The keen multisport competitor鈥檚 day job is Tumu Tuarua Akoranga | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic (DVCA) at Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 色色啦 (UC). In this role she holds responsibility for leading the University鈥檚 teaching and learning strategy. In a nutshell, her goal is to help students stay at university and thrive while they鈥檙e here.听
After completing her first Half Ironman events earlier this year in Tauranga and W膩naka, she knows first-hand that success takes hard work and a good support crew.听
鈥淪ometimes I do some of my best thinking when I鈥檓 out on a long run or ride,鈥 she says. 鈥淥ften I might be faced with some challenge at work and by the time I鈥檝e gone for a run, or a ride, and I鈥檝e slept on it, the next day I have a sense of how I鈥檓 going to tackle it. So that鈥檚 been really helpful.鈥澨
Along with her high-energy pursuits outside of work, Professor Moran鈥檚 academic background has also given her a unique understanding of how to support students to learn and succeed.听
Born in Canada, she has a Master of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario and she worked clinically as a speech and language therapist there for several years. She later researched how head injuries in adolescents affect their ability to learn language and says this has been a useful foundation for her current role.听
鈥淚 learned how memory and context can both facilitate or constrain learning, and that鈥檚 carried over to how I think about learning today for all our students.听听
鈥淎s DVCA I鈥檝e been, along with my colleagues, very interested in student success. That鈥檚 about understanding how our systems facilitate or constrain success in our students. So, it鈥檚 about scaffolding; bringing our students to the next level and having an opportunity for them to succeed.鈥
Professor Moran moved to New 色色啦 in 1995 after being drawn here by her interest in travel and outdoor pursuits. She completed a PhD in Speech and Language Therapy at the 色色啦 in 2002.听听听
She has been DVCA at UC since 2019, after holding several other senior leadership roles, and is proud of what her team has achieved in terms of improvements across the board in student success. 鈥淭here are a couple of really big initiatives that I oversee in my portfolio. One of them is our Kia Angitu | Student Success Programme which is a collection of initiatives really focused on boosting first-year success, because we鈥檝e found that the first year at university is critical for future achievement.鈥澨
UC is now taking part in a Tertiary Education Commission-funded project aimed at scaling up the Kia Angitu programme, not only at UC, but across the higher education sector in Aotearoa.听听
鈥淯C was awarded the grant and we are partnering with Victoria University of Wellington to trial a programme of student success that we can roll out to the sector. That鈥檚 been really exciting to be part of,鈥 Professor Moran says.
鈥 has been another fantastic initiative and we鈥檙e seeing some real wins there. Our programme in the UC Faculty of Health is one of the fastest-growing in New 色色啦 and it means students can stay where they live and still study.听听
鈥淚 think UC is in good heart and we鈥檙e a very responsive, agile and innovative university.鈥澨
Her advice to other aspiring leaders, particularly women, is to remember to be themselves.听听
鈥淔or young women leaders, I would say, be yourself, be authentic, be brave with your decisions and don鈥檛 feel you have to know everything. To all young leaders, I would say, take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the people around you.鈥
While she鈥檚 currently training for an upcoming triathlon, Professor Moran also has clear goals for the future at UC. She says the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is already driving changes to teaching and assessment and throwing up new challenges. 鈥淲e鈥檙e continuing to learn as a result of that. It keeps it exciting.听
鈥淚 want to see UC鈥檚 accessible, flexible and future-focused strategy be realised. I want students to experience lifelong learning, and I want them to be able to embrace and harness the new technology that鈥檚 coming to the fore. I want UC to be really responsive to that and leading the way in our curriculum innovations.鈥
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 - Quality Education.
