5 minutes with Glenn McKay

Glenn McKay recently joined Unitec as Tumu Tauwhirowhiro Māori and Executive Director Student Experience. His previous roles were in Wānanga and the New Zealand Police, and he is of Te Arawa descent. We sat down with Glenn to find out more.

Kia ora Glenn and welcome to Unitec. Can you tell us about your longstanding connection with Unitec and why this role appealed?

During my ten years with the New Zealand Police, I was responsible for preparing the organisation to respond better to Māori needs at both an operational and strategic level. One of the highlights of that time was working with Unitec to establish a bridging programme to recruit more Māori, Pacific and women into the New Zealand Police. I’m particularly proud of the fact that 15 years later, the programme is still running and has been responsible for more than 350 people from those target groups entering the police.

The education thread continued in my role with Te Wānanga O Aotearoa, where we continued to work with Unitec in redeveloping the bridging programme further and it is now offered in five sites around the country.

My observation of the impact that education can have on people’s lives is part of the reason why I applied for this current role. I have seen and benefited from education later in life and have a real appreciation for the role education can play in transforming not only individuals but whole communities.

What’s your key focus in this role?

The latest EER review showed that Unitec needs to improve engagement with Māori stakeholders; so, part of my focus will be supporting Unitec to do that better.

I’ll also be supporting Dr Josie Keelan and her Ako Ahimura team to embed Mātauranga Māori throughout all our programmes and the organisation as a whole. Māori success is an organisational responsibility so we all have a role to play.

The other area of focus for me is student experience, where I see my key role as supporting our staff in their respective areas.   Te Puna is an exciting new space which may challenge us to do things differently but ultimately it comes down to how we continue to support our students.   I look forward to working with Verity Jade and the team as we focus on providing a quality experience for all our students.

What other opportunities do you see here?

I can see a number of opportunities for us to work alongside of Iwi, Māori organisations, schools and other community groups.  The extension of the Western corridor will offer significant opportunities given the increase of housing and related population growth for the area.

Unitec has been doing an outstanding job of delivering Te Reo classes out of Puukenga and, once again, this semester’s classes are fully subscribed. There has been a lot of media coverage recently about the growing interest in Te Reo and I can see a significant opportunity for us to deliver Te Reo at higher levels to provide a pathway to retain these students.

As a fluent Te Reo speaker, why do you think there’s so much more interest in learning the Māori language?

I believe there are a number of reasons as to why we are noticing a significant increase in more Māori and non-Māori studying Te Reo.  Learning Te Reo Māori is like opening a doorway into the Māori world and so it is not just about learning the language.  You embark on a spiritual, cultural and environmental (connection to the whenua) journey that is brought together in the learning of Te Reo.  There is also a growing recognition of the value Te Reo me ōna tikanga adds to an organisation’s value – as much as it is about a personal journey, it should also be viewed as professional development.  Nā reira, ānei te kōrero akiaki ki te hunga e hiahia ana ki te ako te reo rangatira…karawhuia!  I’d encourage people to give it a go!

So what do you do when you’re not at work?

I play a bit of Touch Rugby in the weekends and spend time with family down in Rotorua, where I grew up.  Quality time with whanau and friends is important to me.    I’m also an avid DIY guy so on weekends you’ll find me walking the isles of one of the big brand stores – I’m like a kid in a candy store.