A stolen briefcase containing the private information of 500 research staff from tertiary institutions , including more than 140 staff from the University of Otago , will likely never be recovered , the Tertiary Education Commission ( TEC ) says . The briefcase , which contained evidence portfolios submitted by academic staff as part of the Performance - based Research Fund ( PBRF ) health round , was stolen from a coffee shop on the AUT University campus in Auckland last month . The briefcase also contained information about 24 Otago Polytechnic staff . ;