AUT launches campaign to tell parents about the value of education for their children

AUT vice-chancellor Damon Salesa.

Education’s ability to transform lives is at the centre of a new campaign featuring prominent Auckland University of Technology (AUT) academics and leaders.

AUT vice-chancellor Professor Damon Salesa acknowledges some potential students and their parents are thinking about tertiary education and whether it is right for them.

“We don’t have many young people in New Zealand and we need every one of them to reach their potential. Education is how they can do this.

“We know the impact of the pandemic; the severe weather events and the cost-of-living crisis are all making it harder for some students and potential students.

“AUT provides support to assist and meet these students where they are and I know the other tertiary organisations do work in this space.

The message to parents and students is to look at the options and don’t discount tertiary education. Research shows the investment in university study, for instance, results in better employment opportunities, a greater earning potential over a person’s working life, and improved health and wellbeing*.

Advice to parents from the vice-chancellor along with Professor Ella Henry, Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh, Professor Welby Ings and Associate Professor Jacoba Matapo features in a series of candid messages, acknowledging the challenges of preparing students for ever-changing futures, and enabling them to find their success and make a difference.

“We love our kids, and we’ve got to help them into a future that we can’t see,” explains Professor Welby Ings.

“A degree is a launch into the world with a way of thinking – not the full stop. It’s not where you get off the bus. It’s where you leap off the bus and run skidding into the future.”

Professor Ella Henry

Associate Professor Jacoba Matapo

Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh

Professor Welby Ings

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Damon Salesa