U3A Howick NZ

Dr Diggelmann is a Senior Lecturer in History and Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) at the University of Auckland. His specialist focus is on the Middle Ages and his topic was: Fighting for God: Religious Conflicts in the Middle Ages and the 21st Century. He explored how current conflicts with a strong religious element may be better understood within the context of events dating back to the Middle Ages.

Captain Hayden Smith

Hayden was kayaking in the Waitematā Harbour in 2020, when he realised how much loose litter there was in the sea. After many visits to councils, he received funding to set up Sea Cleaners. 20 years later they have 10 boats, have removed over 15 million litres of waste, which is repurposed into fencing posts and cement. He has coordinated 165 000 volunteer hours and educated over 200 000 pupils across NZ. He has worked with the US Navy on litter removal in Hawaii through RIM-PAC and trains NZ Navy recruits during their induction. He received the Local Hero Award in 2017 and received a Yale Scholarship. A National Geographic episode on Sea Cleaners was viewed by 400 million viewers globally.

Mary has a strong interest in food and tea. After working at a food retailer for many years, Mary became a tea buyer travelling widely especially to places like India and Sri Lanka, where she met Mr Dilmah, “do try it” Merril J Fernando, who taught her that business ethics was as important as profits and that what was provided from the West as aid needed to be locally relevant. Mary has an incredible knowledge of types of tea, tea growing and brewing. She currently runs food tours through Sandringham and Panmure showcasing the great diversity of food available and also runs food tours to India and Sri Lanka.

Julia has developed a love of playing with words, writes humorous songs and verse, has sung and acted onstage, worked in broadcasting and even invented a word game that has been produced worldwide. Her presentation on WORDPLAY, includes verse and song parodies based on the strange world in which we live and also on ageing.

Ashley did technical work for NZ Forestry Products and was General Manager of Kinleith Mill, with a staff of over 3000 employees. After his wife’s death, Ashley volunteered for VSA and worked in a remote province in the Solomon Islands. He spoke about development difficulties and how innovative they had to be in developing solutions with minimal technology available. He is currently ranked 6th in the world as a tennis player in the 90 plus grade and is also President of St Heliers U3A.

Glen is a great example of the innovation kiwis can offer globally. He holds an MBA from Waikato University. He runs a waste repurposing company, Nilo. His work with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory focuses on digital innovation and how innovation is often about repurposing current technology for new purposes, such as cutting communication time from space by using laser technology or using AI to analyse mammograms (and gaining significantly improved results) through Frontline Diagnostics. He established with NASA JPL and NZ Space Agency an internship scholarship, the Alex J Willoughby NASA JPL Fellowship, for NZ technology and physics students.