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After graduating with a BA (Hons) in English in 2003, writer Naomi Arnold has worked as a journalist, freelancer and author, with a special interest in science and nature writing. She has covered stories across Aotearoa New Zealand and around the globe, including spending nine weeks writing about life on the ice in Scott Base in Antarctica.Her author credits include the New Zealand astronomy history 'Southern Nights' and she has also co-authored or edited non-fiction books 'Force of Nature', 'Headlands', and 'Lonely Planet’s Best NZ Day Hikes'.Naomi is a keen tramper and her book Northbound: Four Seasons of Solitude on Te Araroa – a finalist in the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2026 – recounts her journey along the 3,000km trail, starting in Bluff and finishing at Cape Reinga. We asked Naomi about her time at Otago, her career as a writer, why she decided to walk the length of New Zealand – and how she kept going through all the challenges.

At the end of 2025, we were lucky enough to find space in Dr Will Flavell’s diary to talk with him about his vision for te reo Māori, his work on the Auckland City Council and how it feels to be starting out as the newly-minted Principal of Te Kāpehu Whetū – Tamaki (a new charter high school). Will (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whātua, Tainui, Ngāti Maniapoto), talks about combining his teaching career with his local government career, his passion for te reo Māori and his love of working with rangitahi. Will graduated from the University of Otago with a Doctor of Education via distance learning in 2020 and was a Fulbright Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Scholar in 2022.

It’s been a busy year for Lynley Edmeades – Lynley is an author, an English lecturer at Otago, and editor of Aotearoa’s longest running arts and literary journal Landfall Tauraka. She is also the coordinator of the new Masters in Creative Writing launched at the University this year, and has just published her fourth book, Hiding Places. Recently, Lynley has helped organise celebrations for Landfall Tauraka's 250th edition. An Otago alumna, Lynley talks to iOU about being a student at Otago, all her day jobs, her new book and how she manages to fit everything in.

At Otago, Law, Chinese Language and Political Studies graduate Josh Whale embraced Dunedin’s university culture – he joined the tramping and rowing clubs, met his future wife Claire at a concert in the student union, and went on two student exchanges. After six years in intellectual property law in China, and influenced by Al Gore’s documentary on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, Josh decided to make the leap and set up Ampersand, an EV energy tech start-up, in Kigali, Rwanda. Josh began by developing electric motorcycles powered by smart AI optimized batteries suited to Africa’s tough roads. Ampersand has since expanded into Nairobi, Kenya, with more than 5,000 e-motos in operation overall, each one cutting two tons of carbon per year, and delivering life-changing savings to drivers by drastically reducing their operating costs. Ampersand’s fleet now covers a distance equivalent to the moon and back daily, contributing to cleaner air, healthier communities, and a more sustainable future.

In this wide-ranging kōrero, Marketing graduate Steven Renata traverses small-town values, rugby, failing and then finding himself at Otago, discovering aerobics and travelling the world with Les Mills International, coming home and launching himself into the world of tech.Today, Steven is Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Managing Director CEO of Kiwa Digital, a Māori-led creative agency that develops technology to amplify indigenous voices, stories and cultures, including the pioneering VoiceQ software used for dubbing hits such as Squid Game and The Lion King to te reo Māori and its sister software, CultureQ, which is enhancing cultural capability across New Zealand’s public and private sectors.

Now working across the Pacific as an International Nutrition specialist for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Darryl Pupi takes us on his journey from school in Samoa to studying Human Nutrition at Otago. Darryl is also one of our inaugural 20Twenties Young Alumni Award winners, in recognition of his contribution to health and wellbeing through leadership and innovation in nutrition programmes. Just to note, due to an unstable internet connection from his base in Samoa, the sound quality in the podcast varies – Darryl says it’s all part of the challenges he faces in his working day.