OSU Marks 50 Years of Student Exchange with Lincoln University and Expands Partnerships Across New Zealand
By Dave Stone and Jeffrey Steiner
O
At Lincoln University on New Zealand’s South Island, OSU leaders joined with their Lincoln counterparts to commemorate the program’s half-century of impact. Five current OSU exchange students and nine others enrolled in a faculty-led course on New Zealand’s world-class farming and pastoral systems joined the celebration, underscoring the continuity of student-to-student learning that has defined the exchange since its earliest days. Dean Staci Simonich and Associate Dean for International Programs Dave Stone represented OSU alongside Lincoln Provosts Chad Hewitt and Damien Lodge, who together reaffirmed the value of cross-Pacific education. Looking ahead, they identified opportunities to broaden faculty collaboration in viticulture, rangeland management, agrivoltaics, crop breeding, sustainability, and beyond.
“The tight relationship with Lincoln University is very natural,” according to Stone. “We have similar values and are focused on many of the same opportunities and challenges in agriculture and natural resources. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re very collegial and New Zealand is beautiful.”
The anniversary comes at a moment when Oregon and New Zealand are poised for deeper ties. The two regions are, in many ways, mirror images across the Pacific with each situated between 35° and 47° latitude, shaped by temperate climates, mountain ranges, fertile valleys, and long coastlines. Both rely on strong forestry, farming, and fisheries sectors, have built global reputations in food and beverage, natural fiber, and specialty seed industries, and are advancing rapidly with expanding renewable energy, agritech, and value-added biobased manufacturing. These shared strengths make collaboration natural.
Building on the original student exchange’s foundation, OSU is exploring ways to extend it partnerships to create new opportunities for students and faculty in food technology, natural materials including industrial hemp, and engineering.
The Global Hemp Innovation Center (GHIC), led by Jeffrey Steiner, has been working with Karnika De Silva and the New Zealand Product Accelerator (NZPA) for three years and building a wider network for collaboration. For this exchange, she introduced Steiner, Stone, and faculty members Skip Rochefort with the College of Engineering and Islam Hafez with the College of Forestry to counterparts and arranged tours of leading university research programs and companies driving advances in innovation in food and beverage, natural materials, and biobased product manufacturing.
Meetings were held with administrators and researchers at the University of Auckland, University of Waikato, Auckland University of Technology, Lincoln Agritech Limited, including the Bioproduct and Fibre Technology Team, The University of Canterbury’s Biomolecular Interaction Centre, New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Scion Group, and Ministry of Awesome. Site visits were also made to leading New Zealand companies and incubators, including Hemp New Zealand, rubisco®, Autex Acoustics, The Food Bowl, and NZPA.
For the students, the trip was equally transformative. Four OSU undergraduate engineering majors toured labs and facilities and met with university faculty and researchers to look firsthand at how biomaterials engineering research translates into industrial innovation, while building international networks that will serve them as future leaders in science and technology.
Together, these engagements reflect OSU’s broader commitment to building trans-Pacific partnerships that link research, teaching, and industry engagement with a strong emphasis on commercialization pathways. By advancing collaboration in biobased materials development and manufacturing, Oregon State and its New Zealand partners aim to accelerate innovation, strengthen supply chains and market opportunities, and train the next generation of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs.
By linking our shared expertise in science, education, and business, Oregon State and our New Zealand colleagues are positioning both regions as global leaders in biobased product innovation.” Steiner said.
From celebrating a half-century of agricultural exchange to launching new initiatives in food and beverages, natural materials, and engineering, OSU’s September trip underscored both the depth of past partnerships and the promise of future collaboration. What began 50 years ago with agriculture students studying abroad now extends across disciplines, industries, and borders by creating an opportunity-rich landscape for advancing the bioeconomy on both sides of the Pacific.
