End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
The many food outlets on our Hamilton campus offer healthy food options, including vegetarian and vegan food.
The University has purchased an industrial composter, dubbed 'OSCA', to process organic waste into usable compost.
Our Unirec sports centre provides a raft of health and fitness services for our staff, students and the broader community.
Staff and students experiencing food insecurity during tough times have access to a range of support services.
Through the Waikato Students' Union (WSU), students at the Hamilton campus can access free grocery packs from the Kai Cupboard.
The Hamilton campus is also home to a community garden, run by members of the Free Food Club. This club is open to students, staff, and members of the public. Members who maintain the garden can harvest produce for themselves as they need it. Produce from the garden can also be used to make homemade soups, free for members of the Free Food Club.
At our Tauranga campus, staff and students benefit from a weekly supply of surplus food donated by businesses from around the region, courtesy of Good Neighbour.
Our onsite caterer, Kahurangi, operates several cafes and provides catering to our student halls of residence and events that we organise.
Kahurangi has a clear statement of principles to provide food that is locally and sustainably sourced, to provide healthy food options, to minimise food waste and to reduce disposable packaging.
Associate Professor Kura Paul-Burke is a passionate marine scientist based at our Tauranga campus. One of her key research projects in 2021 involved helping restore mussel populations in Ōhiwa Harbour using a blend of Māori knowledge and western science.
New mussel lines made of woven, natural materials were developed and are now laden with mussels. The lines are far kinder to the harbour than the plastic lines preferred by commercial mussel farmers. In 2021 she was nominated for the second year in a row for the Kudos Science Trust Awards in both the Environmental Science and Vision Mātauranga categories.
Following the opening of a new facility dedicated to macroalgal research in Tauranga in 2020, we have a large and growing team of researchers hard at work, creating innovative ways to use seaweed which is accumulating in our harbours. We are exploring many new opportunities for seawead as a source of food and as a potential way to protect New Zealand's broader horticultural industry.
We have a longstanding reputation in horticultural robotics, melding our expertise in mechatronics, software engineering and machine learning. In 2024 we had a prominent display at Fieldays with three robots entered into the Innovation Awards in the Prototype category.
Our researchers are continuing to blaze a trail in this area, working closely with the industry to develop smart solutions to the many issues they face, including the difficulties in securing seasonal workers like fruit pickers. They are also innovating to help growers meet environment standards and controlling pests and disease. Ultimately, these developments are all contributing to an abundant supply of high-quality fruit and vegetables that are nourishing communities all around the world.
Waikato researchers at the frontier of New Zealand’s high-tech robotics industry
Developing a high-tech robotics industry in New Zealand to grow and support a horticulture sector facing dire labour shortages is the focus for researchers at the University of Waikato.
Robots to the rescue
Waikato researchers are developing robots to revolutionise agriculture. These robots can harvest asparagus, prune vines, thin apples, and survey kiwifruit orchards.
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