New Kids on the Block

Auckland University Student Choir

Official purpose: “To provide opportunities for amateur and aspiring professional singers, in particular those attending the University of Auckland, to develop their skills by practicing and performing a range of choral and vocal music. To promote choral and vocal music within the local community and further afield through public performances. To foster a community of singing and sharing music in a social and enjoyable environment that is accessible to all students of The University of Auckland, regardless of their study program. Such other charitable purposes as the Committee may decide.”

University of Auckland Birding Society

Craccum says: Disappointingly, ‘birding’ is not a term for some freaky as shit sex position.

Official purpose: “Aotearoa is home to some of the world’s finest avifauna. Our country boasts the most glorious plumage, the most melodic songs and of course, the very roundest of boys. The aim of the University of Auckland Birding Society (UABS) is to appreciate these incredible creatures and encourage others to do the same. We are truly passionate about and really adore the incredible native birds in Aotearoa. Unfortunately, they and many other native species are struggling to survive because of human activities, habitat loss and invasive pests. We believe our birds are too precious to lose, so we want to do what we can to not only appreciate them but also protect them.”

Auckland University Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

Official purpose: “The purpose of AIM is to enhance the educational experience of medical students by educating medical students about artificial intelligence and related fields, and their applications in the clinical environment. We will also advocate for a paradigm of medical education based on skillful application of intelligent technologies rather than knowledge acquisition, and promote current research on artificial intelligence in medicine.”

STEM for Global Health

Official purpose: “This university chapter brings together students from interdisciplinary fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with an interest in medical technology and improving quality and access to technology globally… As university students and alumni, we put our scientific and technical knowledge and skills to the test to develop new solutions and novel technology for low-resource settings… We collaborate with hospitals, non-profit organizations, universities, and charities around New Zealand and overseas to better understand the challenges of medical technology in low-resource settings, and work alongside our partners to meet specific needs… We engage students of all ages and introduce them to how STEM fields can advance healthcare through technology.”

Music Production Club

Official purpose: “To create a community of passionate musicians who are interested in producing music electronically.To share the knowledge of music production to those who are interested in giving it a try, and inspire them to push their creative boundaries. To give members of the group as much hands-on experience with music production as possible, and promote the idea that music produced  electronically is a much broader term than it is perceived to be.”

First Love Club

Official purpose: “The idea to form this group came up when a group of students from Grafton campus found that most of their friends complained of being stressed and burnt out because of the workload associated with their various courses. We then decided that even though there are several well-being groups on campus, there isn’t faith-based or spiritual groups that can help uplift people’s faith and even teach interested students more about the Christian faith. Therefore, the purpose of the group is to reach out to UoA students (whether they identify as Christian or not) who are interested to know more about faith and would like to join a family who support each other.”

Reach Out

Official purpose: “We are a Christian group with two main purposes: 1. We aim to create a safe community that is all-inclusive and provides students with the opportunity to connect with one another… we are focused on building meaningful relationships with others and creating a sense of belonging within the group. We have established that it is not easy to have a group of friends that are always there to support each other at university, but through this group, we want to strengthen build each other up and also strengthen each other’s faith. 2. Our group aims to provide students with opportunities to engage with the wider community in a constructive manner. We aim to promote volunteering our time for people that are in need within the communities.”

Web Development and Consulting Club

Official purpose: “The purpose of the Web Development Club is as follows: 1) Provide opportunities for students to gain industry experience by establishing pro bono projects on website design and development. 2) Give back to the University of Auckland community and local community by offering pro bono website development services. 3) Provide a platform for students to further their understanding of the industry as well as giving them the opportunity to develop their own technical skills and abilities. 4) Give back to the wider web development community in The University of Auckland by writing and posting public code libraries, extensions, plugins, etc. 6) Allow students who have a passion for web development to establish a professional network.”

Manaaki

Official purpose: “Ko te kaupapa o te o tanei rapu, ko Manaaki, kia whangai i te ahurea tuakiri me te whakawhanaungatanga i waenganui i ngatauira Maori e whai ana i te umanga o te hauora. Ko te tamanako, kia hikitia te ora o te iwi Maori. The purpose of Manaaki is to nurture the cultural identity of, and to facilitate whakawhanaungatanga between, Maori tauira in the pursuit of careers in health, in order to promote the wellbeing of Maori… Manaaki brings together our tauira from their respective degrees to form a whanau away from home.  Within this whanau we are able to support, mentor and encourage one another.”

Auckland Students Cosplay Association

Craccum Says: “Arts Editor Lachlan Mitchell is terrified.”

Official purpose: “The Auckland Students Cosplay Association was a club that ran successfully as its own club from 2013 to 2017 but to the dismay of many members had stopped operating past that point. For the past year, we, a separate group of students have been operating the club successfully as a subdivision of the Anime and Manga group, however, it is our intention to start the Cosplay Association as its own club once again. Our primary interest will revolve around the activity of cosplay also known as costume play or costuming. Our purpose as a club will include creating a group for like-minded individuals that partake in the activity of cosplay, as well as those who are simply interested in the idea and looking for a place to start and gain support from fellow enthusiasts.”

Youth & Students for Peace

Official purpose: “To advance world peace by empowering youth and students to become global citizens through character education and peace projects supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

Auckland Uni Mafia Gaming

Official purpose: “Mafia (also called Werewolf) is a logic and thinking party game with growing popularity in recent years throughout the globe. Although frequently portrayed as a simple game with unbending rules it actually develops verbal communication skills and encourages critical thinking. As a current law student who struggles to speak with confidence, I think games similar to mafia are able to provide a perfect platform to speak in a safe and fun environment. Contrary to popular belief, mafia has a never ending line of characters which adds extended variety to the gameplay to ensure it is not repetitive.”

Auckland University Design and Build Club

Official purpose: “The Auckland University Design and Build Club (AUDBC) aims to challenge students’ theoretical engineering knowledge, practical/hands-on building skills, and teamwork ability in a series of design and build challenges throughout the year. These challenges will involve a design brief describing the problem and its associated rules and restrictions. Teams of students will have to use any provided materials to attempt to best meet the design criteria and achieve the highest score according to a mark scheme.It is hoped that these design and build challenges will allow current engineering students to put their theoretical knowledge into practice in a fun environment that does not require arduous report writing.”

Commonwealth Youth New Zealand

Official purpose: “Commonwealth Youth New Zealand is a nation-wide, youth-led non-profit organisation that is dedicated to developing young New Zealanders and promoting the significance of the Commonwealth and its values… This group will aim to connect, support and empower students to influence, shape and contribute to decision-making and policies on a local, national and international level, particularly within the commonwealth. We will work to provide a multitude of opportunities for students to engage in forums, consultations and submissions in which are pressing issues for young people in the Commonwealth. This group will enable students to gain a better understanding around the Crown’s involvement within New Zealand and the significant role New Zealand  has on the Commonwealth.”

Rangatahi Organised Against Racism

Official purpose: “Rangatahi Organised Against Racism – R.O.A.R – is a student driven initiative under the guardianship of the Institute for Courageous Conversation South Pacific. Our aim is to utilize the tools of the Courageous Conversations About Race Protocol to help facilitate conversation and encourage healing to take place around the impact of race and racism in our own lives. What is the protocol? It is a system of agreements and conditions that allow safe and open discussion around personal, local and immediate racial experiences and how we can find healing in it. We aim to engage, deepen and sustain healthy conversation within tertiary youth of Auckland, New Zealand.”