Otago University has overspent its travel budget for the year to date, by almost 1.5-million dollars

The ODT reports the university council's finance and budget committee's latest agenda, reveals the university had spent 10.45-million dollars on travel for the financial year to September, against a budget of 8.75-million.

It comes as the university is undergoing several restructures, department reviews, and more than 120 job cuts, with a goal of permanently cutting 60-million dollars from it's operating budget.

Deputy research and enterprise vice-chancellor Professor Richard Blaikie says travel was often essential for field research and networking, but doesn't need to be the automatic choice.