On Monday 2 February 2026, kaimahi ‘staff’ joined together in karakia across Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland to honour MIT and Unitec as a single organisation.
Prayers and blessings were offered by kaimahi in the following order:
- Hare Paniora, Pae Arahi
- Ioane Aleke Fa’avae, Academic Development Lecturer – Pacific Centre
- Hung Ngo, Operations Manager
- Hohepa Renata, Taurahere Marae
- Peseta Sam Lotu-iiga, Executive Director, MIT and Unitec
- Vince Hapi, Kaumatua
Strategic Direction 2025-2026
2026 will be a formational year, welcoming our new Council, Executive Leadership Team and an integrated approach to vocational education and training in the region.
Our strategic document, developed with feedback from kaimahi and leadership, sets the general direction around which Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec can unite.
A more detailed Strategic Plan, including specific goals and timelines, will be developed in 2026.
You can read our document here: A Strategic Direction for Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec, 2025-2026
Tāmaki Waka Hourua – ‘The Double Hulled Canoe’
MIT and Unitec is being guided forward by this values framework.
It allows us to acknowledge our past while embracing a shared future.
Tāmaki Waka Hourua acknowledges the distinct whakapapa (heritage), tuakiritanga (identity), and uara (values) of both institutions.
It provides a platform for connection and cooperation, guided by Ngākau Māhaki – a spirit of mutual respect and understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions for Kaimahi
It’s important kaimahi ‘staff’ have the information they need to understand what MIT and Unitec becoming a single independent provider means for them.
These frequently asked questions were last updated during the week starting Monday 27 January 2026.
If you have a further question you’d like to ask, please contact communications@unitec.ac.nz
What is the name of the new entity going to be?
The legal name of the entity is Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec.
We will be maintaining separate MIT and Unitec brands for the time being.
Guidance on the approach we are taking is available HERE.
What are the governance arrangements for the new entity?
MIT and Unitec will be guided by a Council.
Its members are Alastair Bell (Chair), Simon Harding (deputy chair), Ward Kamo, Prof Sharon Brownie, Peter Parussini and Bhav Dhillon.
Which group is currently offering top-level leadership to our providers?
Tāmaki Transition Group (TTG) has taken responsibility for guiding MIT and Unitec in this capacity.
This group includes: Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, Executive Director – MIT & Unitec, Prof Martin Carroll, Deputy Chief Executive – Academic MIT & Unitec; Simon Nash, Deputy Chief Executive – Learner Experience & Success MIT & Unitec; Vince Hapi – Kaumatua, MIT; Dr Wiremu Manaia, Director of Māori Education – MIT; Vivienne Merito, Taharangi, Director of Māori Success – Unitec; Kristine Brothers, Finance Director – Tāmaki; Christine Hutton, People Officer, MIT & Unitec; Dan Brady, General Manager – Operations MIT & Unitec; Simon Bilton, Programme Director – Tāmaki and Ali Ikram, Senior Communications Manager – MIT & Unitec, Kara Hiron, Legal – Director, MIT and Unitec.
Who will be the first Chief Executive of MIT and Unitec?
Professor Christina Hong starts as Chief Executive in mid-April this year. She’s an internationally recognised leader in applied education, with extensive experience in transformational change and stakeholder engagement.
Christina is currently Deputy Vice President of Education, Strategy & Quality at Central Queensland University. Prior to this she was President of the Technological and Higher Education Institute in Hong Kong. Christina has been the Chief Academic Officer at TAFE Queensland and CEO of the Southbank Institute of Technology. She has also held academic leadership roles on this side of the Tasman, including at Unitec as Executive Head of School, Performing & Screen Arts.
Who will be providing top-level executive leadership for the first part of 2026?
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will be continuing as Executive Director of MIT and Unitec through the first quarter of the year.
What is our focus going to be prior to the Chief Executive starting her role?
Our most immediate responsibility in coming months will be on the core purpose of enrolling, welcoming and teaching ākonga ‘learners’ for Semester 1. We need to ensure their initial interactions with us are friendly, positive experiences building a strong connection with MIT and Unitec. Another priority will be in engaging with key external partners and in particular industry and community groups.
People Leaders and their teams should develop their workplans including targets for the year and ways of measuring the progress made on these goals over 2026.
As a single entity, will we be the biggest provider of vocational education in the country?
Yes.
MIT and Unitec is the largest provider of on campus vocational education in Aotearoa-New Zealand. We also deliver online and in the workplace.
It gives us an opportunity to create a more significant presence for skills training in our region and internationally, as well as using our scale to increase our share of the country’s most competitive education market.
Will there be a move towards unified qualifications across our providers?
Achieving independence will return agency for making decisions about the suite of programme offerings to providers. For Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland, such decisions will include whether or not to unify the same or similar programmes.
In some cases, it may be sensible to unify two programmes that are the same or similar across MIT and Unitec; in other cases, there may be same or similar programmes that are better left separate because they serve distinctly different purposes and / or stakeholder needs. We propose to address each on a case-by-case basis. Note that only about a quarter of programmes at MIT and Unitec are the same or similar.
It’s also important to understand that unification does not necessarily mean that the programme’s delivery would be changed from two campus locations to one – that is a separate consideration. There may also be programmes currently delivered at one campus that might be delivered at additional locations in response to local demand.
As with most decisions, the approach taken by MIT and Unitec will be determined by its leadership team once in place.
In the past, MIT and Unitec have had a Pou Hautu and more recently been co-led at regional-level under New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology (formerly Te Pūkenga). How will Māori leadership be ensured through transition?
Transitional leadership for MIT and Unitec is offered by Tāmaki Transition Group.
The group includes – MIT kaumatua Vince Hapi (Waikato Tainui), Unitec Taharangi Vivienne Merito (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko) and MIT Director of Māori Education Dr Wiremu Manaia (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Awa).
MIT and Unitec remains committed to the relationships, partnerships, values and purpose which underpinned our institutions as standalone providers.
These include the Kawenata between MIT and Waikato-Tainui and Te Noho Kotahitanga, the partnership between Māori and non-Māori on which Unitec’s principles and values are based.
In MIT and Unitec’s interim Strategic Direction states that:
“Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec will be guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It shapes our values, priorities, and practices as we work to achieve equity for Māori and Tangata Tiriti. We will build upon our enduring and respectful relationships with iwi, hapū, and hapori across Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland, strengthening meaningful and long-term partnerships with shared aspirations.”
Will there be a Pacific Strategy for the new entity?
Our Pacific kaimahi ‘staff’ have already begun developing a strategic approach to supporting the needs and aspirations of our Pacific learners and communities in the region.
We look forward to seeing work on that progress, along with the many other strategies required to guide the operations of the new entity.
How can kaimahi have input into what happens in the future?
We are expecting these opportunities will come up as we proceed.
Already kaimahi have been invited to provide their feedback in the development of A Strategic Direction for MIT and Unitec, 2025-2026.
The document provides a high-level position around which the organisation can align prior to the development of a full Strategic Plan guided by the governance and executive leadership of the combined provider.
What can you say to kaimahi who have had long careers at either MIT or Unitec, and treasure the history of their providers?
Firstly, we know how meaningful this is to our ākonga , kaimahi and communities.
Secondly, the interim Strategic Direction document includes Te Waka Hourua, a conceptual framework to allow our institutional whakapapa and values to be part of our conversations in the future.
Will we be moving to single IT systems to support our mahi ‘work’?
Functioning as a single entity will require having the digital systems in place to support our operations and working together as MIT and Unitec.
A Digital Strategic Direction is under development to guide decision making and future Digital investment in the short-to-medium term.
The Council and Executive leadership, once appointed, will guide the development of a longer-term Digital strategy which will enable the overall Strategic Plan.
Will kaimahi be expected to work across MIT and Unitec?
Please continue working and teaching as per normal.
It’s important to note that many kaimahi already work and collaborate across our campuses.
Governance of the single entity will be responsible for developing a vision that fully realizes our potential to meet the needs of the region. The future entity’s Executive leadership will be responsible for implementing this.
All kaimahi will be consulted on any proposed future direction.
What does this mean for job security at both providers?
We understand the obvious interest in this question and acknowledge the extended period of change our kaimahi have been through in recent years.
As mentioned, fully realising the regionally-focused intent of the single entity, and an organisational structure to support it will be the responsibility of the Council and future Executive Leadership Team.
It is important to note in the legislation under which the single entity has been established, roles offered to kaimahi with the new entity must include equivalent terms of employment they had with NZIST.
Any proposed changes to roles impacting staff will be consulted on with affected kaimahi in accordance with all legal and employment agreement requirements.
What does the decision mean for the partnerships and agreements currently held by MIT and Unitec?
We look forward to honouring and advancing the current relationships held by our provider.
Currently, we are looking for opportunities to engage with these important stakeholders to affirm our commitment to mahi work we are doing together.
There are also many opportunities to expand our relationships with industry, iwi and other interested parties.
How will students be represented under the single entity? Will there be one council or two?
Good student representation reflects the interests of the diverse learner groups we serve, the communities they come from, as well as the range of disciplines we offer.
A decision on this will be made by the MIT and Unitec Council.
Given we have a General Election coming up, is there any assurance that these changes will stay in place if the Government changes?
As Government-funded entities, we implement the policies of the Government of the day.
Our leadership engages with elected representatives from across the political spectrum at both central and local government.
During these meetings, we take the opportunity to express the level of change the sector has experienced in recent years and that achieving stability is an important goal for us in meeting the needs of our learners, staff and external stakeholders.
What will it say on the certificates, diplomas and degrees we issue?
The single entity is now the legal authority conferring our qualifications.
As mentioned previously, Tāmaki Transition Group is recommending MIT and Unitec brands be retained for our qualifications for this year – at least.
The final decision on this rests with governance of the single entity.
We understand that this situation creates some uncertainty for our ākonga who have made an investment in and are working hard towards achieving their credentials.
It’s important ākonga understand if they are successful in gaining a qualification through us, they will receive a credential of the same high academic standard and industry-relevance, recognised both here and overseas, as those we issued under NZIST.
What branding should we use when engaging with the public and external stakeholders?
Please continue to use current branding.
Will there be changes to student loans and fees?
We know these are two important areas where we need to provide certainty for students enrolling for this year.
Domestic and International fees for 2026 have been approved for MIT and Unitec.
There will be no changes to the student loans offered to our learners as a result of moving to a single entity.
What will operating as a single entity mean for our current campus footprint?
Owning, upgrading and maintaining our facilities is a large investment our provider makes each year.
We have begun developing a Tāmaki Property and Campus Strategic Direction.
This Strategic Direction will guide decision making and future property and campus investment in the short-to-medium term.
The combined entity’s – Council and Executive leadership will guide the development of a longer-term Property and Campus Strategy which will enable the overall Strategic Plan.
How do I access support if I need it?
MIT and Unitec kaimahi can access free, 24-hour support through Vitae. Appointments can be made online or via phone by calling Vitae 0508 664 981.
MIT
Appointments can be made online or via phone by calling:
Vitae 0508 664 981 anytime 24/7 or online appointment
Telus 0800 360 364 anytime 24/7 or online appointment
Unitec
Appointments can be made online or via phone by calling:
Vitae 0508 664 981 anytime 24/7 or online appointment