Our education system is rapidly transforming and evolving. Our students’ needs are for education to take place in the real world – within the industries, organisations or communities they want to be part of. Throughout my career, I have viewed knowledge as a tool to achieve improvements in our subsistence and wellbeing. My passion for marine biology, the wonders of the seas and the untapped resources that our oceans offer, have led me to research marine organisms of commercial importance and their cultivation practices. Aquaculture provides a realistic pathway to supply the protein needs of a 9-billion human population estimate by 2035, and perhaps the only solution to our growing food crisis and future for humanity. As a professor of Marine Ecology and Aquaculture at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, I aim to provide a dynamic environment that engages students to participate in practical solutions within industries and communities that create actual economic and social value. In our research group, students learn skills and apply solutions simultaneously, with the support of more experienced student mentors, and guided by inspirational and forward-thinking educators and industry partners who provide the context for our work. With this transformative educational approach, students journey through discovery and creativity that generates free-thinking graduates, best prepared to succeed and lead our world into more sustainable practices. The positive results are evident by numerous discoveries and inventions that have already transformed production practices within aquaculture industries and resource management strategies throughout coastal communities in New Zealand and overseas.

Professor Andrea C. Alfaro
Project Lead and Head of Research
Aquaculture Biotechnology Research Group, School of Science,  Auckland University of Technology



Dr Tim Young
Lead researcher/educator
Aquaculture Biotechnology Research Group, School of Science,  Auckland University of Technology



Dr Leonie Venter
Lead researcher/educator
Aquaculture Biotechnology Research Group, School of Science,  Auckland University of Technology

I am deeply grateful to the students, staff, technicians and administrative team at the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, who believed in this creative new approach – I thank them for their ongoing contributions and support. I also appreciate our industry and community partners who shared our vision and helped make it happen. I am thankful to the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), and the aquaculture and fishery industries in New Zealand for the funding that has made our research and teaching activities possible.