Congratulations to all our finalists and winners at our 2021 Excellence Awards on Thursday 2 December!

Watch the full online event below (Password is: UNITEC2021):

Through our annual Unitec Excellence Awards we recognise and celebrate the amazing work that our people have contributed to Unitec. Our range of categories, provide the opportunity for people across the organisation, in both teaching and support roles, to be recognised.

Our 2021 winners and finalists are:

Excellence in Early Career Teaching

*Winner* Eugene Nehring – Lecturer, School of Trades and Services: Gene embodies all of Te Noho Kotahitanga values. His pastoral care of students is outstanding, bringing whānau in to try and get students back onto the road of success. He has his eye on academic quality too, ensuring all correct processes are carried out and assessment is fair and valid.  Within six months of his teaching career, he’s emerged as an all-round superstar, balancing the academic and practical demands of being a trades teacher and being recognised for his efforts by taking on a programme coordinator role this year.  He’s done an exemplary job of managing the team and guiding students through the lockdown by providing clear communication and expectations, with all the complexities that this brings to such a practical course.

Nursing lecturers in Bachelor of Nursing team: Gilian Graham, Sarah Gray, Laurien Wheeler: Gilian Graham, Sarah Gray and Laurien Wheeler have all made huge contributions to the nursing students in the Bachelor of Nursing through their development of student-centred teaching practices. They have two driving forces, firstly to learn about the art and science of teaching in order to produce the best possible nurses for the profession, and secondly to ensure their students are guided into the realities of the nursing profession. Examples of their ideas include the use of recorded verbal feedback, using Socrative to allow students a voice in their classes, and getting assessment from classroom-based to online. Not only do they support each other by using their unique skills and knowledge to teach in each other’s courses, but they have also welcomed observation of their teaching practice in order to seek ways to improve.

School of Trades and Services: New beginnings team – Richard Boynton, Kasun De Alwis, Joshua Iwan, Caleb Wong, Eugene Nehring, Trent Barclay, Tommy Atkins, Colin Corkill, Craig Goodhue, Alastair Dale, Mark Lawson, Dean D’souza, Feleti Key, Ruben Sigglekow, Rick Yu, Stuart Marshall, David Ryan, Simon Goodlud: This nomination is in recognition of all the School’s new hires. Teaching in Trades is a challenge due to the complexities it involves, yet these people have risen to the challenge and introduced fresh thinking into the mix.  As highly skilled Tradies, their willingness and ability to adapt to academia has been remarkable. From the very beginning of their journey, it is apparent that they adore their jobs and are very much student-centred and motivated. The training they provide is second to none, and probably what is most remarkable is their natural ability to hook their learner’s attention with their on-job experience from the trades into the classroom. The new lecturers are exhibiting traits of far more experienced lecturers.

Innovation in teaching

Katy Mann-Benn – Team Leader, Learning and Achievement: Katy has gone completely outside of the box when it comes to teaching and supporting students with difficulties. She achieved unprecedented things and gave outstanding support, achieving remarkable results. For example, she introduced one-on-ones with students three times a week, explored alternative solutions to their problems, assisted Welcome Day through and used an innovative quiz, passed on her knowledge, and presented innovative technologies to support the Disability team.  Katy was present in every single step when supporting both students and staff.

*Winner* Lee-Anne Turton – Programme Coordinator, Bachelor of Teaching, Early Childhood: As a teacher educator, Lee-Anne is always looking for authentic and innovative approaches towards learning, teaching and assessment across the Early Childhood programme. She shows leadership of innovative pedagogies demonstrated through creative curriculum development, contemporary assessment design, and her deep understanding of digital technology to enhance learning.  Lee-Anne brings her personal creative art practice with a focus on sustainability, to support small world play across learning domains within early childhood education. Her innovative design around the concept of “Loose Parts” encourages student teachers and other early childhood educators in the community to find sustainable resources to create play opportunities for children. As well as embedding this practice in her teaching and assessments, she runs workshops that challenge teachers to be more creative and innovative in their practice.

Associate Professor Matthew Bradbury, School of Architecture: Matthew has led his colleagues to develop an innovative teaching pedagogy for a joint landscape/architecture studio.  This innovative approach has helped students build collaboration and capacity to address real-world problems and includes the engagement of a multiplicity of stakeholders, drawn from government agencies, practitioners, the community and mana whenua. Over the last six years, the studio offered architecture and landscape architecture students opportunities to work in teams, to conduct critical research and to address critical contemporary issues. It also led to multiple peer-reviewed academic publications.

Excellence in Teaching

Alexandra Whitham – Lecturer in Voice and Acting, Performing and Screen Arts, School of Creative Industries: Alexandra has been with the Unitec Performing and Screen Arts programme for 10 years as an acting and voice lecturer. During that time, she has embraced the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga to continually provide high quality instruction and care of her students, along with innovation within the programme. Appointed as the acting Discipline Lead just weeks before the latest lockdown, she worked to hold the acting cohort and create a caring space that still provides the rigorous training that makes the Acting programme highly recognised in Aotearoa. The communication that she has provided has been thorough, carefully written and prompt. Students have remarked in the student feedback forums how much they have appreciated this approach through what is a difficult time.

*Winner* Chris Stoddard – Lecturer, New Zealand Certificate in Construction Trades: Chris’s students describe him as “a legend”.  The level of care Chris shows for his students is inspiring, and he remembers them long after they have left Unitec, as they do him.  Chris is always questioning how he can best meet his students’ needs – providing tutorials, creating resources to make learning more accessible for them, asking what he can do to help students with literacy and numeracy needs, and other needs such as dyslexia.  He views them as fellow carpenters starting their journey and helps them by connecting them with employers so they can secure an apprenticeship. Chris champions the value of academic processes, driving his team to meet compliance requirements and engage with external stakeholders.

*Winner* Cindy Wee – Learning Advisor: Cindy has worked in the role of Academic Development Lecturer since 2007. She embraces the concept of ako, understanding students’ learning styles and challenges, and presents appropriate learning experiences to develop knowledge and skills. She appreciates the privilege of being part of students’ learning journeys, promoting and rejoicing in their academic successes.  Students respond positively to Cindy’s caring, encouraging teaching given in one-to-one and group situations, with tailored content and delivery to meet the needs of specific groups. Cindy embraces the use of new technology and pedagogy, proactively seeking to help her colleagues master critical digital skills and online teaching techniques by facilitating team professional development sessions.

Sanjeev Ranganathan – Lecturer, School of Applied Business: Sanjeev exemplifies the teaching that contributed to the School of Applied Business receiving an unprecedented Graduate Net Promoter score of 55 in the 2021 Graduate Survey; the highest score of all of Unitec’s schools. Despite COVID-19 lockdowns, he has provided leadership, teaching excellence, coaching and support to enable students to demonstrate their value to employers.  He knows the importance of working with real businesses to solve their issues, and has created authentic assessment opportunities for his students with companies such as Foodstuffs, leading to employment opportunities.  Sanjeev has also been proactive in implementing Matauranga Māori in his classes.

*Winner* William Bardebes – Lecturer in Design and Discipline Leader: Design, Design & Contemporary Arts, School of Creative Industries: For more than 20 years, William has brought an extraordinary range of skills, compassion and wisdom to his teaching practice. He works primarily with Design students but also has considerable input into many of the practices of students in the Contemporary Arts field. An understanding of the rich dialogue across the fields of art and design is something he shares with all his students as the need to be experimental and innovative as a means of standing out, and meeting the needs of all communities. He is relentlessly committed to the success of all students and especially achieving parity for Māori and Pacific Learners. Will has undertaken a great deal of industry research to understand lack of representation in the design field for Māori and Pacific, and positive shifts in the sector that need to be built upon.

Excellence in Teaching – Kaupapa Māori

*Winner* Department of Social Practice: Anne Walsh, Nigel Pizzini, Kaylene Parr, Dr Aulola Lino, Dr Hoa Nguyen, Allan McEvoy, Craig Tunnicliffe, Dr Irene Ayallo, Gavin Rennie, David Kenkel, Paula Bold-Wilson, Jason Hallie, Cheryl Talamaivao, Dr. Dr Byron Rangiwai, Arnia Tamihana-Simich, Dr Ali Rasheed, Mandy Leeson, Grace Hafoka, Dr David McNabb, Peter Mathewson, Assoc Prof Dr Helen Gremillion, Dr Geoff Bridgman, Sandra Hosking, Fi Pillay, Linda Aumua: : Critical to the discipline and teaching of the Social Practice team is the recognition that ākonga must have a sound understanding of the wider context of Aotearoa, in particular how breaches of Te Tiriti and the intergenerational harm and trauma caused by colonisation, have impacted on Māori communities today. All staff actively audit and review their courses for Māori content, and incorporate assessments that consolidates their understanding of Kaupapa Māori. The design and planning of their programmes places learners, and the needs of Māori communities at the forefront.  They have demonstrated a strong commitment to ensure that content is regularly updated, relevant and fit for purpose. Through being intentional, the department has seen a significant shift in success rates with Māori students not only exceeding Unitec’s parity targets, but the national targets set by the Ministry of Education. The department’s Māori students “see themselves”, in all aspects of their learning environment, and are constantly awarded the top scholar awards at graduation.

Paula Bold Wilson – Lecturer, Social Practice: Paula lives and breathes every facet of Te Noho Kotahitanga in everything she does and her students are the centre of her universe – she has been a taituara (strength) for them through difficult times. Her commitment to her students is never something she talks about openly, its demonstrated in the aroha her students have for her, in the strength her students develop and the stories they tell about her influence and manaakitanga throughout their study and beyond. She is a fierce advocate for the rights of her students and the rights of Māori.

Tanya White – Kaitiaki Taiao, Maia and Lecturer, Creative Industries: Tanya has been teaching and holding tikanga within her role of kaitiaki tai ao since before the inception of this role. Her valued contribution to Unitec in her protection of the whenua is key to the wellbeing of all. She is generous in her teachings and practice and continues to provide opportunities for staff, tauira and the community to learn, develop and dive deep into tikanga pa harakeke as Hauora. She is always tika and pono and embodies Te Noho Kotahitanga throughout her essence and is a taonga to all at Unitec.

Excellence in Research

Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan – Director, Ngā Wai a te Tūi: Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan demonstrates the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga and has grown into being a leader in Māori and Pacific research innovation, providing opportunities for externally-funded projects, mentoring early career research staff, and care for students. As the director of Ngā Wai a Te Tūī, Māori and Indigenous Research Institute, she provides partnerships with stakeholders among iwi, community, and within the academy and research sector instigating tangible socio-cultural change in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Dr Kristie Cameron – Senior Lecturer, School of Environmental and Animal Studies: Kristie demonstrates the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga in her research leadership through her role as chair of the Unitec Early Career Researcher (ECR) committee, her ongoing support in developing the research capabilities of new and emerging researchers within EAS, her industry-led research partnering with stakeholders, and her passion for developing research capability in her students.  It is through her ongoing championing of early career researchers that several of the EAS team are ECR’s themselves and are published or working toward this goal. Kristie is also a passionate advocate for student research, evidenced through her encouragement and support of our undergraduate students to publish. In 2021, Kristie was appointed to the Royal Society ECR forum committee, the only ITP representative among the 16 committee members.

*Winner* Associate Professor Samantha Heath – Senior Lecturer – Healthcare, School of Healthcare and Social Practice: Dr. Heath is the research leader for Healthcare. Through her leadership, the department has grown from having an entrenched red RTPL to becoming green in 2020 continuing into 2021. The transformation contributed to the achievement of the Unitec research strategic goal of having all Schools meet this target by 2021. Dr Heath has an ability to bring people together to develop projects that increase our understanding of strategies to support and facilitate our students’ success and to ensure that they are work-ready.  Through her work, we have learned about the impact of COVID-19 on teaching staff, and the need to continue to build literacy throughout our programmes. Earlier this year, Dr Heath won an early career researcher 3-minute thesis award and in June, was a recipient of a prestigious Whitinga Fellowship from MBIE for $320,000.

Excellence in Support: Supporting systems and processes

Edgar Rowland – Team Leader, Enrolment Processing: Edgar truly embodies Te Noho Kotahitanga values. He has created an amazing team culture where everyone has each other’s backs; an environment of s trust and honesty; and a buddy system that encourages professional development.  He follows policy and process to the letter to ensure consistency and fairness across the organisation, including doing an exceptional job with the ‘No Show’ – 10% drop process, so as to bring minimal disruption to our students. Edgar’s also a passionate and committed sustainability and wellbeing champion.

Kristine Brothers – Director – Business Performance, Finance: Kristine has dedicated many hours of positive leadership and mahi to unite and lead the Finance team in a new direction.  The team is now in a great space, providing the continued guidance and support for our Schools and support areas, so they in turn can deliver the quality learning for our students. They work as a team, make a bit of noise, have fun and have a great team culture, creating an enjoyable and collaborative work environment. Over the past year, Kristine has led them through many audits and additional reporting requirements, and they’ve come through with great results.

*Winner* Vince Shepherd – Resources Specialist – Systems, Library and Learning Commons: Vince was a critical part of the successful Building One Library move, planning and liaising to ensure everything went smoothly, and is also involved with the shift of the PASA Library. His involvement across logistics, changing online records and physically shifting books and shelves is unwavering, as is his commitment to our wider community.  He manages information relating to Library budgets, and his work underpins how Unitec provides access to resources that proactively support learning and teaching.  Everyone who has worked with Vince over his 31 years at Unitec has been grateful for his unstinting equanimity, and his patience helps us have needed conversations and learn in the process. He’s a great role model and an inspiration.

Excellence in Support: Supporting teachers

Anne McKay – Academic Advisor, Te Puna Ako: Anne is Kaitiakitanga at its best.  She is core to the support that has enabled the School of Healthcare and Social Practice to reach the requirements of TKK, ensure its compliance and that its programmes meet the needs of students, and that staff are upskilled and ready for changes that occur. Anne has an amazing energy and moves swiftly across all programmes and staff to meet their needs.  She has invested time to build relationships required to bring about positive change in online delivery and has enabled the best outcomes for students by helping lecturers become more energised, enthusiastic and empowered.

*Winner*  Kamuka Pati – Academic Programme Manager, School of Building Construction: In his role as APM, Kamuka demonstrates outstanding leadership of his team of lecturers, TAs and PASS leaders in delivering education to our students. He maintains the mana of those involved when managing difficult issues and situations, and fulfils promise and potential by seeking to find the best solution for everyone concerned.  Kamuka seeks to manaaki the success of our students and communities by applying the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga in everything he does.

Sue Emerson – Lead – Academic Programme Manager, School of Community Studies: Through three COVID lockdowns and an asbestos lock-out, Sue remained solutions-focussed but always remembered to check in on the wellbeing of the team. Over the year-long reaccreditation programme, Sue committed time, resource glitter and plenty of cake, while behind the scenes she was tireless in ensuring the quality and capacity to deliver on our vision. Despite juggling numerous projects, Sue always finds time for our students, who find her empathetic and approachable.

Excellence in Support: Supporting students

*Winner* Denise McIntyre – Access Coordinator, Access4Success: Denise started at Unitec as a casual note-taker for students, and over her 20-year career has always been extremely loyal, authentic and practical. She took up her Access Coordinator role four years ago and in that time, Denise has made sure she’s connected with each of our students, often helping them to reconsider if they were thinking of withdrawing.  She won’t leave work until she’s certain she’s done everything she can for a student and that they’re ready to face another day.  Students will often say that what they’ve achieved at Unitec wouldn’t have been possible without Denise’s input and support.

Adrian Jenkins – Subject Librarian, Learning and Achievement: Adrian’s core mahi is to support his aligned Schools, which involves curating library resources, teaching information literacy skills that fit with Unitec’s goal of creating life-long learners and empowering students to manage their study and achieve. It’s a full kete, which is how he likes things. Adrian will always be quick to offer support to team colleagues, either to cover classes or help out with research questions.  As soon as it was possible after lockdown, Adrian went back onsite so he could facilitate distance requests and ensure our students had access to what they needed. He’s a real advocate for fairness and listens respectfully to others’ perspectives.

Yoshie O’Neill – Learner Outreach Advisor, Student Advisory Team Lead – Language Studies, School of Bridgepoint: To “manaaki the success of our students” embodies Yoshie, as she provides exceptional support to our students and staff. Yoshie goes well beyond what’s expected of the role and despite only being with EAS in a part-time capacity, she’s always available to engage with our vulnerable students, showing empathy and understanding. With her excellent organisational knowledge, she ensures students can access the most appropriate support as quickly as possible.  She allows the academic team to focus on what they do best and is instrumental in promoting the academic success of our ākonga.

Supporting Pacific Learners Award

*Winner* Pacific Learning Advisors: Venusi Taumoepeau, Ioane Aleke-Fa’avae, Daisy Bentley-Gray: Our Pacific Learning Advisors demonstrate Te Noho Kotahitanga values in all that they do. They are a group of inspirational, talented colleagues who are always there in support of their students, including online workshops to support scholarship information and academic support; helping facilitate the Ako-Fono Exam prep week; inviting guest speakers to share their experiences to learners through Talanoa; celebrating Pasifika Language weeks through a wide of hands-on activities; and the support of Fanau/Whānau events to help students and their families understand more about Unitec and what it has to offer

*Winner* Toetu (Tu) Nuualiitia – Student Experience Partner, School of Trades and Services: Tu manages the Unitec Māori and Pacific Trades Training (MPTT) experience for scholarship recipients in Trades, and students are at the heart of everything that he does.  Tu takes the time to get to know each and every one of our Pacific students; to understand their stories, where they come from, where they are at in their journey and the contributing factors that may make it challenging for them to achieve their goals.  He values what they bring to Unitec, and leads and partners with whānau, community and other stakeholders to help guide them. When his students cross the stage at Graduation, he celebrates with them knowing he has contributed to their success.

Contribution and Collaboration Award

Bachelor of Nursing team: Associate Professor Dianne Roy, Dr Samantha Heath, Leslie Kistan, Vimlesh Shulka, Laurian Wheeler, Gilian Graham, Shobha Johnson, Evelyn Hikuroa, Noreberto Ricacho, Jill Phillips, Sarah Gray, Sahdi Safavi, Robina Mall, Jacqui Jansen,  Elaine Randles, Divya Sharma, Tasneem Rajkotwala, Anne McKay, Sue Crossan, Kathyrn Dibble-Gallagher, May Tan, Dipti Vora, Christine Adern-Roumagere, Charlotte Bouquet, Frank Reinhold, Pam Williams, Saleshni Nand, Linda Aumua, Mary Liu, Hiroko Hodge, Ruth Liang, Helen Luka, Daisy Bentley-Gray, Nina Pelling, Margaret Evans, Hua Dai, Agnes, Vincent Shepherd, Kate Barry: Collaboration is the name of the game for the Bachelor of Nursing team, both within Unitec and in the community. They work together to provide their students with the best possible learning experience, and draw on their own individual knowledge and experience to support each other in their teaching practice.  They’re rated highly by their students in course surveys and the success of their collaboration is highlighted year after year with 100% of their students passing the state final exams. The collaboration outside of Unitec has been particularly valuable in the past year, working with DHBs, aged care facilities, other nursing programmes and the nursing council to continue to find student placements while keeping both staff and students safe.

IT Desktop team: Asif Fakhruddin, Andrew Powdrell, Andy Brien, Bhavin Patel, Brad Kruger, Mani Vajje, Shazneed Saeed, Thushara Fernando: The IT Desktop team continually strives to provide Unitec staff and students with the best service they can give. During this year’s lockdown, the team has worked on-site to enable everyone can continue working and studying with the least amount of disruption by providing the necessary tools and back-up support needed.  They’ve been supported by the IT infrastructure team who have ensured the smooth running of Unitec’s network and systems.

*Winner* Jody Bennett – Communications Partner, Marketing and Communications: The importance of Jody’s contribution cannot be overstated. As the mouth piece for the executive and extended leadership team, Jody’s work is seen and appreciated by all. From communications around COVID-19 and Asbestos to Tū Arotake and the Staff Awards, her important work keeps people informed and celebrates individuals, teams and the combined mahi we do here at Unitec. Working from home means now more than ever keeping us all up to date, informed and maintaining a sense of connection is key, and Jody has done all that with an inclusive approach and respect. In addition, she’s led The Nest upgrade, polling staff for feedback to ensure the evolution of Unitec is reflected in the new design.

Security team: Andrew Happy, Lee Stokes, Michael Dennison, Clive Webster, Keith Chan Chui, Andrea Lamont, Tania Wihongi, Taani Vehekiti, Toa Faalii, Serena Coe, Pila Fevaliake, Sifa Fevaliake, Greg Weller, Garry Miller: During day and night, the Security team has cared for our ākonga, staff and campus, helping keep everyone safe. They quietly go about their tasks with care and compassion, leading the COVID-19 Level 4 shutdown of the campuses with dedication and courage, and with the health and wellbeing of our staff and ākonga always at the heart of everything they do.   They have diligently adhered to lockdown guidelines, and ensured everyone who has come on-site has done the same.

Outstanding Contribution by a Project Team

*Winner* Creative Industries Performing and Screen Arts – Northern Campus Move: Dr Vanessa Byrnes, Michael Miller, Esther Watkins, Samuel Holloway, Aroha Lewin, Jaala Jacobs, Daniel Wagner, Alexandra Whitham, Paul Young, Dale Leyland, Nick Sheppard, Professor Martin Carroll, Will Wallace, Michael Craven, Larry Justice, Sai Yin Leung, Brian Maru, Sharon Steed, Tina Tisdall, Malcolm Yurak, Bill Dobbin, Jason Cocker, Tom Nimmo, Hung Ngo  and Kenny Leong: The Performing and Screen Arts programme worked through the monumental task of organising the move from the northern end of campus, alongside adjustments to programme design and delivery. The team undertook a large, multi-threaded project that called on specific technical knowledge while also maintaining the unique kaupapa that makes the Performing and Screen Arts programme the cornerstone of Aotearoa’s creative industry. The project succeeded in reworking programme delivery to accommodate building delays, decamping the north campus buildings with over 30 years of materials and equipment; and finding off-campus facilities for the continual delivery of the Dance programme.

Learner Outreach Project: Helena Finau-Hakalo, Grace Zhang, Aki Te’evale, Rolani Moasegi, Yoshie O’Neill, Amy Jesensek: The Learner Outreach Project team was quick to implement and respond to supporting ākonga online as soon as we went into Level 4 lockdown in August this year.  Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Student Central, Maia, Pacific and U25 teams, the team has had personalised outreach via phone, text messages, and emails with more than 6,000 students, with nearly half of these being calls and text messages alone. This year’s staggered approach of sending student wellbeing surveys within days of lockdown helped with positive engagement and achieved a prompt student response of 44%.  The project has been so successful at Unitec that a similar project is set to be implemented at MIT.

School of Trades and Service ‘Te Rito Mataaho’ Pastoral Care Team: Denyse Martin, Sevgi Taylor, Mervyn Paitry, Sharleen Churchward, Rhiannon McNamara and Tu Nuualiitia: With the extended lockdown, the School of Trades and Services faced some significant challenges with many ākonga ill-equipped to cope with learning a trade online. The school designed and implemented a pastoral care project that supported both academic staff and learners, many of whom are apprentices with a different and complex set of needs. The team combined their unique skills to form Te Rito Mataaho, the school pastoral care hub, fully committed to the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga. The numbers speak for themselves: Across the full-time, pre-trades programmes, 96 learners were referred by staff for extra support during lockdown, with evidence of high-risk learners re-engaging because of the unrelenting mahi of Te Rito Mataaho.

Innovation and Enterprise Award

Dr Cristiaan de Groot – Senior Academic Leader Business and Innovation, School of Creative Industries: Cris is Unitec’s sustainability champion. With a 15-year career at Unitec, he is reknown for his industry connections, brokering of multi-stakeholder collaboration projects, generous sharing of learning and development, and co-ordinating student projects that solve real life problems. Cris has dedicated the past two and a half years to working on a UniWaka carpooling app, which was due to go to trial in August, but delayed due to lockdown.  The user experience, developed by Cris’ design students, won Auckland Transport’s award, and since then, Cris enrolled and coordinated three different cohorts of IT students to code the app.

Osteopathy Clinic Staff: Nathalie Dussart, Natasha Jerez-Wildmann, Iain Dexter, Belinda Fellowes, Chris Harcombe, Hamish Syrett, John Cullen, Gill Wiltshire, Gajanan Deshmukh, Kristi Milliken: The non-lecturing staff in Unitec’s Osteopathy Clinic have had to transfer practical hands-on experiences to meaningful learning online as part of lockdown, requiring our industry experts to pivot from the treatment table to online delivery.  Course coordinators generated a lesson plan template while the osteopaths generated real-world case studies, enabling the clinic tutors, most of whom aren’t trained lecturers, to slot into online tutorials to support students. The ‘clinic replacement tutorials’ supported students to transfer theoretical thinking to practical application, with positive impact, particularly enhancing student’s communication skills.  It has kept them engaged and thinking about clinical cases, while positively reducing the impact of missed placement hours.

*Winner* Unitec Pathways College: Andrea Thumath, Anaru Parangi, Debbie Loots, Blair Sorensen, John Taufa, Renee Wilkinson, Janette Daunakamakama, Sarah Sommerville, Shar Lewin, Gabby Paki, Ana Pickering, Peter Smeets, Arbin Prasad, Rocxie Ngaro, Jacob Fuemana, Philip Faresa, Hohepa Renata, Michael Freeman, Hector Zinnick, Rudolf Mario, Adam Parkinson, Wayne Holmes, Morgan Look, Paul Oke, Sharnell Aumua: The UPC whānau supports the rangatahi of Tamaki to engage with some exciting and innovative pathway opportunities, working within the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga in order that they can achieve their full potential in study, careers and elsewhere. Based on partnerships with community, agencies, and local schools and kura, UPC is an integral part of a range of community events including Polyfest and Pacific in the Park, Intermediate Big Day Out and Pacific Island Leaders of Tomorrow (PILOT). Their vocational teaching offerings go from strength to strength, drawing in a huge group of young learners and engaging Unitec staff in supporting our rangatahi.  This has led to outstanding growth in “straight from school enrolments” since UPC was established in 2016.

*Winner* Virtual Desktop Project Team: James Kelly, Simon Teahan, Mani Vajje, Bevan Brown, Kevin Vitali, Mathew Adams, Keith Campbell, Ed Lin, Peter Reutlinger, Malachy McGarrigle, Morgan Look, Rodger Gibb, Glenn Aguilar, Hung Ngo, Karen Miller: Performance issues with the previous virtual desktop platform, coupled with aging technology, meant that urgent action was required to find a workable solution for Semester 2, 2021. A cross-functional project team was established, led by the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga, designed to work together to understand everyone’s issues, while striving to protect our systems to ensure a better experience for our learners. The pilot scheme had positive feedback, testament to the close collaboration of lecturers, IT staff and other colleagues. The new design will future proof Unitec for scalability and the initiative is being monitored by other Te Pūkenga subsidiaries for possible future adoption.

Sustained Outstanding Contribution to Unitec

*Winner* Andrew Happy – Manager Security, Infrastructure Operations: Andrew continually goes above and beyond to ensure that Unitec is a safe environment for all of our staff and students. During every lockdown over the past 18 months, it has been Andrew who has been on-site, ensuring that our buildings and campuses are kept safe.  He is humble and knowledgeable, always calm and level headed, showing empathy for those who need it. He has been instrumental in defusing many difficult and sometimes volatile situations on campus, always in a calm and controlled manner. He leads by example, has real Mana, and displays and practices all of the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga every day. He has been described as a totara in the Unitec forest.

Hung Ngo – Operations Manager Timetabling Office: A 13-year veteran of Unitec, Hung is Kaitiaki of Timetabling, leading a team of dedicated timetabling professionals through periods of considerable change in administration, process and software. During this time, he has shown a genuine commitment and passion for the wellbeing of his team, the reliability and consistency of timetabling services and the continuous improvement of timetabling services for our staff and learners. He has mentored many staff who have gone on to work in many other departments within Unitec, has freely shared his knowledge with all, contributing on many occasions as an in house ‘expert’ for important decision making.  He has led many key institutional projects, including the introduction of SEAtS attendance tracking and the impact of the land sale on teaching spaces and specialised teaching resources.

Lee Baglow – Head of School, Trades & Services: Lee took on the role of Head of Trades & Services at one of its most challenging times and has worked tirelessly since then to transform the School, keeping the success and welfare of his staff and students at the heart of everything he’s done over a period of huge growth. He launched projects to identify the School’s weaknesses and actions required to address them; and has reached out to other institutions, industry and governance groups to build stronger relationships and seek feedback. In his pursuit of continuous improvement, he has proactively invited scrutiny, offering open and honest discussions around compliance and what the school’s needs were to achieve set targets. Lee stays grounded and connected to the pressures his staff and students are facing, even teaching online for a couple of weeks over lockdown.

Linda Aumua – Head of School, Healthcare & Social Practice: Linda Aumua is the voice and face of the Waitākere campus, however she has Unitec at the heart of everything that she does. She lives our Te Noho Kotahitanga values and works tirelessly towards upholding the vision of Manaakitia te Rito. She is held in high regard by staff and students and is known as someone who will tirelessly advocate on their behalf, creating new student spaces including a whānau room. Her guardianship of the Waitākere campus and her collaborative leadership positions her as a taonga for the community. Her leadership and guidance helped achieved positive change in EER status for the Social Practice programmes and the ongoing success for Māori and pacific students in the Waitākere programme.

*Winner* Associate Professor Liz Rainsbury – Academic Programme Manager, School of Applied Business: Liz was the driving force behind the development of the new Master of Applied Business and the Master of Professional Accounting and the first delivery of these programmes in 2021. These programmes attracted 80 EFTS this year and will be a key part of the School’s growth and success in coming years. Her students are already being offered jobs in Digital Marketing, Analytics and Leadership, often even before they have finished their qualification. She is uncompromising in her commitment to excellence and learner success and is prepared to challenge the status quo if she considers appropriate standards are not being met. She has protected the vision and purpose of Unitec for many years though her diligence and adherence to excellence, and is fair and reasonable in all she does showing commitment to the principles of Te Noho Kotahitanga.

Te Noho Kotahitanga Team Award

*Winner* Timetabling Office: Hung Ngo, Katrina Kanaris, Al Vega, Kinson Tran, Jenny Tran, Ma. Christina Basobas, Shaan Lad, Harkiran Kaur, Carol Zhang, Tracey Lomas-Heavey, Manali Rathod and Vancy Liu: Two COVID-19 lockdowns at the start of the year, followed by the temporary closure of Buildings B111-115 due to an asbestos issue had significant impact in terms of space allocation and reconfiguring timetables to be able to deliver face to face teaching for our ākonga. The Timetabling office displayed Mahi Kotahitanga in working with the Schools to reschedule Unitec’s entire academic timetable several times, driving and enabling timetables to be completed for 2022, and enabling the earliest opening of the enrolment cart.  Despite multiple pressures, they have remained collaborative, accountable and accommodating.

Lockdown Loan Laptop team: Annette Pitovao, Melinda Jenkins, Monique Bell, Anushka Jephson, Jessica Rudman, Sophie Humphries, Kevin Toto, Mani Vajje, Andy Brien, Brad Kruger: During lockdown, Student Support has been responsible for assisting students who haven’t had access to a suitable study device. The team delivered laptops throughout the whole of Auckland during Level 4, while most of the rest of Unitec’s staff worked from home, displaying true rangatiratanga. A lot went on behind the scenes, including ensuring all laptops were reset, software added, students contacted and urgent requests prioritised.

Student Central: Jeffrey Wu, Michelle Paki, Lubna Khan, Isabella Gunadjaja, Gabriel Frederikse, Pa Tepairu Tere, Fatin Elier: As a front-facing customer service, Student Central has lived with Te Noho Kotahitanga values to help students, staff, stakeholders and visitors, providing whakaritenga and acting as Kaitiakitanga to help guide and inform. Throughout a very challenging year, they have also taken on tasks to support other business areas that have needed help. Student Central achieved the highest Staff Pulse survey for May with an overall score of 93% under Student Success, always keeping learners and customers at the heart of all they do.  The team has also assisted with outbound calling and welfare checks during lockdown.

Unitec Champion Award

Hamish Martin – Director, Information Technology: Hamish has led the IT team since 2017.  Under his leadership, the IT team’s staff engagement score increased from 52% in 2018 to 84% in 2020 – one of the highest in the organisation. The IT team has been an integral part of Unitec’s COVID-19 response and Hamish has led the team to ensure our systems and networks function smoothly, as staff and students have moved to remote working and learning. This included the set-up of over 300 laptops for staff and students and the expansion of VPN for remote learning. Hamish leads a high-performing team and has created a helpful, positive team culture. He is highly competent, approachable and committed to always providing the best solution, driven by the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga.

Linda Aumua – Head of School, Healthcare & Social Practice: Linda Aumua is the voice and face of the Waitākere campus, however she has Unitec at the heart of everything that she does. She lives our Te Noho Kotahitanga values and works tirelessly towards upholding the vision of Manaakitia te Rito. She is held in high regard by staff and students and is known as someone who will tirelessly advocate on their behalf, creating new student spaces including a whānau room. Her guardianship of the Waitākere campus and her collaborative leadership positions her as a taonga for the community. Her leadership and guidance helped achieved positive change in EER status for the Social Practice programmes and the ongoing success for Māori and pacific students in the Waitākere programme.

*Winner* Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan – Director Nga Wai a te Tui and Toni Vaughn – Director Maori Success: 2021 has been a challenging time of critical change for Unitec staff, and the impact was heavily felt by Māori and others during this time. On behalf of Te Roopu Mataara, Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan and Toni Vaughan have led the work of the newly approved co-leadership model, which is a true reflection of how Treaty partnership can be embedded in leadership within an Institute. The dedication, courage and unwavering co-operation of these two wāhine Māori through long hours of meetings and consultation with Te Roopu Mataara, Te Tira Kapuia and our CE Gus Gilmore, working collaboratively through every integral part of this transformative model, exemplifies true leadership and demonstrates each and every principle of Te Noho Kotahitanga. Note that the judges couldn’t separate the work of Jenny and Toni, so selected them as joint finalists for the Unitec Champion.