Events
Events throughout the 50th anniversary year of 2023.
March
Pi Day
14th, Village Green
Tuesday is Pi Day! And we’re hosting some activities to celebrate! Pi is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter – approximately equal to 3.14 (and Tuesday’s date of 14 March, in the US format is 3.14 – hence Pi Day!)
Held event on the Village Green, see our highlight for interactive demos, pizza and pi(e) eating!
April
Mathematics
Launch of MC² and Quiz
5th, Don Llewellyn Bar
Mathematics quiz night at The Don and the launch of MC² Club.
27th, 5:30pm, S.1.04
In this Public Talk, Jacob Heerikhuisen will introduce the concept of a model, and show how models and data are combined to understand our heliosphere. In an interesting twist, he will show how our model of the heliosphere brought into question data collected by NASA’s Voyager spacecraft.
May
Human-centered Computing
1st June, 6pm, S.1.04
In this Public Talk, Judy Bowen will discuss some of the implications of human actions and everyday behavior become implicit inputs to technology, and describe how human-centered computing enables us to keep the user at the forefront to technological innovation.
26th, 9am – 2pm; 27th, 11am – 2pm, Hamilton Campus
Join us on the University of Waikato’s Open Day! At Open Day you can learn more about study options, meet our students and staff and experience Waikato student life first-hand.
June
Design
9th, 10am – 1pm; 4pm – 7pm, Tauranga Campus
Join us on the University of Waikato’s Open Day! At Open Day you can learn more about study options, meet our students and staff and experience Waikato student life first-hand.
Design At The University of Waikato Pop-up Exhibition
16-17th, 10am – 5pm, Blue Gallery
This two-day-only pop-up exhibition will celebrate the students and staff of the Department of Design and its contribution to 50 years of Computing at the University of Waikato. Design joined the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences in 2002 and this showcase of work by students and staff will highlight a small selection of design works from throughout these 20+ years. Visitors will enjoy a presentation of work including:
- Graphic design and visual communication works (by communication designers)
- Interactive and user experience works (by interface designers)
- Three-dimensional product design works (by industrial designers)
- Motion graphics works (by media designers)
Designing your Perception
4th July, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, S.1.04
The visual design decisions made when presenting information shapes the viewer’s perception of it. In a world where the validity of the information that is presented to us must be continually questioned understanding the importance of information design increases. In this Public Talk, Claire Timpany will discuss the importance of design in the interaction, curation, and presentation of information.
July
Cyber Security
August
AI & Machine Learning
Cyber Security: Risks to New Zealand from Current and Emerging Technologies
3rd, 5:00pm – 6:30pm, S.1.02
In this talk Vimal Kumar will talk about the evolving nature of cyberthreats. We will take a look at the most prominent cyber threats New Zealanders face and how new and emerging technologies such as AI and Quantum computing will potentially change the cyberthreat landscape.
Professor Albert Bifet introduces AI month
7th, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, Tauranga campus
Embark on an enthralling journey through the world of artificial intelligence, featuring the groundbreaking work of ChatGPT, Weka, and the AI Institute at Waikato University.
In this Public Talk, Albert Bifet will showcase the innovative contributions of these AI powerhouses in shaping the future of technology and improving lives worldwide. Be captivated as we explore their cutting-edge advancements and learn how these trailblazers are redefining the AI landscape.
Indigidata Aotearoa Wānanga
21-24th August, Hamilton Campus
The Indigidata Aotearoa wananga is dedicated to empowering Māori in various aspects of data science, including data sovereignty, data ethics, and data applications. This fully funded program offers 20 positions to Māori individuals (tauira, kaitiaki, kaipakihi) who seek to deepen their knowledge of Māori data science and its associated opportunities and challenges. The participants are carefully selected from university students across disciplines and individuals with a strong iwi, community, or business background.
24th August, 9.00am – 5.00pm, Tauranga Campus
Introducing TAIAO, a data science programme funded by the Government, aimed at advancing environmental data science through new machine learning methods tailored for real-time analysis of large datasets in the New Zealand environment. The programme includes the creation of an open-source framework, a dataset repository, and accessible training for all New Zealanders. Join us at the TAIAO Workshop on 24th August at the Tauranga Campus for discussions on data science, promoting environmentally-driven use cases, and networking opportunities – Register here!
19-20th August, 9:00am – 6:00pm, MSB1.36 & MSB1.37
The AI for the Environment Hackathon Festival is returning for another exciting year! This event will be held across multiple locations, including Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch, and Sydney. We are proud to host the AI Hackathon in Waikato on the 19th and 20th of August.
Hackathons provide a safe and collaborative space for people with diverse skill sets to unite around solving problems. This year, we have chosen to focus on the five Key Environmental Outcomes, and we have expanded them to be more relevant to all participants in 2023. However, participants are also encouraged to bring their own problems to tackle. Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of the action. Register here and take up the challenge!
September
Māori & Pasifika
Te Reo Week
11th September
12th September, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, S.1.04
Te Taka Keegan highlights how the Department of Computer Science has supported te reo Māori over the last 50 years. Topics include teaching computer science papers in te reo Māori, Te Kete Ipurangi, the Niupepa Collection, Moodle, Microsoft Windows and Office in te reo Māori, the Google Translator Toolkit and Google Translate, the Macroniser, SwiftKey, Whakatōhea Waiata, Tikanga in Technology, and the Ātea project among others. The talk concludes with a look at our research in the future.
27th September, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, S.1.02
Four researchers from the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences share their experiences, success and challenges, Do’s and Don’ts in engaging and working with tangata whenua. Get your questions answered!
October
Women in STEM
Ada Lovelace Day
13th October, Hamilton
Women in STEM: Ask me Anything
11th October, Hamilton Campus
Women are under-represented in the fields of engineering, technology, science, and mathematics. As these fields are so important in the way we all live our lives, we need more women to get involved, applying their creativity and problem-solving skills to the challenges and opportunities we’re facing, and developing new solutions for everyone’s benefit.
This event offers students the opportunity to pick the brain of one of New Zealand’s most accomplished Women-in-Tech, Victoria MacLennan. Victoria has had a long and successful career in the technology industry, and is the Chief Executive Officer at IT Professionals New Zealand.
Women in Tech Yr 9 & 10
20th October, Hamilton Campus
Women-in-Tech is an ongoing outreach programme recently established to encourage more gender diversity in the field. At this event Year 9 and 10 students will step into the world of Computing for a day at our university. They will get a taste of campus life and dive into hands-on interactive activities.
November
Industry Partnership
14th November, 5:45pm – 6:30pm, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts
Almost all aspects of a person’s life now include digital elements, through smart watches, smart homes and mobile phones. Cultural practices are captured on video and even historic documents are being scanned and made available for digital consumption. With the information gathered from digital devices, we can identify patterns for diverse uses, from preventing accidents in hazardous workplaces to delivering cultural information relevant to a person’s location.
In this lecture, Professor Annika Hinze talks about the challenges of leaving the lab and its well-structured data, and engaging with real-world issues such as processing and visualising data ‘in the wild’.
23rd November, 3:30pm – 5:30pm, The Pā, University of Waikato, Hillcrest Road, Hamilton
Join us in celebrating 50 years of computing excellence at the University of Waikato!
Our staff and students have made waves globally right from the start through their research and connections. Explore our journey from inception to present day achievements, connect with past, present, and future innovators in the field and get hands-on with the latest research and technology, including Microbits, audio spotlight tech, cyber security demos, Covid data modelling, Lego Micro:karts and KettyBot. See you there!
27th – 28th November, 10:00am – 4:00pm, Level 2, The University of Waikato, Tauranga Campus, 101 Durham Street, Tauranga
This exhibition celebrates the students and staff of the Department of Design and its contribution to 50 years of Computing at the University of Waikato.
Enjoy a presentation of work including graphic design and visual communication works by communication designers, interactive and user experience works by interface designers, three-dimensional product design works by industrial designers, and motion graphics works by media designers.
Nau mai, all are welcome. Entry is free.
December
Celebration Event
Celebration Event
1st December, The Pā
Staff, students, alumni and industrial partners attended the 50th Celebration Event in The Pā.
Bill Rogers was awarded the University of Waikato Medal: presented by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Neil Quigley. The Ian Witten Prize in Computer Science and the Ian Witten Summer Research Scholarship were announced.
