For more than a decade, Professor Kennedy has inspired thousands of students through courses renowned for their real-world relevance, authentic assessments, and deep focus on human-centred learning. As Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean Academic at the Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury’s (UC) Business School, she has become known for integrating the principles of behaviour change, sustainability and social responsibility into the core of business education.
Her teaching is grounded in human connection and empathy, empowering students to apply business and marketing principles to solve real-world problems and to help communities thrive.
The 2025 UC Teaching Medal recipient believes deep learning happens when education is human-centred and accessible to all. “We [teachers] kind of forget that students are people. And not only that, that they're actually our clients,” she says.
Professor Kennedy’s inclusive approach has strengthened achievement and belonging among Māori and Pacific students. By embedding Māori values such as kaitiakitanga taonga in her Business Society and the Environment course and introducing flexible, student-centred assessments. In Marketing for Behaviour Change, she has created learning environments that reflect students’ identities and experiences. Māori pass rates in some of her courses have risen from 80 to 92 percent, and Pacific students pass rate is now 100 percent.
Her journey toward bicultural teaching began after completing te reo Māori and bicultural-competence courses. “They really opened up my eyes to what I, perhaps, you know, might have been doing in classes that might alienate people.
“I open up all my classes with my mihi, my pepeha, and introduce my family to them [students] and where I live. Students have said they like it because it makes me more relatable.”
Professor Kennedy has established partnerships with health agencies, including former Canterbury District Health Board (now Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora), enabling students to contribute directly to public-facing campaigns that influence community outcomes.
Students in her Marketing for Behaviour Change class complete personal transformation projects such as quitting vaping or improving wellbeing, while learning behaviour-change theory. “We had a lot of feedback afterwards where students say, ‘Oh, thank you. I've actually quit vaping now and I'd wanted to do it for a long time,’” she says.
A recognised leader in future-focused teaching, Professor Kennedy introduced the Business School’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Steering Group and champions technology that enhances access to learning. “We have these opportunities to make two-way interactive support for students, making chat bots that are able to answer questions 24/7 for students, or to help them enhance their studying, is something that we couldn't do before.”
She integrates AI into coursework, so students develop both skills and ethical awareness. “In the behaviour change course, I ask students to use AI to create a segment and then to critique it and rewrite it correctly.
As teachers, it’s our responsibility to go beyond teaching skills and show students how to think about the bigger picture; what happens when they use those skills, and what’s appropriate in different situations.”
As part of the UC–Victoria University of Wellington initiative He Kōkonga Whare e Kitea | Accelerating Student Success, she helps use data to reduce barriers to student achievement. “What I've really found in terms of equity for students is that it starts with relationships. So first we have to have a relationship with our students and then they trust to come to us when they find something we haven't seen.”
Looking ahead, Professor Kennedy believes that marketing education is entering an exciting new era shaped by AI and automation. As technology takes over routine marketing tasks, she sees an opportunity for educators to focus on higher-level skills. “It means that we get to lift students above that work… into true strategic thinking, joined-up thinking and community focus.”
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