Massey reaches out to iPad users

Friday, March 28, 2014
Massey reaches out to iPad users

A computer-generated animation of the extinct Tasmanian tiger as imagined by a Massey student, panoramic views of the Himalayas in an article about a social anthropologist’s research into modern pilgrimages, and the chance to browse period photographs of WWI are on the menu of Massey University’s new free iPad magazine app.

The general interest definingnz magazine app is the first of its kind to be published by a New Zealand university.

The app gives iPad users with an interest in the work of the university – or in New Zealand more generally – a vivid take on academia via a multimedia-enriched reading experience, with embedded videos and images and built-in social sharing.

Malcolm Wood, who edits the magazine and led the app’s development, says that the nature of the university, with its widespread 15,000-strong constituency of students studying by distance learning, and its 100,000-plus alumni worldwide, makes it particularly well suited to the use of apps as a distribution mechanism.

“With magazine apps like National Geographic and the New Yorker proving hugely popular and around one in five New Zealanders owning a tablet of some description, it makes sense for us to have our own magazine app. Massey has always been at the forefront of employing new technology – and this app just continues the tradition,” Mr Wood says.

The launch of the app coincides with the university’s jubilee celebrations so the most recent issue of definingnz, available via the app, has a wealth of stories and archival imagery featuring the history of Massey from its origin as an internationally ground breaking agricultural college to its current status as New Zealand’s only national university.

Also featured is material from a colourful history of Massey’s former student magazine, CHAFF, renowned for its wit and irreverence, and its association with many celebrated New Zealand humourists, including the likes of Jon Bridges and Tom Scott.

The definingnz app is available from the Apple app Store or www.definingnz.com/app.

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