Eight UNE graduates honoured at last month’s Army celebration in New Zealand. Captain Barclay is on the far right, and Major General Gardiner stands next to UNE’s Dr Dan Riley (centre). The photograph was taken in the Officers’ Mess at Trentham Military Barracks.

The New Zealand Army has confirmed the strength of its relationship with the University of New England at a function to celebrate the recent graduation of eight NZ Army officers.

Speaking at the function, held late last month at Trentham Military Barracks, Upper Hutt, NZ, the Chief of the NZ Army, Major General Lou Gardiner, said the partnership with UNE had led to “a strengthening of the NZ Army’s expertise in administration, leadership, and training development at the crucial middle-management level”.

The graduates gained the UNE degrees of Bachelor of Administrative Leadership, Bachelor of Training and Development, or Master of Education (Adult Education).

“During the past decade, education has become a cornerstone of the development of individual capability in the Army,” Major General Gardiner said. “We see education as an ideal means of developing well-informed, confident, self-disciplined, discerning personnel who are able to cope with the challenges and changes they have encountered over time.”

He praised UNE for the integrity of its courses, the understanding of its academic and administrative staff, its flexibility in delivery, and its preparedness to recognise students’ prior military training and experience for accreditation purposes. He said that UNE academic staff – particularly Dr Dan Riley (who attended the function in New Zealand) and Dr Fiona Wood – had engaged closely with the Military Studies Institute during development of the programs.

To the graduates he said: “I look forward to your bringing your newly acquired skills and knowledge into your working environment, and seeing the results. At the same time, I challenge you to continue your quest for learning, whether it be via formal study, wider reading and discussion, or reflective practice.”

The celebration gave the graduates a sense of completion of their study programs, and enabled them to share their achievement with the friends and family members who had supported them. It also enabled their wider Army “family” to celebrate their success, and provided an opportunity to acknowledge the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Taylor who, as Commanding Officer of the Military Studies Institute, has played a pivotal role in the outstanding success of the strategic relationship between the NZ Army and UNE.

The ceremony coincided with identification by the NZ Army of the Bachelor of Training and Development degree program as a priority course for its personnel. “The strategic relationship between the NZ Army and UNE continues to offers opportunities for further development,” said Professor Alison Sheridan, Transitional Head of UNE’s School of Business, Economics and Public Policy.