Alumni tales from around the globe

Bat-Erdene Bayarsaikhan: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

After graduating with a Master of Public Policy, Manaaki Scholar Bat-Erdene Bayarsaikhan (Bagi) is now back home in Mongolia putting his new skills into practice.

Bat-Erdene is a project manager for People in Need, a Czech-headquartered NGO that carries out humanitarian work and long-term development projects around the world.

Based in Ulaanbaatar, Bat-Erdene is leading an initiative focused on empowering civil society organisations in Mongolia to drive digital transformation and build climate resilience, while also encouraging more inclusive governance.

“I’ve always had a passion for working in social development and the humanitarian sector, and I can see a real impact on the people here,” he says.

In addition to his love of hiking and The Lord of the Rings, the 29-year-old was attracted to studying in New Zealand due to the country’s consistently strong performance in global e-governance and e-participation rankings. 

“I realised that the New Zealand Government has really encouraged the participation of its citizens,” he says. “However, in Mongolia, it’s quite different. Many policy challenges still face barriers related to participation and inclusivity.”

Bat-Erdene worked at People in Need before moving to Auckland, and he has returned to the NGO with a new perspective not just on public policy but also on himself. He says his degree strengthened his ability to analyse complex governance challenges, assess stakeholder dynamics, and design more inclusive, evidence-informed policy approaches.

“Studying in New Zealand helped me to grow professionally and reflect on myself personally,” he says. “It also gave me confidence.”

The highlight of his time in New Zealand was being able to fly his parents over to watch his completion ceremony.

“They had never travelled abroad and seeing them in their traditional Mongolian attire [deel] in the ceremony hall made me emotional. It was a really proud moment,” he says.

His next professional goal is to learn to coordinate several major projects at a time. And once his current multi-year initiative concludes, he hopes to head overseas again to further develop his professional skills and experience – knowledge he plans to once more bring back home to support his fellow Mongolians. 

Fay Abdul Ghani: Jacksonville, Florida, US

From the University of Auckland to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fay Abdul Ghani is shooting for the stars with her biomedical science career.

Based in Florida, Fay is a research technologist at the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics. Her lab works closely with NASA to investigate stem-cell biology and cellular therapeutics in space.

“We’re studying stem cells and trying to understand how they expand, how they self-renew and how they turn into more specialised cell types in microgravity conditions.”

Fay, who was born in New Zealand to Iraqi parents, moved to the US three years ago after earning a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) in Auckland.

Now, by looking at the effect of microgravity on stem cells in space, Fay and her team hope to one day help people who require stem-cell therapies.

“By possibly having stem cells grow better in space, we could tap into those benefits and produce clinical-grade stem cells in space and then use them in patients in the future.”

To conduct their experiments, Fay’s team collaborates with NASA and astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Her work also makes her a regular visitor to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. And while seeing a rocket blast off carrying her team’s work never gets old, she says the first time it happened was definitely a “pinch-me moment”.

“I was like, oh my God, I’m a NASA-invited guest – this is crazy. How is this happening?”

The 26-year-old is also passionate about science communication and has received multiple accolades for both her research and outreach work, including the prestigious International Astronautical Federation’s Emerging Space Leader award.

Further down the road, Fay would like to do a PhD and eventually be in charge of her own lab. With commercial space travel on the horizon, she also dreams of one day visiting space.

“What if in the future we could have a specialised stem-cell lab in space, where as a scientist you could go and visit? It sounds crazy, but it seems to me that this is the direction we are heading.” 

Cameron Diver: Nouméa, New Caledonia

After following his then-girlfriend (now wife) to New Caledonia more than two decades ago, Cameron Diver is still living on the island he arrived at almost by chance.

Today, as chief conservation officer at global NGO Island Conservation, he’s protecting the fragile ecosystems of islands around the world.

“Going to New Caledonia was a real voyage of discovery for me. It’s been a place where I’ve had some wonderful opportunities, and it’s been great for my family.”

Born in Cambridge and raised in the King Country, Cameron graduated from the University of Auckland in 2000 with a conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. He describes his time at the University as foundational.

“I think that what I did at the University of Auckland gave me the tools I needed to evolve,” he says. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the quality of tertiary education and the subjects that I took.”

That experience laid the platform for a career spanning law, diplomacy and international conservation. After also earning a Master of Public Law and a Master of International Relations from the University of New Caledonia, Cameron worked in the New Caledonian government’s legal department and with the Pacific Community (SPC), an intergovernmental organisation supporting sustainable development in the Pacific. He also served as a Special Envoy for Small Island Developing States on an initiative to establish the International Platform for Ocean Sustainability, among other roles. 

He credits his French studies at the University of Auckland with opening the door to the Francophone world. Today, the language is second nature to him, and his two teenage children have been raised bilingual. He describes their household as a “joyous melting pot of languages”.

A life spent between Aotearoa and New Caledonia has also influenced his worldview.

“It’s made me realise how valuable it is to have an island perspective on the world and on life, rather than only a continental one,” he says.

“Islands like New Caledonia are not only vulnerable, they’re also catalysts for solutions that can be scaled up and shared elsewhere.”