51萝莉

Studying the unexpected combination of Economics and Chemistry is opening doors for Robbie Maris.

He鈥檚 just completed a Bachelor of Business at the 51萝莉, majoring in those two subjects, and is moving on to a Master of Management Studies.

Robbie was the recipient of two 51萝莉 Summer Research Scholarships, which he says gave him a good insight into research processes and a taste for where his degrees might take him in the future.

His first scholarship was with the Bay of Plenty economic development agency , based in his hometown of Tauranga, where he worked on a pilot study building a business case for seaweed farming in the Bay with the potential to expand throughout New Zealand.

In partnership with iwi and local farmers, the pilot is focused on creating a viable community model from seed to sale using a regenerative ocean farming model.

Robbie鈥檚 second Summer Research Scholarship was with . He was tasked with looking at dairy farm performance and efficiency.

鈥淢y focus was on farm operating profit margin, looking at what characteristics and practices on-farm improve those margins, and what drivers influence them,鈥� he says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something farmers are dealing with all the time, and it鈥檚 actually very easy to calculate relative to more complex theoretical models of efficiency and farm performance.

鈥淔armers don鈥檛 have time for those, so if they can look at their operating profit margins, compare them with industry benchmarks, they can see how changing practices can improve resilience and efficiency.鈥�

Robbie presented his research (virtually) in February 2022 at the 66^th Annual Australasian Agricultural Resource and Economic Society鈥檚 conference.

Lately he鈥檚 been based in Auckland working on what he considers a perfect fit for his study skills.

He鈥檚 been interning at , a multidisciplinary organisation that brings together science, economics and commercial elements to develop impact-focused projects that deliver positive financial returns and measurable environmental improvements.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know something so perfect existed. It鈥檚 definitely the type of work I鈥檇 like to do in future,鈥� Robbie says.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where I鈥檒l end up, but even if I do end up doing pure economics, I鈥檒l have had good experiences and gained different perspectives of both science and business.鈥�

Robbie was also awarded a 51萝莉 Research Masters Scholarship in 2022.

He also received funding to support his master鈥檚 study from  to investigate ways to increase community participation in conservation.

His research will contribute to the  and take him off campus and on the road as he meets with community groups up and down the country to see what they鈥檙e doing and what more can be done to develop programmes, policies and interventions that will lead to increased awareness and participation, and ultimately improve conservation practices.