GSA Seminar Series

Kia ora Salient readers,

My name is Sarah Douglas, and I'm the Vice President of Connections for the Postgraduate Students' Association (PGSA) here at Te Herenga Waka.

You might be wondering: We have a Postgraduate Students' Association?! The answer is: Yes! We're a small but determined group of volunteers working to support and represent postgraduate students across the university.

Like many organisations, we've been through a rebuilding phase, but this year we're focused on bringing people together and strengthening our postgraduate community.

So why are we here in Salient? Because we believe in a student association by postgraduates, for postgraduates, while also celebrating the amazing postgraduate research happening at Te Herenga Waka.

That's why we've launched the Postgraduate Seminar Series—a monthly lunchtime event where honours and postgraduate students can share their research, hear what others are working on, and connect with fellow researchers (alongside a free lunch).

In partnership with Salient, we're also featuring our seminar presenters each month, giving readers the chance to meet the people behind the research and discover some of the fascinating work taking place across the university.

Meet July’s presenters below!

Mohammad Nemati

PhD - School of Economics and Finance

Seminar TitleRetirement Timing in the United States and New Zealand: Who Retires Earlier and Who Retires Later?

Research Summary The median age of first retirement is approximately 63 in the United States and 67 in New Zealand, indicating that people generally retire later in New Zealand. My research examines why retirement timing differs across individuals and countries, focusing on factors such as health, earnings, household circumstances, and gender. The findings suggest that health is the strongest predictor of retirement timing, followed by earnings and household context.

Why Did You Choose Postgraduate Research?Many people think economics is dry or boring because it involves a great deal of mathematics and statistics. However, I see economics as a way to make life better and fairer. Research in areas such as poverty reduction, economic inequality, and gender equality can directly improve people’s lives. The possibility of contributing to this work motivated me to pursue postgraduate research in economics.

Sam Siljee 

PhD - Cell and Molecular Bioscience

Seminar Title: Play with Your Data

Research summary: I'm investigating the biology of how lung cancer starts by growing cells in a lung-like environment and surveying all the proteins—the machinery components that give cells their function. In the process of my analysis, I developed a way to present the raw data as audio soundscapes—both as a creative balance to my scientific work, and to explore wider aspects of the data.

Why did I choose postgraduate research: I chose post-graduate research to explore; for the thrill of discovering things literally no-one else knows yet, and to explore different approaches to tackle problems. What are some of the first changes that happen in lung cancer? I now have some unique insights! I want to use audio to understand my data better? Let me find a way!

Samantha Ussher

PhD - School of Health

Seminar Title: Mum’s Squad: Exploring Friendship Assemblages in Mothers of Tweens

Research summary: To address the gap in research on the maternal mental health of mothers as children grow older, my study plugged into feminist new materialism—specifically assemblage theory—to explore friendship assemblages: the bodies, objects, spaces, and technologies that participate in friendship experiences for mothers of children aged 10-12 (‘tween’) in Wellington City. Emerging from the data were 3 themed encounters of friendship for mothers of tweens: (1) friendship, no matter the time or place; (2) friendship on the go; and (3) intentional togetherness. Themes were analysed to examine how components in friendship assemblages strengthened or disrupted mothers' social connections, and how these everyday relations shape maternal mental health.

Why did you choose postgraduate research?

“Why not do a PhD?” This casual question knocked the wind out of me. My lecturer blinked at me, stone-faced, waiting for an answer. Words jumbled around in my mouth like marbles but all I managed to get out was, “Really? I could do that?”

“Sure, why not?”

And that’s all it took. Somebody to see not only my potential, but the contributions I could make.

Somehow, as a 45-year-old mother of two, I had gotten used to the idea of not knowing what I wanted to do when I ‘grew up.’ So once my children were both school-age, I did what seemed natural—started at the beginning by going back to school. Since having kids, I had become interested in how children learn, so obtaining a Graduate Diploma in Education felt like a good fit.

And it was… until it was the last day of my program when I stood in the hallway with my lecturer, discussing how I was still just as confused about my future as I was on my first day back at university. Until he mentioned three little letters:

P. H. D.

We talked for a while about my other interests, which included maternal mental health. Given my undergrad and master’s degree in health sciences, he suggested I reach out to the School of Health to connect me with a potential supervisor whose research aligned with my interests. Within a few months, I was a full time PhD student. Looking back, I chose a PhD because someone showed me a possibility; they saw value in my lived experience and the perspective I could bring to research. Once I could see that possibility too, I had to follow it. It just took one person asking "Why not do a PhD?" for me to realise that the path I'd never considered might just be the right one for me.