Welcome to iOU, the Otago alumni podcast!
Our podcast series iOU aims to bring more of our inspiring alumni stories to our global alumni and friends audience.
We hope you join us as we reach out around the world to uncover some of the out-of-the-ordinary day jobs of our alumni community.
“We hope you find time to listen to these podcasts featuring some of Otago’s amazing alumni, whose stories are bound to captivate you as well as inform,” says Otago’s Alumni Engagement Manager Donnella Aitken-Ferguson.
“We know Otago’s alumni have made a huge impact across the globe and these podcasts are a small sample of their outstanding contributions.”
A homegrown production, iOU is created by the Alumni team at the University of Otago.
Episode 1: A star in my handbag
Kim Arcand has, literally, an out-of-this-world job as a visualisation scientist and technologist for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts.
Kim is an innovator in storytelling about space and stars, (specifically astronomy data visualisation, 3D printing and virtual reality), creating a sensory understanding of the universe for everyone from children to those with low vision.
Kim talks about her work, her Otago PhD, and never leaving home without a star in her handbag!
Episode 2: From Samoa to the snow
Now working across the Pacific as an International Nutrition specialist for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Darryl Pupi takes us on his journey from school in Samoa to studying Human Nutrition at Otago.
Darryl is also one of our inaugural 20Twenties Young Alumni Award winners, in recognition of his contribution to health and wellbeing through leadership and innovation in nutrition programmes.
Just to note, due to an unstable internet connection from his base in Samoa, the sound quality in the podcast varies – Darryl says it’s all part of the challenges he faces in his working day.
Episode 3: Landing planes in Antarctica
When we caught up with British Polar Medal recipient Agnieszka Fryckowska, she had just stepped off the plane after her 20th season working in Antarctica for British Antarctic Survey and latterly White Desert adventure company. An Otago science graduate, Agnieszka talks about the challenges of being a runway manager on the ice, her experiences as a station leader wintering over with her team, and receiving the Polar Medal from the Queen. Grounded during the pandemic, Agnieszka also helped run first-class lounges in hospitals as a haven for NHS staff.
Episode 4: From small-town values to world-leading tech
In this wide-ranging kōrero, Marketing graduate Steven Renata traverses small-town values, rugby, failing and then finding himself at Otago, discovering aerobics and travelling the world with Les Mills International, coming home and launching himself into the world of tech.
Today, Steven is Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Managing Director CEO of Kiwa Digital, a Māori-led creative agency that develops technology to amplify indigenous voices, stories and cultures, including the pioneering VoiceQ software used for dubbing hits such as Squid Game and The Lion King to te reo Māori and its sister software, CultureQ, which is enhancing cultural capability across New Zealand’s public and private sectors.