SDG 4 - Quality Education

Supporting lifelong learning outside of university enrolment

Lincoln University provides a range of outreach and teaching materials for senior secondary school students. As New Zealand’s specialist university focused on the land-based sectors, we hold on-farm workshops throughout the year for schools, highlighting the importance of science to the primary sector. Highlights in 2024 included 18 high schools visiting Lincoln’s campus, with some also touring the onsite Zero Invasive Pests facility to showcase the research in pest management and conservation.

Using current research and industry expertise, often drawn from our own research and demonstration farms (like the Lincoln University Dairy Farm), we’ve designed teaching materials for senior secondary school students.

Resources are free and range from unit plans with classroom activities and teaching notes to student workbooks and New Zealand case studies. The full scope of topics often includes soil science, agribusiness, environmental management, and climate change.

• Level 2 Pest Management Resources: Predator Free 2050 teaching unit with classroom activities and a Pest Management Student workbook. Recommended for science and geography students
• Level 1 Dairy Farming, the Environment and Sustainability: Teaching unit with classroom activities. Recommended for agriculture, science and geography students.

The University also hosted its first Soils Day in 2024, attended by 126 students from five different schools.

The Lincoln University Children's University programme is a collaborative outreach effort with Te Mātāpuna Mātātahi | Children's University (TMMCU) designed to inspire a love of lifelong learning in primary and intermediate-aged students (typically 7–14 years old). By hosting Campus Experience Day events, Lincoln University provides these younger students with early exposure to the university environment, using lecture theatres and labs to demystify tertiary education and raise their educational aspirations.

The programme uses a structured system to validate non-formal learning: students record their participation hours in a Passport to Learning, which contributes toward an escalating hierarchy of certificates, starting with the 30-Hour Bronze Award. Achieving 30 or more hours qualifies a student to attend a formal graduation ceremony—complete with academic dress—which formally celebrates and highlights the value of continuous learning for the students and their families. This initiative serves as a public resource, making quality educational experiences accessible to youth not formally enrolled at the university.

State of the Land: Public education in land-based science

The State of the Land initiative by Lincoln University functions as a vital public education forum, dedicated to bringing the university's specialist, land-based knowledge to a wide audience, including the industry, alumni, and the general community.

The programme's core purpose is knowledge dissemination, achieved by sharing evidence-based reports and research outputs in an accessible way, allowing the public to understand and engage with critical issues such as climate change, sustainability, and technological innovation in agriculture. To ensure wide accessibility, many events, particularly the Innovation Series and Excellence Series lectures, are explicitly open to the community, often delivered as in-person or online webinars, with key presentations frequently live-streamed and recorded to facilitate continuous public learning for a broader national and international audience.

Seed technology course keeps industry up to date

Lincoln University hosted the 2024 Seed Technology short course, an annual course led by Professor John Hampton, Adjunct Professor Phil Rolston and Dr Aung Myo Thant, covering seed-related research and current management issues with both agricultural and vegetable seed crops, as well as sharing updates in plant breeding. Participants included industry leaders in the seed industry, along with Lincoln University postgraduate students representing 10 countries. The course covers seed production to post-harvest technology, along with practical skills for seed quality testing. Additionally, the participants visited commercial seed companies and seed production sites in New Zealand, including seed laboratories, field visits, seed cleaning facilities and seed storage sites.

Education outreach programme highlights food system careers 

A long-established and highly regarded scholarship offering at Lincoln University, the Future Leader Scholarship Programme, enables participants to complete an integrated leadership programme alongside their academic studies.

During the participants’ third year of study, they must complete a project of their choice, with assistance from first and second-year students in its delivery. For 2024, students led the Farm 2 Future project, sponsored by Rabobank, which included a team of nine scholars.

The camp introduced 24 Year 12 students from across New Zealand to career opportunities in the food and fibre industries through a fully funded, three-day camp. Participants visited a range of Canterbury land-based businesses, from dairy and sheep farms to food production companies, offering them a comprehensive view of the sector from paddock to plate.

The goal of the project is to introduce high school students to career possibilities, with half of the pupils residing in an urban environment and having no prior agricultural experience. The feedback from the high school students was overwhelmingly positive, with the Lincoln University scholars able to deliver a relatable and customised experience through the ‘by students for students’ philosophy.

Lifelong learning access policy

Lincoln University is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, respectful and welcoming environment – both physical and digital – to support lifelong learning access to all regardless of ethnicity, religion, disability, immigration status or gender. This includes robust equity, diversity and inclusion strategies with measurable outcomes. Gender equity is actively promoted at the University, with dedicated resources, policies and expertise to address gender bias and unconscious bias. The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Group is responsible for creating a supportive and inclusive environment that encourages the recruitment, development and retention of a diverse staff community.

The University has several policies in place for both students and staff, designed to ensure equality for women and minority groups across the student, academic and professional staff community. These policies include the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy, the Equal Opportunity in Employment Policy, the Flexible Work Policy and the Prevention of Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination Policy. In the Annual Report, gender-disaggregated data on personnel and students are provided.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy was last updated in July 2025.

The Equal Opportunity in Employment Policy was last updated on 1 June 2024.

The Flexible Work Policy was last updated in February 2023.

The Prevention of Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination Policy was last updated in August 2025.