In partnership with the University of Otago, Canon is proud to sponsor the leaders of tomorrow in attending the highly sought-after experience at Hands-On at Otago. The program offers students going into years 12 & 13 the opportunity to spend a week in the shoes that they’ll walk in once they begin tertiary education. Living in a hall of residence, attending University classes, and socialising with their future peers, is a unique experience that really gives the students a front row seat into what their lives will look like after High School.

Canons’ international guiding philosophy is Kyosei - living and working together for the common good, with a particular focus on making a difference in people’s lives. Marketing Manager Canon Business Solutions Jeannine Barnes says “the Hands-on Otago program is a fantastic example of us being able to provide our future leaders with a life-changing experience they will carry with them for life.”

This year, Hands-On at Otago attracted 393 students from 149 different schools throughout New Zealand. The students experienced a week of dawn-to-dusk activities that exposed them to the thrill of doing hands-on research in a number of different academic fields. Science students worked in well-equipped university laboratories and out in the field. Be it at the lab bench making new molecules, driving a high-tech microscope to explore materials at the micro-scale, or at the foreshore exploring the ecology and behaviour of important species. The students were guided on their journey of discovery by experts at the university.

Students who selected Business or Humanities projects had the opportunity to examine artefacts and objects from history or prehistory, some got to present a court case, and others got to create and market their own products. Some students also explored the New Zealand curriculum and got to present an exciting performance of the skills they had learned in theatre, music and dance.