School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences

For most of my time in Dunedin, I was hosted by the
School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences. My host was Associate Professor Sandra Mandic, who focuses on researching active travel by children and adolescents, particularly through the longterm BEATS study https://www.otago.ac.nz/beats/index.html. She managed to recruit 100% of secondary schools in Dunedin and 85% of schools in Central Otago, which is very impressive. The BEATS team includes students and a research administrator in the Active Living Laboratory in the School, together with collaborators from across Dunedin and elsewhere in New Zealand, as well as some international collaborators.

With relatively little funding, Sandy has developed the BEATS study to include several spin-off research projects, together with knowledge exchange and implementation work, greatly increasing the value of the study. They have organised biennial
BEATS Study Symposia, at which their recent findings are presented to a wider audience, including members of the public. This is in addition to the TALES seminars for academics, policy-makers and practitioners. As a result of my William Evans Fellowship as Visiting Professor, I will be working with the BEATS team to write up some as yet unpublished results.

Another outcome is the plan to have a special issue of the Journal of Transport and Health that focuses on transport and health in New Zealand. Watch out for the call for papers!