Free public lecture series

Tauhere | UC Connect - free thinking

Sharing knowledge and spreading ideas – Tauhere | UC Connect is here to grow your mind.

The University of Canterbury has been connecting local people with global thinking and expanding minds since 1873. We believe in the value of ideas that make a difference.

UC’s popular free public lecture series, Tauhere | UC Connect offers topical, educational public lectures by experts in their fields and leading thinkers from Christchurch, Canterbury and beyond. Offered both online and in person throughout the year, we’ve got a free talk for you – ranging from arts, politics and culture to science, business and law.

  • For early alerts and updates on upcoming UC Connect | Tauhere talks and speakers, join our mailing list.

Upcoming UC Connect | Tauhere lectures

We bring a fresh series of free Tauhere | UC Connect public lectures each year. 

Watch earlier UC public lectures

We aim to make all UC public lectures available online subject to permission from the speaker/s and other considerations. Videos of UC Connect talks are usually available about a week after the live event.

To watch more than 150 UC public talks from the last decade, visit our YouTube channel or click below to watch one of our recent talks:

UC Connect: Bullshitologically speaking... really?

In this free public lecture – titled Bullshitologically speaking … really? – the University of Canterbury’s Te Amorangi | Pro-Vice-Chancellor Pacific, Distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva introduced us to Bullshitology including the work of some bullshitologists (“not to be confused with bullshitters,” he says), including his forthcoming work on ‘bullshit knowledge’.

UC Connect: Return of Stargazing to the city

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, Associate Professor Karen Pollard, University of Canterbury, will focus on reviving a 114-year tradition and University of Canterbury astronomers bringing stargazing back to the centre of Ōtautahi Christchurch.

UC Connect: Middle-age board-om: Skating, surfing & snowboarding in your 40s

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, Dr Nick Maitland, Sports Management and Marketing, Faculty of Health, University of Canterbury, will focuses on a study into the experiences of 12 men and women over the age of 40 who are dedicated surfers, skaters and/or snowboarders.

UC Connect: Medicine + Marketing: pandemic lessons on healthcare, technology, and reality

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, UC Erskine Fellow Professor Stacy Wood from North Carolina State University and Professor Ekant Veer, UC Business School, University of Canterbury, will discuss wellbeing and social marketing amid Covid-19,

UC Connect: The Quest for Alien Worlds and Life Beyond

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, Professor Ray Jayawardhana, Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences, Hans A. Bethe Professor and Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University and current University of Canterbury Erskine Fellow, will discuss The Quest for Alien Worlds and Life Beyond Earth

UC Connect: Run it straight – Towards a nurturing masculinity in Polynesian men

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, Senior Lecturer Dr Phil Borell (Ngāti Ranginui, Pirirākau) will discuss views of Polynesian masculinity and enduring stereotypes of the Polynesian male.

UC Connect: A Path to a Sustainable Future

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, Global experts on water policy and management in the Pacific gather to discuss a Path to a Sustainable Future.

UC Connect: Joyful nature: the ethics of animal emotions

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, Animal Behaviour expert Professor Ximena Nelson, from the School of Biological Sciences, will explore the topic based on her research.

UC Connect: Reframing History in Aotearoa & Polynesia

In this free Tauhere UC Connect public lecture, Dr Madi Williams (Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Kōata), explores notions of identity and connection in Aotearoa history. In Reframing History in Aotearoa & Polynesia, Dr Williams will take a longer view of the history of these islands and place them in their Pacific, Polynesian context.

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