It’s been a productive summer of sun, sand and furthering studies for the 21 tertiary students who completed summer internships and research projects at Tauranga City Council.

The group presented aspects of their work in an expo-style event, sharing their insights with their peers and Council staff in February and highlighting their contributions to the community.

The students worked full-time on various projects, including in events and heritage and research, investing hours into helping meet the organisation’s goals to make Tauranga better.

Romy van der Boom recently completed her Masters of Water Science and Management and has been working with the Pollution Prevention team. She has been spending her time supporting the response to overflow events like pipe blockages and providing advice to industrial businesses.

“I found businesses were receptive to practical tips they could implement, such as where to store chemicals to make sure they don’t end up in the stormwater systems if they do accidentally spill.

“People do really care about the environment, and they want to do the right thing. Being able to provide that advice during my time here and see how the small steps we suggest contribute to the bigger picture – that was really rewarding.”

Emma Johnston spent time with the Emergency Management team, supporting with community preparedness initiatives including enabling the community to try the tsunami virtual reality simulation.

She says her work experience has broadened her understanding about the career opportunities available to her once she completes her Bachelor of Environmental Science, majoring in Environmental Hazards and Disaster.

“It’s been valuable to see how the emergency management structure operates. From the outside, it could seem quite complex, but having spent time working within the team, I’ve got a lot more clarity about what my future could look like in similar roles – and I’ve learnt plenty about tsunami preparedness too.”

Four students, including Tauranga local Ben Jones, worked on research projects. The University of Waikato Masters student focused on the future of the city and using community technology to improve liveability and operations. Hosting workshops to get the community’s input, Ben says it was great to engage with many different people.

“We provided toolkits for people to design the city themselves as part of future planning,” he explains.

“To be working towards making a difference for Tauranga was so worthwhile and learning about Council and how it works for its community was also beneficial.”

Marlene Herewini, Council’s Employment Pathways Lead, says the summer programme of internships and research projects provides an insight into the breadth of career opportunities through a local government lens, helping students understand the importance of relationships, and some of the considerations in delivering for the community.

“The Summer Student Showcase in the last week of their time with us is an interactive display of their experiences and newfound knowledge with staff from wider teams. For Summer Research students it allows them to present back their findings to their teams, lecturers and invited guests, and hear from other research students about their work.

“These are employability skills in practice that not only benefit the community the Council serves now, but our future workforce too.”

Tauranga City Council will advertise its next round of summer internships in late 2025. For more information on the summer research projects for University of Waikato students, visit the University of Waikato website.

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