Rate My Professor Welby Ings

Welby Ings is Professor of Art and Design at Auckland University of Technology's School of Art and Design, within the Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in applied narratology from AUT in 2005, Master of Arts in Graphic Fine Arts with First Class Honours from the University of Kent in 1997, Bachelor of Graphic Design from Auckland Institute of Technology in 1995, Advanced Diploma in Teaching from the University of Waikato in 1976, and Certificate in Teaching with Distinction from Hamilton Teachers’ College in 1975. At AUT, Ings has held key leadership positions including Programme Leader for the Bachelor of Art & Design Honours (2004-2011), Master of Philosophy (2009-2017), and PhD programmes (2009-2017). He has also served as PhD examination convenor (2013-2017), professorial representative on the Academic Board (2014-2017), and contributed to committees such as the University Learning and Teaching Committee (2007-2011) and Faculty Research Degrees subcommittee (2008-2014).

His academic interests focus on narrative structure and design in short film and music video, pedagogical approaches to practice-led artistic inquiry, and education, with a particular emphasis on narrative design in postgraduate research encompassing film, graphic novels, creative writing, and world building. Ings is an acclaimed filmmaker whose short film Boy (2005) won the John O’Shea Award for Best New Zealand Short Film, was long-listed for the 2006 Academy Awards, and garnered international accolades including Best International Film at Berlin Interfilm. Munted (2011) received the Grand Jury Award at Regensburg Film Festival among others. His debut feature Punch (2022) was selected as a New York Times Critic's Pick. Major publications include Disobedient Teaching: Surviving and Creating Change in Education (2017, Otago University Press), Invisible Intelligence (2025), Drawings from a Fictional Man (2010), and Munted: Screenplay and Director’s Notes (2010). He has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on topics including supervision of practice-led design theses, craft thinking in graphic design, and supporting queer postgraduate students. Awards include the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching Excellence and NZ Government Award for Sustained Tertiary Teaching Excellence (both 2002), AUT University Medal for contributions to Education and Research (2013), and Student Union Award for Best Postgraduate Supervisor (2013). An elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Ings consults internationally on creativity and innovation.