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The University of Otago (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou) is a public research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand’s oldest University and one of the oldest universities in Oceania.The university was created by a committee led by Thomas Burns, and officially established by an ordinance of the Otago Provincial Council in 1869. Between 1874 and 1961 the University of Otago was a part of the federal University of New Zealand, and issued degrees in its name.Otago is known for its vibrant student life, particularly its flatting, which is often in old houses. Otago students have a long-standing tradition of naming their flats. The nickname for Otago students "Scarfie" comes from the habit of wearing a scarf during the cold southern winters. The university's graduation song, Gaudeamus igitur, iuvenes dum sumus ("Let us rejoice, while we are young"), acknowledges students will continue to live up to the challenge, if not always in the way intended. The university's student magazine, Critic, is New Zealand's longest running student magazine. The university's architectural grandeur and accompanying gardens led to it being ranked as one of the world's most beautiful university campuses by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph and American online news website The Huffington Post.

The majority of first year students at the University of Otago's Dunedin campus stay in one of the fourteen residential colleges, alongside a smaller number of senior students and postgraduates. These colleges provide food, accommodation, social and welfare services, as well as some degree of additional academic support, particularly for the largest papers. The colleges, many of which were formerly known as Halls of Residence, have a long-standing presence within the Dunedin academic society; the earliest was founded in 1893, only 24 years after the university's establishment. Since then, they have become contributing factors to the university's character and, with a combined capacity of over 3000 students, they contribute substantially to the university's provision of accommodation for new members from outside the city. While most of the colleges are university owned, three are owned by Presbyterian Church and one by the Anglican Church and two are co-institutional, accommodating students of Otago Polytechnic, as well as those of the university. In addition, the University of Otago College of Education, founded in 1876 as the Dunedin College of Education, has acted as an education faculty for the university since a merger in 2007, though it differs in function and purpose from the residential colleges described below.

The New Zealand International Science Festival is a biennial science festival which takes place for six days and involves participation of international keynote speakers. NZISF-staff produce events, external event organisers, and a range of local and national sponsors and funders. Up to 40 individual volunteers help run 200 festival events and thousands of visitors from all over New Zealand participate in festival events. The festivals attract a significant amount of high-profile local, regional and national media coverage, in print, radio and TV. The festival was first held in 1997 and its aim is to celebrate, promote and raise awareness of science, technology and the environment. The festival encourages people and organisations (educational, research, business and community) to participate in the promotion of their work in science and its applications and contributions to society. They also aim to highlight the excellence of achievements in these fields by Dunedin, Otago and New Zealand scientists. Beside private sponsors, core contributors to the festival are the Dunedin City Council, The Community Trust of Otago, and the University of Otago.

The University of Otago Clocktower complex is a group of architecturally and historically significant buildings in the center of the University of Otago campus. Founded in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1869, the University of Otago was the expression of the province's Scottish founders' commitment to higher education. They were also the inheritors of a strong architectural tradition and gritty determination. Defending the decision to build inexpensive materials in an elaborate historicizing manner the Chancellor, Dr. D.M. Stuart, said "the Council had some old-world notions and liked to have a university with some architectural style". This attitude persisted for over fifty years and resulted in an impressive group of buildings.

The Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases is a research centre based at the Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand dedicated to supporting basic research in infectious diseases throughout New Zealand. Primarily its mission is to provide molecular solutions to problems in infectious diseases through the application of modern methods of molecular and translational research. The Webster Centre endeavors to be a major player in the development of new vaccines, diagnostics and antimicrobials.At present the Webster Centre offers research support in the forms of student support, sponsored seminar programs and New Zealand wide symposiums on Infectious Disease Research. The Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases is directed by Kurt Krause, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Otago and coordinated by Rebecca Psutka. The Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases has adopted a multi-disciplinary approach and researchers in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, molecular genetics, pharmacy, pharmacology and public health are all part of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases.

The University of Otago Registry Building, also known as the Clocktower Building, is a Victorian and later structure in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It stands next to the banks of the Water of Leith and is constructed from contrasting dark Leith Valley basalt and Oamaru stone, with a foundation of Port Chalmers breccia. The building houses the administrative centre of the university, and the office of the Vice-Chancellor. It has a Category I listing with Heritage New Zealand.It is the principal element of the Clocktower complex, the group of Gothic revival buildings at the heart of the University of Otago's campus (University of Otago Clocktower complex). The most prominent of the group it was designed and re-designed by Maxwell Bury (1825–1912) and Edmund Anscombe (1874–1948), between the 1870s and the 1920s. This resulted in a revised geometry and a change to the original conception.

University College (UniCol), founded in 1969, is the largest residential hall at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses approximately 501 residents during the academic year. Originally consisting of two towers, North Tower and South Tower, it has since been expanded with the acquisition of a set of flats on Clyde street and then in 2004 with the Northern and Southern Annexes. It is the most central college on the campus, situated beside the university's original buildings. The college is home to a variety of University of Otago students from all over the world. These students pursue a myriad of different degrees. Te Whare Raiona (House of the Lion), so named to incorporate the ornate brass lions that feature prominently at the front of the building. It has since been incorporated into the College's official logo, merchandise and flags.

Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of the largest museum collections in New Zealand. Natural science specimens and humanities artefacts from Otago, New Zealand and the world form the basis for long-term gallery displays. An interactive science centre within the museum includes a large, immersive tropical butterfly rainforest environment. In February 2022 the museum was gifted the name Tūhura, meaning "to discover, investigate and explore" by local rūnanga, changing the official name to Tūhura Otago Museum.

Dunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) northeast of the city centre. It contains many of the city's major institutions, including the city's university, polytechnic, main hospital, and largest museum. Dunedin North's 2001 population was 7,047, including the university area.

Saint Margaret's College, Otago is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The current Master (Head of the College) is Elizabeth Koni and the Dean of Students is Jill Spencer. The previous Master, Dr Charles Tustin, retired in January 2023. His predecessor, Dr Peter Norris, retired in November 2016 after 28 years of service to the College. The college celebrated its 2011 centenary, with a college history published in 2010 and a weekend of celebrations in January, 2011. The College currently accommodates 224 students. Its motto is "altiora in votis" or "set your heart on higher things".

All Saints has been open since 1865, and is presently in the Dunedin North parish which includes the northern part of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand and is made up of the former parish of All Saints and the former parish of St. Martin's North East Valley. It is part of the Diocese of Dunedin. The parish boundaries include North East Valley, Pine Hill, North Dunedin, Ravensbourne and Leith Valley. The building is the oldest church still used as a place of worship in Dunedin. All Saints Church is the chapel of Selwyn College, Otago. The College was built around the church and the college and parish have a close relationship. Selwyn College was built as an Anglican theological college in 1893, from the beginning it also housed non-theological students from the university. All Saints' is located close to the campuses of the University of Otago and the Otago Polytechnic.

Selwyn College is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill as a theological college training clergy for the Anglican Church and as a hall of residence for students attending the university. It is named after George Augustus Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand and is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin. It was opened on 15 January 1893. It was Otago's first residential college and on the model of an English university college it included students of all subjects. Women were admitted in 1983. The main building is listed as a Category II Historic Place. Selwyn is one of the most popular colleges in Dunedin, its 188 available places oversubscribed every year.Bishop Nevill was the pioneer of the Oxbridge-esque collegiate system at Otago and founded Selwyn college in 1893.