Doctoral news

Are you getting ready to discuss-document-declare?

The University's new Generative AI in Doctoral Research Guidelines come into effect on 1 September 2026, and you can prepare now by exploring the following resources:

• Guidelines: Generative AI in Doctoral Research Guidelines
• Resource: Introduction to GenAI in Doctoral Research
• Canvas module: AI Essentials

We also recommend the following workshops that will show you how to apply GenAI tools across various research activities:

• 30 June: Using LLMs to Programmatically Extract & Curate Research Data (Zoom)
• 1 July: Precision Prompting: Mastering Generative AI for Research Lifecycle (Zoom)
• 3 July: AI Tools for Literature Reviews (Zoom)
• 29 July: AI for Literature Reviews (Zoom)
• 26 August: Responsible AI in Research (Zoom)
  

Kenya, whose name honours the country where her parents married, is part of the Doctor of Clinical Psychology programme in the Faculty of Science. Her research focuses on the experiences of Caribbean people in NZ – a small community whose stories are often absent from academic and social discourse. Learn more in Research explores Caribbean experience in Aotearoa.

As the Government signals 8,700 public sector job cuts, doctoral candidate Xiaoliang Niu (Faculty of Business and Economics) has offered insights into te ao Māori perspectives which offer a broader way of assessing economic decisions and align with what Māori scholars and practitioners describe as an “economy of mana". Read more in An economy of mana: what public sector cuts really cost.

Luis, pictured here with his mum, Luisa, graduated last month with a PhD from the School of Architecture and Planning (Faculty of Engineering and Design). His research explored how retrofitted social housing can better support people’s needs and behaviours to improve warmth and energy efficiency. Read more in The long goodbye: PhD honours sister’s 14-year battle with cancer.

Winners

Warm congratulations to the recipients of the Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Best Doctoral Thesis 2025, who will be honoured at the University's Celebrating Research Excellence awards in October.

The winners are:

• Cam Hoffbeck (Faculty of Science)
• Connor Pearson (Faculty of Engineering and Design)
• Julia Musgrave (Auckland Bioengineering Institute)
• Mark de Hora (Liggins Instiutute)
• Matthew Galloway (Faculty of Arts and Education)

This prize is awarded annually to the five most exceptional theses from the previous year. Criteria for nomination include the demonstrable significance,
originality, contribution and excellence of the thesis.

Of the 498 doctoral degrees awarded by the University of Auckland in 2025, 18 theses were nominated for the Best Doctoral Thesis prize by their faculties / LSRIs and reviewed by the Graduate Research Committee judging panel.

Nominees

Congratulations to all the other nominees for 2025:

• Bobbie-Jo Pene (FMHS): “Achieving a Culture of Whanaungatanga: A kaupapa Māori and grounded theory study exploring Māori relational practices as a strategy to transform acute hospital settings in Aotearoa”
• Hayden Gearing (Faculty of Science): “Heterobimetallic Supramolecular Architectures: Guest Binding Ability and Interactions with Biomolecules”
• Jason Ye (Faculty of Engineering and Design): “Domain Adaptation Using Temporal Relation Knowledge in Cross-user Sensor-based Human Activity Recognition”
• Jennifer Woods (FMHS): “Advancing Equity and Leadership for Māori Registered Nurses in Aotearoa New Zealand: Elements for Success”
• Lauren Hemara (Faculty of Science): “Examining effector requirements, redundancies, and repertoire refinement in the emergent kiwifruit pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae”
• Liam Quinn (Faculty of Science): “Protected Polarization Symmetry Breaking in Kerr Resonators for Random Number Generation and Photonic Ising Machines”
• Naomi Pears-Scown (Faculty of Arts and Education): “Dusty Origin Stories of Arts Therapy in Aotearoa, New Zealand”
• Olivia Gold (FMHS): “Determinants of carotid body sensitivity: the accelerator-brake hypothesis”
• Petrus van Blerk (Faculty of Engineering and Design): “Mechanised Cement-Bound Macadam (MCBM): Development and Implementation of a New Heavy-Duty Pavement Design and Construction Technique”
• Shohil Kishore (Faculty of Business and Economics): “Temporal Dynamics of Social Media Trace Data: Computationally Intensive Theorising to Explore Technologically-Mediated Features, Affordances and Innate Psychological Needs Satisfaction”
• Sohan Ghodla (Faculty of Science): “Impact of companion and surrounding environment on stars and black holes”
• Victoria Munn (Faculty of Arts and Education): “Gold, Fox, Jet, Snow: Colouring the Hair in Early Modern Europe”
• Yan Xie (Faculty of Arts and Education): “The Evolution and Enactment of CT Policy Initiatives in the Chinese Education Context”