters, head of the Department of Informatics and Enabling Technologies, told the school students about using technology to boost productivity, improve environmental performance and increase efficiency.

This covered using drones to remotely monitor stock, weeds, and water troughs – saving fuel, staff time, and vehicle wear and tear.

He also talked about the use of smartphones by farmers to get information, such as getting weather alerts in the field when bad weather is on the way, rather than when you get home at the end of the day. Smartphones can also be used to remotely control things such as irrigation systems, so the farmer is more productive.

“We can also use GPS on farm machinery to know where staff are, getting the closest person to respond to an emergency and to direct self-driving tractors to plant and harvest crops in straight rows.

“Technology is becoming central to operations in the land-based sector and New Zealand has a huge opportunity to develop and use agritech and precision agriculture solutions,” Dr Charters said.

Water quality and management, as well as economic and social issues surrounding sustainability were also covered and a scholarship workshop session was run.

Lincoln’s Schoolslinc Outreach Coordinator, and event organiser, Dr Adrian Lowe said the University is perfectly placed to offer some help to the schools, especially with this year’s theme, and is also providing resources for the New Zealand curriculum, as well as subject-specific teachers.

It also offers Global Challenge scholarships for students who want to get to grips with the same goals the University has set itself; feeding the world, protecting the future and living well. These scholars help engage with schools across the country by discussing these challenges with pupils and teachers alike and developing resources and videos for use in the classroom.

Students and teachers attending were from Christchurch Girls High, Burnside High, St Andrew’s College, Hillmorton High, Middleton Grange, Criaghead Diocesan School, Aranui High and Christchurch Boys High.

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