John Gibb

A brighter future now seems likely after years of vandalism and neglect left an important grave in Dunedin's Southern Cemetery in a ''totally shameful'' condition.

It's almost official. Kindergarten teachers, lawyers and university students all make fairly good zombies.

The ''unimaginable'' horrors of World War 1 and its unprecedented ''scale of killing'', including 20,000 New Zealand deaths, were movingly evoked in an address to University of Otago graduates.

All University of Otago bachelor of radiation therapy students undertake extensive clinical training, but Adiella White has gained some extra experience her colleagues do not share.

A wave of support from parishioners, family and friends has helped First Church senior minister the Rev Tokerau Joseph complete a PhD in theology and religion at the University of Otago.

Industrial heritage tourism, including the Dunedin Gasworks Museum and historic ''stamper batteries'', can generate further multimillion-dollar tourism gains for the city and Otago, archaeologist Peter Petchey says.

Team New Zealand achieved ''quite staggering'' increases in boat speed during its intensive build-up to the America's Cup races in San Francisco last year, the team's senior design engineer, Andy Kensington, said in Dunedin yesterday.

Growing financial and lifestyle pressures, and a yearning for freedom, have led Mosgiel resident Terena Letham to spend much of the past four years living happily in a caravan, including at the Mosgiel Caravan Park.

University of Otago scientists Prof Greg Cook and Associate Prof John Reynolds have received $150,000 Explorer Grants, in Prof Cook's case to support research which aims to overcome antibiotic resistance, and in Prof Reynold's case to revolutionise treatment of Parkinson's.

Teamwork plays a vital role in businesses that contribute strongly both to Dunedin and the wider New Zealand economy, Dunedin innovator and businessman Michael Macknight says.

The feat sounds like a tall story, but Iain Clark still vividly remembers the day he roller-skated his way to the top of Dunedin's Baldwin St, the world's steepest street.

Dallas Knight will take the latest step in an extraordinary 50-year-long educational journey, involving study at the University of Otago, when she graduates with a PhD today.

More awareness is needed about undiagnosed depression and self-injury problems among adolescent females at New Zealand secondary schools.

A $22 million upgrade of the University of Otago's computer network and major expansion of wireless areas will strengthen Dunedin's tertiary education industry.

Three sculptural figures from the Otago Museum's Pacific collection have been included in an international art exhibition in Australia and one of the artefacts features on the show's catalogue cover.

Everyone, even an All Black, needs a purpose in life and a ''personal aspiration'', former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry told University of Otago graduates at the weekend.

Doctoral research by University of Otago scientist Owen Jones is shedding light on the mysteries of memory formation and communication within brain cells.