When Lewis Braithwaite decided to change career paths from working in health science to undertaking a plant research role, a Lincoln University postgraduate diploma offered the perfect solution.
Several years ago, Lewis started working for a small family business that specialises in plant disease diagnosis and realised he wanted to gain more specialist knowledge to build on what he was learning through his day-to-day activities.
Best of all, he can study part-time for the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Science, which fits perfectly with his work commitments.
“Lincoln University offered a course of study whereby I could easily transition from a career in the health sciences and build on my existing scientific knowledge in a way that was directly applicable to my new job,” he says.
“I have really enjoyed having both practical and theoretical aspects to my study, which included travelling to Germany for a course and undertaking a lab-based internship at Lincoln that I will be starting soon.”
The programme also allows him the flexibility to choose subjects that are relevant to his interests.
“I selected mainly plant pathology and pest management courses, which have provided additional knowledge that applies to my work in a plant diagnostics lab.”
He’s on track to finish his studies at the end of this year.
Lewis says plants are important for the health of the planet but pests and diseases are a continued threat and a challenge to manage.
“We must continue to find new and better ways to manage them, both for food production and for other reasons such as the preservation of plant species like kauri in New Zealand.”
