The ‘Unitec wave’ in action!
There was a beautiful wairua in Te Puna on Thursday 6 December, where we celebrated the achievements and contribution of our people throughout 2018 at the Unitec Excellence Awards.
MC Blair Sorensen from the Unitec Pathways team ably guided the more than 500 guests through the ceremony, including practicing a ‘Unitec wave’ and a range of ‘energy building’ clapping exercises ready to celebrate all our finalists and winners!
Blair Sorensen – Student Recruitment Advisor and our super-talented MC!
Burgers, a ‘backyard beer garden’ and wine bar party followed the awards, with a big group staying on to enjoy the DJ’s tunes on the dance floor, plus the very popular photo booth.
This year, we launched a new format for the awards that ensure our teachers were suitably recognised in specific teaching categories, plus additional categories that highlighted the work of individuals and teams across the business.
Thank you to everyone who nominated a colleague or team; a record 159 nominations were submitted – awesome recognition of the excellent work happening here at Unitec!
Watch the photo reel below for a snapshot of the awards, including all of our winners.
- If you’d like to receive a high-resolution file of any of the photos, please contact Communications
- To view (and download) the photo booth pictures, follow this link to HotShots. You can download the photos for free by using the download button on the image, then instead of ‘open’, go to ‘save as’
And here’s a snippet of Nick Sheppard receiving the People’s Choice Award:
Congratulations to our winners – watch the video to see a full list of nominees, finalists and winners.
Excellence in Teaching (General)
- Renata Jadresin-Milic – Senior Lecturer and Academic Leader, Architecture
- Supported Learning team – Pat Ball, Carron Boswell, Sue van Rossum, Lynn Solomon, Mary Perich, Dave Hicks and Carol Syron
Excellence in Teaching (Kaupapa Māori)
- Hohepa Renata – Taurehere Marae Lecturer, Marae Team
- Yo Heta-Lensen – Lecturer and Academic Leader, Community Development
Emerging Excellence in Teaching
- Samantha Heath – Lecturer, Health Care
Excellence in Research
- Geoff Bridgman – Lecturer and Academic Leader, Social Practice
- Terri-Ann Berry – Senior Lecturer, Engineering
Excellence in Teaching (Pacific Endorsement)
- Kamuka Pati – Lecturer and Academic Leader, Building Construction and Services
Contribution to Unitec and/or the wider community
- Category 1 team – Debra Robertson-Welsh, Chris King, Simon Tries, Julie Hall and Cathy Tyler
- Dila Beisembayeva – Lecturer and Academic Leader, Computer Science
Innovation and Enterprise
- Aroha Lewin – Principle Continuous Improvement Lead, Academic Operations
- Record of Works App team – Leni Fifita, Industry Cooordinator, Kamuka Pati, Academic Leader and Daniel Fuemana, HoPP BCS
Excellence in Support
- Anand Sajwan – Student Enrolment Manager, Enrolment Processing
- Dipti Vora – Knowledge Specialist, Learning and Achievement
- Lynda Toki – Kai Awhina, Marae Team
Te Noho Kotahitanga Team Award
- Marae team – Lynda Toki, Jessica Aranui and Hohepa Renata
- Unitec Pathways College team – Andrea Thumath, Michael Freeman, Hohepa Renata, Anaru Parangi, Robyn Gandell, Renee Peeni, Sarah Sommerville, Debbie Loots, Blair Sorensen, Beth Fitzgerald, Angus Robertson, Vithanage (Sela) Perera and Vanessa Robertson
People’s Choice Award
- Nick Sheppard – Dean Bridgepoint
Unitec Champion
- Falaniko Tominiko – Director Pacific Success