Te Aka Kawerongo – Welcome

Each fortnight, Unitec leaders introduce the latest edition of our e-newsletter.

The welcome message allows us to celebrate success, highlight upcoming events and share the mahi that is going on in a diverse range of portfolios with the division as a whole.

30 March 2026

It is Graduation season!

Earlier this month, we celebrated Certificate graduations at our MIT campuses (a tradition I hope we will extend to all our Cert graduates next year), and this week we celebrate our Unitec campus graduations.

I’d like to take a moment to reflect on why these occasions matter so deeply, and why your presence at them is so important.

Graduations are steeped in the historical traditions of the Western academy.  The first European universities (Bolonga, Paris, Oxford) established graduation ceremonies as a rite of passage, during which one’s socially-recognised status changes from student to graduate, and from learner to practitioner/professional, having attained the recognised standards of learning.  We continue that rite today.

Some things have changed.  The robes and hoods worn today were originally pragmatic clothes to ward off the cold (the hats – or trenchers – had a more clerical origin).  Today, they endure as a symbol of achievement that has been valued, rightly so, throughout centuries.  The colours and style of the regalia – particularly the hoods – have developed over time to distinguish between disciplines, but the core meaning remains in common.  And while the accomplishment of each and every graduate is a unique story, gowning up together brings a sense of belonging – a moment that graduates and staff recognise and share.

At MIT and Unitec, our ceremonies recognise that the learning that has taken place, and the world in which our graduates will go forth and make their educated contribution, is not solely in the domain of the Western academy.  Our ceremonies are a wonderful blend of Māori tikanga, Western ceremony and many other elements that represent Aotearoa New Zealand.

At these ceremonies the attention is, properly, on the graduates.  But graduation is not only about them.

It is also about you.

Every handshake on that stage represents hours of teaching, mentoring, feedback, encouragement and care. It reflects curriculum design, pastoral support, industry engagement, and the countless unseen acts that enable student success. Our graduands may receive the qualification, but they do so standing on a foundation that you helped build.

Graduation is also one of the rare moments when we see, in a single place, the full impact of our work. Whānau and friends gather with immense pride, sometimes with a sense of achievement that spans generations and other times recognising a first-in-family achievement.  It is a powerful reminder that what we do changes lives.

Your presence matters. It signals to our graduates that they were known, supported and valued. It demonstrates to their families that we stand with our learners. And it allows us, together, to celebrate the outcomes of our shared endeavour.

I encourage you, wherever possible, to attend a ceremony this season. Take the opportunity to witness the culmination of the work you do every day. Celebrate with our graduates, their families, and your colleagues. These are moments of joy, pride and connection—and they are at the very heart of our kaupapa.

Thank you.

Professor Martin Carroll
Deputy Chief Executive – Academic, MIT and Unitec

17 March, 2026

Kia ora koutou,

Last week, we shared our latest Your Whakaaro Action Plan. You can view it here.

The plan is one of the ways we are creating an inclusive, responsive and accountable workplace culture at MIT and Unitec as we continue our exciting project of building our single organisation.

Developing a new approach to recognising service milestones for kaimahi ‘staff’ and continuing to offer Wellness Days are a couple of the actions it commits us to in 2026.

I want to give a shout out to People and Culture who are delivering impressively on major transition workstreams while continuing to transact business as usual.

Everyone will have seen this late last year in the way more than 1,500 kaimahi were able to move their employment from New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology (NZIST – formerly Te Pūkenga) to MIT and Unitec.

Another way the team is helping lay a foundation for success is in reviewing our policies. Those we needed for day one have been adopted on an interim basis. Throughout the year, we will be consulting on a significant number of refreshed and updated policies and guidelines to reflect our new status while developing consistency and equity across the region.

Here’s a short list of some of the mahi we’ve got planned this year:

• The Organisational Development team plan to undertake a diversity, equity and inclusion stocktake to identify gaps and opportunities to inform 2027 action planning.
• Planning and implementation for new engagement software to launch our 2026 kaimahi survey.
• Scoping and planning for an integrated performance framework for kaimahi.
• Developing co-branded and standardised job advertising to reflect our unified organisation and attract diverse talent, including Māori, Pacific and other under-represented groups.
• Progress the development of a single Wellbeing and Safety system.
• A review of our platforms with the potential for one human resources and payroll system.

As we settle into 2026, I hope you feel the same sense of optimism and momentum that we do.  These and all our other mahi form part of our ambitious workplan for this year.

Please do pop by some time and say hi to the team. I’m incredibly proud of the mahi they deliver each day, and of the diligence, care, and genuine passion they bring to everything people‑related.

Here’s to a year of progress, partnership, and the occasional well‑timed coffee.

Ngā mihi,

Chris Hutton
Interim People and Culture Director, MIT and Unitec

03 March, 2026

Kia ora koutou,

As the year gets underway, we are very busy in the external engagement space running a two-track conversation.

MIT and Unitec continuing to use separate brands with our student audiences, while developing awareness with our external stakeholders on our provider as a single organisation and what we can achieve together for learners, iwi, business and our region.

March promises to be a full-on month for our teams, with:

• A breakfast for EngineeringNZ members at TechPark on 24 March
• A Business & IT Industry Connect event at Mt Albert Campus on 25 March
• An Open Day for 150 NZMA and NZSE students interested in transitioning to our South campuses on 26 March

Our Industry Partnership Team has been focused on strengthening relationships with key industry and business associations.

Recent activity includes deepening the longstanding partnership with the NZ Chinese Building Industry Association—now extended across our single institute—and renewing our membership with the Auckland Business Chamber of Commerce.

Semester 1 has opened, and it’s been a strong start for the Pathways and UPC teams with our Trades Academy courses also fully subscribed.

We’re delighted to have health care running again at UPC this year, an important pipeline for secondary students into our Health programmes.

This week, we’re hosting our Career Advisors Update Days at Manukau Campus, with the Mt Albert session to follow on 11 March.

Around 70 careers advisors from across Auckland will join us on campus, giving us a great opportunity to showcase our programmes and support services. A huge thank you to Heads of School and teams for your involvement.

We will also again host the Counties Manukau Principals’ meeting at Ōtara Campus. These relationships are essential as we stay connected to, and ahead of upcoming changes to the secondary school curriculum.

Polyfest is bigger than ever this year, now split into two separate events:

• Pasifika: 18–21 March at Manukau Sports Bowl
• Māori: 30 March–2 April at Due Drop Events Centre

We’ll have stands at both events, so please stop by and join in the celebrations.

The pace continues with our Events Team delivering the MIT Certificate Graduation ceremonies on 17, 18, and 19 March.

A big thank you to all our schools and support teams for your continued collaboration, your support makes these initiatives possible.

Ngā mihi nui,

Julie Prentice,
Director of Pathways & External Engagement – MIT and Unitec

17 February, 2026

Kia ora koutou,

I’m truly honoured to return to MIT and Unitec as Legal Director.  As the biggest polytechnic in New Zealand (and the best one … in my opinion!), we are well positioned to go from strength to strength in the new vocational training sector.

As we move towards a unified organisation, one of the most important legal tasks is to update all our policy documents.  We have made a good start, with our Council already having approved a suite of unified policies, which includes combined Student Regulations, delegations and HR policies.

Over the course of the year, we will be reviewing most of our policies and procedures, with a view to streamlining and simplifying our policies, and adopting common policies and procedures across MIT and Unitec wherever we can.  In the meantime, you can find all current policy documents on MITNET (for MIT) or The Nest (for Unitec).

My team is also busy with supporting our new Council, updating contract templates, preparing for the new information privacy principle IPP3, populating our risk register, promoting risk awareness and much much more.   Please feel free to reach out at any time – we are keen to help.

It’s been a busy start to the year, and things show no sign of slowing down.  Onwards and upwards!

Ngā mihi,

Kara Hiron,
Legal Director – MIT and Unitec

03 February, 2026

Kia ora e te whānau,

As we begin 2026 together, this first issue of our newsletter marks an important milestone in our shared journey.

On 1 January, Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec officially stood up as a single organisation — a unified entity shaped by the mahi, commitment, and resilience of many people across our campuses and teams.

Over recent months, we have completed the foundations required to begin our new chapter with confidence:

• All permanent kaimahi transferred their employment from Te Pūkenga to MIT and Unitec
• All suppliers and contractors have been formally updated
• All essential Day 1 policies required for continuity have been put in place
• Our new Council is established and will meet again on 4 February as governance for our organisation strengthens.

These are significant achievements, made possible by the dedication of colleagues across both institutions, many of whose work has often been behind the scenes, but essential. A heartfelt thank you to everyone.

In December, our Karakia Whakakapī at both Unitec and MIT allowed us to individually acknowledge the past with dignity and gratitude. On 2^nd February, our opening Karakia brought us together for the first time as one — a symbolic moment of unity and shared purpose.

Guiding us through our journey so far is Tāmaki Waka Hourua — our reminder that we are all in the same canoe, paddling together toward a shared horizon.

What we do today helps shape what we achieve tomorrow, so our immediate focus is on welcoming and enrolling our students. Helping them settle into their studies, and ensuring they feel supported, confident, and ready for success is the heart of our mission, and the mahi that binds us together.

Thank you for everything you have done to bring us to this moment. The work has been immense, and the sense of unity emerging across our campuses is something we can all take pride in.

As individual institutions we have served our communities well. As MIT and Unitec, we will serve our region and beyond with the same dedication, capability, optimism and aroha. So, as we look ahead, we do so with optimism, unity, and belief in what we can achieve together.

Ngā mihi nui,

Simon Bilton,
Programme Director, Tāmaki (MIT and Unitec)

15 December, 2025

Kia ora koutou,

I want to acknowledge your effort and strength this year, thank you for your commitment. It has been a challenging year and the manaakitanga you have shown in supporting each other, has made a real difference and it’s something to be proud of.

The end of the year is an opportunity to pause, reflect and recharge. Please make time for rest, connection and activities that bring you joy. Wellbeing isn’t just about physical health. It’s also about caring for your mind and spirit. Spend time with loved ones, get outdoors, take a quiet moment for yourself and prioritise what helps you feel balanced.

Personally, I’m looking forward to enjoying a bit of a staycation at home these holidays with family. We are looking forward to enjoying a quieter Tāmaki and I will get out on my mountain bike as much as I can to balance out the food indulgences that most likely will happen!

Wishing you all a safe, restful and happy holiday season. See you next year!

Remember that resources are available if you need help, details are below:

Unitec

Staff Support – Te Aka

• Vitae 0508 664 981 anytime 24/7 or online appointment
• Telus Health 0800 360 364 anytime 24/7

MIT

EAP, Fitness and Offers – MIT Intranet

Noho ora mai rā,

Jo Adlam,
Wellbeing and Safety Director – Tāmaki

02 December, 2025

Kia ora koutou e te whānau!

The countdown (and wind down!) for the year has started for many, but for the enrolment teams it’s ramping up. Behind the scenes, our MIT & Unitec enrolment teams are working hard to convert applications to enrolled students for 2026.

There is a lot going on in our space. Over the last six months we’ve made improvements to our systems and processes to make things smoother for learners and easier for everyone. Here’s a short summary of some of the things we have achieved:

A Couple of Big Steps Forward
First up, we’ve made huge progress in aligning how MIT and Unitec measure enrolment conversion. For 2026 enrolment data we’ll be about 95% aligned on conversion metrics. It might sound boring and technical, but this means we’re speaking the same language, and can get better insights as we move toward becoming one organisation.

In the spirit of mahi kotahitanga we’re working closely together to align information and practices where we can. We’ve developed a tool that allows us to see how many ‘places’ are still available in our courses across both sites. It’s still got its training wheels on, but once finalised the enrolment teams, Marketing, International and the Tāmaki Transition Group will be able to see enrolment progress in real time.

At Unitec

• Applications for 2026 are looking strong: Domestic up 9.2%, International up 5.6%.
• We’ve been working on streamlining processes, refreshing communications, and removing unnecessary steps. Our aim is to make enrolment faster and smoother for learners.
• We’re changing the way we manage workflow – we’re now in ‘pods’ coordinating our efforts around each school.

At MIT

• Online re-enrolment has been a huge hit—students are re-enrolling on an average of 2 days, and feedback has been fantastic.
• Our new Genesys PureCloud phone system has transformed our Service Level Agreements: 98% for phone (from 80%) and 99% for web chat (from 95%). No more missed calls!
• Our International Office is now fully online with Salesforce CRM.

Why All of This Matters
Every improvement in our enrolment processes means a better experience for our learners and a stronger MIT & Unitec overall. A better experience means that students are out there telling people that MIT & Unitec is a great place to study and that we are amazing. Strong enrolments set us up well to focus on what we do best: delivering great education and training, and gives us the ability to invest in our people and resources.

A big thank you to everyone who’s supported the enrolment teams in the past year or played a part in helping us get to here.

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the awesome contribution of Jenny Ingram-Tung who, after 9 years has hung up her enrolment hat and moved across to Digital. With the name Jenny IT it was inevitable whānau. Go well, Jenny, we will miss you!

Ngā mihi,

Chris Park,
General Manager – Academic Services, MIT & Unitec

13 November, 2025

Tēnā koutou, talofa lava, nǐ hǎo, namaste, sawatdee krub!

It’s a privilege to work with you in my new role as International Director for Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec, who unite as one organisation on 1 January 2026.

As the two institutes join forces, we are poised to become the largest institute of technology and polytechnic in Aotearoa New Zealand, and while scale provides great opportunities, we are just as excited about reimagining how we welcome and engage with the world, and to focus on what makes us distinctive on the global stage.

With the global Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) market projected to grow at approximately 10% per annum for the foreseeable future, we have a tremendous window of opportunity for sustainable international growth. Whether through accessing new markets, developing innovative models of recruitment and engagement, reigniting our study abroad and exchange partnerships, fostering connections with international alumni, or applying our academic expertise to global challenges and skill shortages.

We’re already expanding our international footprint through exciting new strategic partnerships in China, building on the success of our Joint Programme in Data Science and Big Data Technology with Hebei University of Engineering, with plans for further growth.

As we begin to shape and refine our international direction, I’ve been considering what truly sets us apart.

We offer applied learning with heart, grounded in cultural richness, powered by industry, and shaped by global citizenship.

• We don’t just teach skills, we prepare learners to thrive in real-world workplaces.
• We don’t just welcome diversity, we live it, through our values such as manaakitanga and mahi kotahitanga and through the vibrant perspectives of our international students and staff.
• We don’t just deliver qualifications, we build pathways to meaningful careers, community impact, and global contribution.

This is the essence of our international Kaupapa and a foundation we can build on together.

I firmly believe it’s the people-to-people connections that make the real difference. Every kaimahi plays a vital role, whether through excellent teaching, innovative industry experiences, outstanding cultural competency programmes, the manaakitanga shown in our pastoral care, or simply helping an international student who’s lost on campus.

It’s the “local heart” our international ākonga and partners remember, and pass on.

It’s not about 1,560 international ākonga. It’s about 1,560 personal journeys. Each one touches the lives of classmates, employers, families, communities. Each one carries our story into the world.

We have come from different harbours, MIT and Unitec, but now sail forward as one, with shared purpose and collective strength.

“He waka hourua, he waka eke noa”
A double-hulled canoe, we are all aboard together.

As we navigate this journey, with our international ākonga and partners aboard, we take on the challenge of building global opportunities and experiences that embody the best of MIT, Unitec, and Aotearoa, and prepare all our learners for a global future.

I’m excited to be paddling this waka with you all.

Ngā mihi,

Jeff Howe
Director, International – MIT & Unitec

3 November, 2025

Kia ora koutou, Talofa lava,

Research is happening all around us. Curiosity is an innate human trait—it drives us to explore, understand, and make a positive impact on the world.

It’s also a powerful connector, bringing people together to collaborate, share knowledge, and solve real-world problems. And yes, research can be fun!

Since stepping into my role as Director of Research & Enterprise at MIT & Unitec three months ago, I’ve seen this spirit in action across our campuses.

An example of this was the Three-Minute Thesis competition, where kaimahi and ākonga from both MIT and Unitec took to the stage to present their research in just three minutes—no small feat!

The standard was exceptional, and what struck me most was the strong focus on applied research. These projects weren’t just academic exercises—they were grounded in real-world challenges and opportunities.

After the presentations, we gathered for kai and kōrero, reflecting on the breadth and depth of mahi shared.

Events like this exemplify the Tāmaki Waka Hourua concept: a two hulled canoe travelling together in the same direction, united by purpose.

As we move towards becoming one entity in 2026, research is helping to weave our communities together.

It’s placing our ākonga and their futures at the heart of what we do. Through research, we’re not just generating knowledge—we’re creating impact, fostering innovation, and making the world a better place.

My role is to promote and empower researchers across the MIT & Unitec whānau—by strengthening systems and processes, supporting internal funding, and helping kaimahi connect with external collaborators to grow research income.

A key focus is leveraging funding and building enduring partnerships with iwi, hapū, industry, funders, and other stakeholders. We’re also navigating a rapidly evolving research and science system in Aotearoa, positioning ourselves to respond strategically to changes in the funding landscape.

Our mahi has the potential to make a real difference—locally and globally. It’s helping to establish our new institute as a leader in vocational education and training (VET) and applied research-in-practice, with impact reaching across Aotearoa, the South Pacific, and beyond.

One of the critical projects I’m kicking off this year is the development of our Tier Two Strategy: Rautaki Rangahau – Applied Research Strategy (2026–2028).

This strategy will be shaped through a bottom-up and top-down approach, beginning with a series of co-creation workshops. The sessions will invite all kaimahi involved in or interested in research to contribute.

Together, we’ll define what research means in our merged MIT & Unitec context, identify what makes it unique and impactful, and explore the supports and enablers that will allow our research culture to thrive.

The workshops will blend storytelling, reflection, and collaboration to lay the foundations of our shared Rautaki Rangahau. It’s an exciting opportunity to shape our future together.

Finally, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has so warmly welcomed me into the MIT & Unitec whānau. I’m energised by the potential and opportunities ahead and confident that we will continue to grow and showcase our research impact in 2026 and beyond.

I look forward to connecting with many more of you as we work together on this important mahi.

Dr Rosanne Ellis

Director of Research & Enterprise, MIT & Unitec

20 October, 2025

Kia ora koutou,

As we speed towards becoming a single, unified Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec entity, it’s natural to wonder what this means for the way we show up to the world.

Since joining the MIT and Unitec whānau in August, I’ve been absolutely blown away by the pride kaimahi have in these brands. Both brands carry their own mana, with long histories, powerful stories, and loyal networks of ākonga who trust and identify with them.

That’s not something we want – or need – to rush to change.

For the foreseeable future, you’ll continue to see both brands out in market. Now is the time to breathe new life into how we tell our brands’ stories and reconnect with our audiences in fresh and meaningful ways.

Over the past few years, our marketing activity has often sat under the wider Te Pūkenga umbrella. That meant less opportunity to invest in keeping our messages vibrant and visible.

That’s changing.

As we move into this next phase, we have a real opportunity to shape how each brand shows up, with renewed energy, creativity, and clarity.

Here’s what’s happening:

• Semester 1 campaigns are already live. You can check them out here. They’ll look familiar, as they build on our creative from earlier in the year.
• New campaign messages for MIT and Unitec are in development, with refreshed creative launching early 2026.
• Throughout 2026, we’ll be strengthening our presence across channels, using smarter targeting, better storytelling, and clearer calls to action to reclaim our visibility in the market.

This is about reinvigorating two strong, trusted brands and giving them the visibility and voice they deserve.

And this isn’t a one-way process. Over time, we’ll keep listening, to learners, to kaimahi, and to our communities. Any future brand strategy will be shaped by that kōrero, not by a deadline.

As we head into this next chapter, expect to keep seeing MIT and Unitec out in the world;  proud and purposeful.

Ngā mihi,

Fleur Annan,
Director of Marketing & Brand – Tāmaki.

07 October, 2025

Kia ora koutou,

As we move toward becoming a unified MIT and Unitec entity, our digital transformation journey is beginning.

At the heart of this mahi is a commitment to creating a secure, integrated, and future-ready digital environment that supports our learners, kaimahi, and communities.

To guide this, we’re developing a Digital Roadmap, a blueprint for the coming years that balances stability on “Day 1” with innovation and growth into the future.

Our approach is grounded in a few key principles:

• Student centricity – every digital decision must enhance the learner journey
• Equity and inclusion – ensuring all kaimahi and learners, regardless of location or background, have equal access to tools and services
• Future readiness – designing for the institution we are becoming, not just combining the systems we have now
• Resilience and sustainability – embedding robust security, disaster recovery, and environmentally responsible practices

In practical terms, this means preparing for Day 1 of the new institution with continuity front of mind: shared email and calendars, a consolidated service desk, integrated networks, and strong cyber security oversight. These are essential foundations to keep teaching, research, and student services running smoothly from the start.

Beyond Day 1, the focus shifts to rationalisation and consolidation. We’ll adopt cloud-first platforms, strengthen data governance, and introduce capabilities like real-time analytics and AI-powered tools to support teaching and research.

Consolidating our systems will reduce complexity and enable us to operate as one cohesive organisation. We will leverage investment in solutions that we currently utilise across the motu where they are fit for purpose.

With more than 1,500 systems in play across our ecosystem, the scale of rationalisation ahead is significant.   As we enter the new year, we’ll be launching a sequence planning process that will shape the roadmap for our digital investments.

But this isn’t just about systems it’s about strategic choices. It’s about stakeholders coming together to determine what matters most, where we and when we invest, and how we deliver value.

This is not just a technology project. It’s about enabling the wider transformation of MIT and Unitec into a unified institution that is agile, resilient, and better equipped to serve learners and communities for the next decade and beyond

Ngā mihi,

Mike Foley,
Director – Digital Strategy & Experience, Tāmaki.

11 September, 2025

Kia ora e te whānau,

On Saturday, the Unitec Open Day at Mt Albert and Waitākere campuses was buzzing!

Over five hours (and notwithstanding the rain) more than one thousand people came through the two sites to find out what Unitec had to offer them and their whānau.

As I arrived, some visitors were already leaving, clutching brochures, goodie bags, and quite a few with a complementary coffee. Many were conferring and animatedly discussing what they’d seen inside.

And there was a LOT to see! Mt Albert was packed with stalls for a wide range of programmes and support services. Most teams had very engaging things going on – like the VR headsets, the spray-painting simulator, the free blood-pressure checks, and (my favourite) the 3D printers chugging away producing name tags to give away.

It was a bit like at a tourist destination, with a constant stream of tour guides holding up signs for Creative Industries or Architecture or Trades, all departing regularly for other parts of the campus with a gaggle of prospective ākonga in train.

At Waitākere when I arrived, they were all recovering, having just had a sudden influx of hundreds of visitors who had to be split out into separate rooms for presentations!

There are two special bits for me at our Open Days:

First, the families, parents and teenagers, uncles and nieces. All full of ambition and trepidation, questions and uncertainty. And all wanting the best, with a strong sense of future focus and hope. They are setting out on a journey, and I really hope to see them again at my other favourite event – Graduation.

Second, you – our kaimahi – all giving up your weekends (and a whole pile of prior mahi in preparation) to be enthusiastically and energetically present. It is a great big, shared endeavour and I am proud of what we are offering.

You are all there doing your best to show why we’re a great choice for applied learning. Whether you’re at the programme stands or with the support teams – in fact, sometimes you’re at both! I saw Richard Eriksen from Unitec Student Central giving a very credible explanation about architectural technology to some attendees when the programme team were all otherwise occupied.

This weekend, Open Days are on again – this time at MIT Manukau and TechPark campuses. The ‘activations’ will be in full swing there also, and I’m sure MIT will be decked out in red and looking great.

To quote Trish Cochrane from the Event Brief: MIT will be “friendly, professional, and student centred”, and we’ll all be “a part of making MIT memorable”.

Thank you all for your support of our Open Days, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.

Dr Simon Nash,
Deputy Chief Executive – Learner Experience and Success, MIT & Unitec.

28 August, 2025

“He waka eke noa ā, ka hoe tahi tātou i te pae tawhiti.”
We are all in this canoe together, paddling as one toward a shared horizon.

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Recently, we have had the privilege of sharing the powerful symbolism of the Waka Hourua as a guiding framework for the journey ahead, as MIT & Unitec come together in partnership.

The concept, which has been developed with input from Taumata – our senior Māori leadership group across both providers, has been presented as part of the Strategic Directions document our organisations are developing.

Once it is finalised, the document will be provided to the Establishment Advisory Group as a position around which our organisations can coalesce as we move forward towards a single entity.

Waka Hourua are traditional double-hulled voyaging canoes, used by Māori and Pacific peoples to traverse vast oceans. They embody connection, resilience, and collective strength.

When lashed together, waka formed a fleet capable of exchanging people and resources, navigating turbulent seas through unity and shared purpose.^[i]

Tāmaki Makaurau, long recognised as a landing place for ancestral Waka Hourua, is honoured in the whakataukī ‘Tāmaki Herenga Waka’ – the gathering place of many canoes.

Our Tāmaki Waka Hourua framework 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.

The concept has now been presented to senior leadership, extended leadership, MIT Rūnanga and all kaimahi. This week, Peseta Sam also referenced it in presenting to an audience of local employers and service providers at an Auckland Business Chamber breakfast held at MIT Manukau.

It has been met with a positive response and captured the imagination of each of these audiences.

The framework allows us to navigate change together, standing as a symbol of resilience, unity and progress, reflecting our commitment to work in partnership with the communities we serve, guided by our values and drawing on our collective knowledge and strengths in shaping a future honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and reflecting the aspirations of all our people.

‘Nā te kaha ka whakatutuki, nā te kotahitanga ka whai hua.’
‘With strength we achieve, through unity we succeed.’

[i] Wolfgramm-Foliaki, E., & Smith, H. (2020). HE VAKA MOANA: Navigating Māori and Pasifika student success through a collaborative research fellowship. MAI Journal: A New Zealand Journal of Indigenous Scholarship, 9(1), 7–16. https://doi.org/10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.2

Vivienne Merito (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko),
Unitec Taharangi Director, Māori Success.

&

Dr Wiremu Manaia (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Awa),
MIT Director of Māori Education.

14 August, 2025

Tēna tātou,

Hope you’re having a great week!

It’s been a busy time on the Property and Digital portfolios as we focus on what systems and infrastructure need to be in place to support our success as a regionally-responsive provider of vocational education.

Recently, this has included beginning the preparatory work for a Tāmaki Property & Campus Strategic Direction.

The Government’s decision that MIT and Unitec will become a single entity next year has allowed us to begin preparing for the development a 15-year-plus view for our key assets.

Not all communities in Tāmaki have a consistent level of access to skills training. As the traditional bases for MIT and Unitec, south and centre-west Auckland are well served.

However, there are notable gaps elsewhere, including on the North Shore and for the growing communities in the further south of the region.

A strategy to address this will need to use market insights and demographic trends in answering three fundamental questions:

• What skills will our learners and industry need in the future?
• Where will we need to be delivering to meet specific demand?
• What is the best way of providing high quality training in each case?

I look forward to updating you regarding the progress we are making on this important mahi as we go.

Director – Digital Strategy & Experience – Tāmaki

I’m pleased to announce we have appointed Mike Foley to this key role.

Mike brings a wealth of senior leadership experience to the position, having served as Chief Information Officer across several major New Zealand organisations, including Auckland Council, Watercare, and GNS Science.

He will lead the next phase of our digital transformation, including the delivery of the Digital Strategic direction while focusing on ensuring a secure, integrated, and future-ready digital environment for our learners and staff.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and sincerely thank James Meyer for his stewardship of the digital portfolio across both MIT and Unitec over the past 18 to 24 months.

As a colleague, I have seen first-hand the significant effort James has made to improve our systems. His technical expertise and dedication have been invaluable to both business divisions, and we are grateful for the solid foundation he has helped to build.

Ngā mihi,

Dan Brady,
General Manager – Operations, MIT & Unitec.

31 July, 2025

Kia ora koutou e te whānau,

Hope you’re all doing well this week.

The recent Government announcement MIT and Unitec will transition to a single, independent entity in the new year has given us the ‘green light’ to continue advancing the great collaborative mahi we’ve been doing in the digital space.

Currently, a Digital Strategic Direction is being developed to guide our decisions and future investment for the short-to-medium term. It’ll remain in place until a long-term Digital Strategy is approved by future governance of the single entity.

To be successful in the future, we’ll need seamless, culturally-grounded, learner-centric digital experiences that foster innovation and build-in increased network resilience to support ākonga and kaimahi alike.

We understand the need for our approaches to technology to respond to our context here in Aotearoa-New Zealand, including Te Tiriti and protecting indigenous data sovereignty.

Over the past Quarter, our team has landed several important milestones, including enhancing identity and access management protocols to safeguard user information and system integrity.

Microsoft Teams Federation is now in place, allowing MIT and Unitec kaimahi to increase collaboration in real time across organisational boundaries enabling filesharing, better communication and meeting co-ordination.

Another of our main focuses as we move forward with transition is making sure our decisions on digital assets, delivery and technology upgrades are aligned with our wider infrastructure planning.

It’s important the digital support we provide allows our researchers to innovate, advance understanding and create community impact.

For us this means working with Research Leads to co-develop tools and secure, scalable data management platforms. This will build our capacity to analyse and also visualise the insights we gain, while working across disciplines.

Finally, as a team, we’d like to recognise the important contribution the feedback we receive from kaimahi every day makes to improving our systems and processes.

Ngā mihi nui,

James Meyer,
Digital Director – MIT & Unitec (secondment).

18 July, 2025

Talofa lava,

On behalf of Senior Leadership Team, I just wanted to recognise what a big few days it’s been for everyone with the Government’s announcement coming through on Monday.

Thanks to all kaimahi who joined us for this week’s online hui. It was great to be able to share what’s coming up for us in the next few months as we move towards independence.

I particularly want to thank Matua Hare and Matua Vince for their wisdom, guidance and care in setting the tone as we begin the important kōrero we are having together.

You will have received calendar invites to face-to-face hui planned for next week across all our main campuses.

We’re looking forward to catching up with as many of you as possible to talk further and discuss how we’ll be preparing for transition.

We’ve also set up a page on The Nest holding this week’s presentation, the slide pack and Frequently Asked Questions. The page will be updated with new information as we go along.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Fa’afetai tele lava,

Peseta Sam,
Executive Director – MIT & Unitec.

03 July 2025

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to our latest edition of  Te Aka Kawerongo.

I want to thank everyone who sends us emails and news tips about student successes, on campus events or a colleague who has achieved something special.

It might seem like a small thing to do. But it helps us celebrate our wins, feel proud about the impact we are having as divisions and connect each day to our higher purpose.

Like a lot of areas at MIT and Unitec, over the last twelve months, Comms has been focused on responding to kaimahi feedback received through Your Whakaaro survey.

Overall, one of the big themes was wanting to build stronger connections with the places where we work and the people we work with.

Communications has an important role to play in this, particularly as more and more we’re embracing flexible modes of working and continuing with sector reform.

Our team’s response is very simple. For us, we want to ensure when you go to The Nest you get to read a range of regularly updated stories celebrating our people and what we do.

One of the things that also came through the survey was the need to increase the profile of Senior Leadership Team, as decision making began returning to the regions. This was especially important for leaders who have had careers at either MIT or Unitec and are now working across both.

These introductions to our newsletters are part of allowing leadership the opportunity to talk about what’s happening in their portfolios, while also giving kaimahi greater visibility of major workstreams being delivered regionally.

Another change we’ve made recently is trying to move away from being overly reliant on using all staff email as a tool. Of course, it’s still important for major announcements and day-to-day business. But we knew from Your Whakaaro that there were really strong, supportive connections between People Leaders and their teams that we weren’t really tapping into.

That was how In The Loop began. It’s a Monday morning summary of weekly news and upcoming events sent to Extended Leadership at both divisions. Leaders either forward it on to their teams or use the information it contains to support the conversations they are having during the week. The response from managers so far is they are finding it useful.

Before I finish, I want to end with a shout out to the Comms Team – Elles, Romy, Peter, Scott, Kate and Priti. Thanks for your efforts and dedication all year round. It’s great to be working with a group for whom there is no job too big and none too small.

Ali Ikram,
Senior Communications Manager – Unitec & MIT.

18 June 2025

Ngā mihi mō te tau hōu Māori ki a koutou katoa! Greetings for Māori New Year to you all.

This week, we celebrate Matariki mā Puanga. A time to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future. It is a time of renewal and reconnection.

This year, it’s not hard to apply these themes to our sector as we transition out of Te Pūkenga to a new model which emphasises regional responsiveness and includes the potential for independent delivery.

We are about to farewell a chapter in our recent history, we will celebrate the present as the beginning of a new chapter, and as far as planning for the future is concerned, there are many variables to consider, but we are guided by our core purpose of creating a brighter future for our students and community.

My role includes oversight of the Tāmaki Programme. The aim of the programme is to ensure our divisions are prepared to transition to a future shape of delivery when it is announced by the Government. This announcement is expected mid-this year.

Irrespective of the outcome received, there is not a lot of time to prepare for a January 1, 2026 start date. To account for this, we are running two planning streams.

The first stream is planning for what we absolutely have to have done by January 1, 2026 as we transition out of Te Pūkenga. This includes all of the legal requirements of an independent organisation, as well as the practical things that allow us to operate with minimal ākonga disruption.

Julie Prentice has already mentioned to you the importance of ensuring all our databases are up to date so we can effectively communicate with our stakeholders through this important phase.

We also need to confirm everything that will transition out of Te Pūkenga with us. To do that effectively, we will need to update all of our registers from asset registers to Programme, HR and our registers for the external contracts we hold.

Our second stream focusses on 2026 and beyond but is subject to a number of prerequisite variables. We know an Establishment Advisory Board or Boards will be set up to guide the entity or entities announced by Government for our region. These in turn will need to appoint executive leadership and approve planning for 2026 before undertaking longer term strategic and financial planning.

To help us prepare for transition we recently advertised three roles to join our team. A Project Manager, a Project Coordinator and an Analyst. Applications have flown in and we have carefully looked at every one of the more than one hundred and twenty we received. Thank you to all kaimahi who have expressed interest in the roles. We will be in touch soon and interviews will be scheduled shortly after.

So as the stars rise in the eastern sky this winter, may they inspire us to look up, look inward, and look ahead. Let us embrace our future with the same spirit of reflection, renewal, and unity that Matariki mā Puanga embodies. I believe the future is bright, inclusive, and full of possibilities.

Mānawatia a Matariki!

Simon Bilton,
Programme Director – Tāmaki.

05 June 2025

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter and I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend! We’re excited to share some People and Culture updates with you this week.

We’ve started the year off well with our progress on the Your Whakaaro Action Plan, where last year we received your feedback to inform the workplan for 2025, some of the highlights are:

Congratulations to the recipients of the Priority Group Kaimahi Scholarships.  This scholarship programme is the first for MIT and Unitec and demonstrates our investment in growing our Tāmaki leadership, supporting Māori, Pacific, Neurodiverse and Disabled kaimahi.  We look forward to reading the achievements of the recipients as the year progresses.

Soon to launch is our 2025 Leadership Development Programme, this will support our managers and leaders with skills to navigate change, to have confident kōrero, and to create and lead an inclusive work environment.

With us introducing a Wellbeing Day for kaimahi in 2025, I hope you have either booked or started to think about how you would like to use your day.

A call out of thanks to the members of the Hidden Disabilities Working Group that was formed in 2025 to launch and successfully implement the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Programme across MIT and Unitec – look out for communications coming on this shortly

At the moment, we are initiating a review of some key People and Culture policies and practices as an outcome of Your Whakaaro feedback and we are currently establishing the working groups. You will all have an opportunity to provide feedback as a part of the consultation, this is likely to be sometime over August – October.

Thank you for your continued support to our ākonga and communities, as that’s the heart of what we do.

Half of 2025 has passed quickly, and we will share the closedown dates for 2025/2026 soon to enable you to plan your summer leave.

Have a great week!

Ngā mihi,

Katrina Van de Ven,
Regional Director People and Culture.

22 May 2025

Kia ora Team,

It was a real privilege to attend one of the five MIT graduation ceremonies last week. A sea of red MIT t-shirts filled the venue, with an incredible team of volunteers making everything run seamlessly. It was especially moving to see our kaimahi giving their time to ensure each ākonga received the celebration they deserved.

The pride and joy on the faces of our ākonga as they crossed the stage, acknowledged their lecturers, and expressed their gratitude was a powerful reminder of why our presence matters. The stage was filled with MIT kaimahi, showing up to support and honour our learners – thank you to everyone who was able to be there.

In Finance, we’ve been focused on completing the financial year-end process, which contributes to the consolidated results for Te Pūkenga. We expect the 2024 Annual Report to be published in the coming weeks.

A sincere thank you to the finance teams at both MIT and Unitec for your dedication throughout the audit process. Both divisions received a clean audit from Audit NZ – a testament to the importance of adhering to our policies and procedures, even when they can be challenging.

As we prepare to transition out of Te Pūkenga, we anticipate having greater autonomy over our policies, which will be an important area of focus once we receive guidance from Cabinet.

On the topic of independence, we’ve also been working on modelling financial viability for 2026. Both MIT and Unitec have made excellent progress, and I want to thank you all for your contributions to this vital mahi.

We’ve collectively made tough decisions and worked hard to achieve cost savings over several years. These efforts are essential to ensuring we can reinvest in the areas that support our ākonga and kaimahi. Returning to operating surpluses is a critical goal – while we’re not quite there yet, with both divisions forecasting a deficit this year, I’m confident we are on the right path.

We’re also pleased to welcome a new member to our team. Ernest Bernard will be joining us on Monday as the new Risk & Assurance Manager – Tāmaki. He’ll be working closely with many of us as we navigate the risks associated with our transition. Please join me in giving Ernest a warm welcome when you see him around.

Lastly, MIT Finance has kicked off a new project to implement Workday Adaptive, a budgeting and forecasting system already in use at Unitec. This will enable improved visibility, functionality, reporting, and financial modelling across both divisions. We’re aiming to go live in August and plan to use the system to build our 2026 budgets. We’ll share more details as the project progresses.

Ngā mihi nui and thank you all for the incredible work you do every day.

Kristine Brothers,
Finance Director – Tāmaki.

07 May 2025

Kia ora koutou,

Hope you’re all doing well.

I just wanted to write to thank everyone for the work that’s going on to build new partnerships and strengthen current ones.

It’s great to see us listening to our communities to meet a need out there, whether it’s retail businesses in Franklin wanting to find ways to upskill existing kaimahi or the screen industry out West looking to develop their talent pipeline.

We are at our best when we are working alongside iwi, businesses, schools and service providers as a catalyst and connector unlocking human potential, economic development and overall wellbeing.

We know how to do it. It’s something we are good at. It’s something we’re going to be doing more of in the future.

At the moment, we are planning a celebration for MIT Trades Academy’s tenth anniversary. It will be a chance to applaud the innovators who were among the first to recognise the importance of school students being able to try out the trades while completing their secondary learning and pathway into tertiary education or an apprenticeship.

These pipelines are crucial and our School Liaisons across MIT and Unitec are in their busiest time of the year, showcasing how we can support rangatahi to build the skills for their dream job. The transition into the Trades Academy at MIT and UPC at Unitec gives them that taste of the world after secondary school.

The end result of our student journey will be on show in MIT Degree and Diploma Graduation ceremonies next week at Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau; when our latest graduates cross the stage.

They are in demand in the job market because they are awesome!

But also because of the way we work closely with industry and community partners to design our qualifications.

It’s an exciting space to be in.

We can all play a role in keeping these connections strong as we move through the upcoming period of transition towards more regional independence by ensuring schools and team stakeholder contact lists are up to date.

Let’s keep up the great work!

Ngā mihi,

Julie Prentice,
Head of External Engagement, Unitec & MIT.

10 April 2025

Kia ora koutou katoa,

This is my first panui in my capacity as DCE – International and Marketing portfolios for Unitec and MIT.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited China with the Unitec International Team. Over a week-long trip, I visited five large cities in Shandong and Zheijian provinces, gaining some very useful insights into our partnerships and opportunities in China, building relationships and signing a number of Memorandums of Understanding.

We visited Beijing first, meeting the Education New Zealand team and getting some great insights and support from them. In the current geo-political environment, they are very positive about New Zealand standing out as a welcoming, safe location for Chinese International learners.

Shandong Institute of Commerce and Technology is a potential new partner for us in Jinan. They are similar in size to Unitec and MIT combined, and have strengths in areas such as computing, finance and logistics. They are a highly applied institution, with strong connections to industry, and therefore felt very familiar to us. Shandong is also familiar, as Unitec’s School of Architecture has a long-standing joint programme with Shandong Jianzhu University.

From Jinan we went to Shanghai, in the middle of the South China Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone. This is a high GDP area, with a high-level of English spoken. We visited the Shanghai University of Engineering Science. They are a bit bigger than us (!!) and have international partnerships with more than a hundred countries. Their beautiful main campus is in the heart of Shanghai and was replete with blossom trees at the time of our visit.

Our fourth visit was to Wenzhou Polytechnic in Zheijiang Province. They also feel very similar to Unitec and MIT. They have multiple industry-education ‘communities’ and very impressive levels of collaboration with local industries such as fashion and shoe-making, and a great deal of high-tech work in AI, Internet of Things and various “intelligent manufacturing”.

The trip rounded off with a visit to the Zheijiang Provincial Education Department, who were supporting some of our visits.

Overall, my impression was of quite a strong government-led drive to engage and partner, which must be positive for us. We were very warmly welcomed by senior leadership teams, devoting whole days to hosting and working with us.

The institutions we visited all had strengths in taking a highly applied approach to learning and maintaining very strong commercial partnerships on campuses and in local regions to support that practical learning. Very impressive, and we need to think about how to build on those obvious similarities. Pedagogically, we are a bit different, and there are things to think about there.

This week, we have a return visit from Hebei University of Engineering (following previous visits by us to Hebei and them to Tāmaki).

Thank you again for stellar support from the International team!

Dr Simon Nash,
Deputy Chief Executive – Learner Experience & Success, Unitec & MIT.

27 March 2025

This is the view we started our day with on Wednesday. That still moment, after dawn, as we waited, and prepared, for the full force of 250 Māori and Pacific Trades Training tauira to descend onto Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae – hailing not only from across Tāmaki and iwi from throughout Aotearoa; but also with whakapapa tracing back to the islands of Te Moana nui a Kiwa.

It’s at these times, as Whaea Lynda’s karanga of welcome rings out across the paepae, and Papa Hohepa sends words of mihi and whaikōrero, as we look across to Rangimārie, our pā harakeke (flax bed), and to Te Wai Unuroa o Wairaka, our puna (spring) and the tipuna from whom we are named, that we reaffirm our commitment to Te Noho Kotahitanga, our Tiriti partnership, and the values we hold dear as Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka, Unitec.

It’s in these moments that I can’t help but pause to reflect on what a privilege it is to be part of a place that is so rich in whakapapa and in the many taonga tuku iho – treasures passed down from those who came before us.

Amid a heady day of rousing Māori and Pacific haka, wānanga and the gathering of colleagues from across the region in celebration of 10-years of MPTT, we as a Māia whānau also reaffirmed, at our strategy day, our commitment to ‘Manaakitia te Rito’, as the foundation from which we can best serve our ākonga, whānau and communities.

At the heart of Manaakitia te Rito, symbolised in the Unitec logo, are the ‘rito’, our tauira, with us as the āwhi rito – leaders, teachers and kaimahi – wrapping support, guidance and learning around them so they reach their potential and gain the mātauranga they need to achieve their career and wider aspirations. The power of a Manaakitia te Rito approach, underpinned by Te Noho Kotahitanga, is well evidenced here at Unitec with the big shift we achieved as an institution in the past few years.

For kaimahi who are new to Unitec, including those who work across both MIT and Unitec, I encourage you to take on and deepen your knowledge of Te Noho Kotahitanga, through our badging, a requirement in all our ADEPs, which you can enrol in through our Te Rito suite of workshops.

The next sessions are:

• Living Te Noho Kotahitanga – Thursday 10th April 2025 from 10.00am to 11.00pm (online)
• Te Tīpare: Embedding Mātauranga Māori – Wednesday 21 May, 10am to 11.30am (online)

Also keep an eye out for our new micro-credentials which we will be piloting with kaimahi soon:
Taumata Oho: Pepeha
Taumata Tu: Tikanga
Taumata Ora: Mātauranga Marae

The efforts of so many in coming together in the last fortnight to celebrate our cultures, including the Unitec Pacific Day and Manaaki Whenua which saw us fulfil our role as kaitiaki, show us that manaakitia te rito is already thriving.

Kia kaha tonu e te whānau. Mauri ora!

Vivienne Merito (Ngāti Pūkeko, Ngāti Awa),
Taharangi – Director, Māori Success, Unitec.

13 March 2025

Kia ora koutou,

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the New Zealand Athletics Championships in Dunedin supporting some of the forty athletes I coach outside my work with Unitec and MIT.

I often draw on these experiences of how clear focus on a thousand tiny things plus hours of blood, sweat and one or two tears can build great performance and better outcomes.

Like so many parents, I have found myself on the sideline coaching my own son in competition. When approaching the big day, I find myself giving him the same best piece of advice, my first coach, my father gave me (cough) a few years ago now.

It was that ultimately the only thing you can control is how you prepare and how you front up on the day is where it counts.

The enabling areas at our divisions I’m connected with, including Property, Facilities Management, Fleet, Security, Logistics are all aspects of our businesses that are well within our control, show off our collective attitudes and where each of us has a key role to play in ensuring they:

• Deliver the best student experience possible and
• Support teachers’ ability to teach.

Taken together our divisions have a significant footprint across Tāmaki with seven campuses located from as far north as Warkworth to Manukau in the south. Currently, we have a total of 104 projects on the books.

We know delivering this workload is a major part of seeing ākonga and kaimahi feel valued and take pride in where they work and learn.

As I mentioned, overall success is made up of many small things like the building wash we conducted at Unitec Mt Albert before the start of Semester One or major work like the remediation of the water issues we were experiencing last year at MIT Manukau.

Together they make a huge difference!

Helping keep our places well maintained and safe

One of the things it is important to remember is our properties are serviced by a small hardworking team carrying out proactive audits. There’s a great story in this edition of Te Aka Kawerongo about how they have been learning the basics of plastering at Unitec Trades Services.

While our kaimahi do their best to identify areas needing attention, it’s likely you will be the first to notice any issues. Everyone can make a contribution to this effort by logging a job here when they see something that needs our attention.

We also all have a role to play in promoting safety on campus. Our security teams conduct patrols day and night. If you witness behaviours that concern you please call 0800 10 95 90. Ideally, you’d have the number saved on your phones ready to use if and when required.

For life threatening emergencies requiring police, fire or ambulance response or where there is immediate danger to yourself, others or damage to campus property, call 111. Then – if possible – alert security by calling the number listed above.

As we move towards a more local approach for our providers it’s important we compliment this with a renewed sense of ownership of our places, spaces and the hubs these represent for the communities we serve.

Hei konā mai,

Dan Brady,
General Operations Manager (MIT & Unitec).

27 February 2025

Kia ora e te whānau,

It’s been an absolute pleasure this week to pōwhiri and welcome our ākonga hou onto our marae and into our classes. There is a palpable sense of excitement as our campuses come alive with the arrival of both new and returning learners.

The first few weeks are a hugely important time—a busy but exciting period as we connect with and welcome learners, look to more deeply understand their needs, and provide the academic and pastoral support that sets them up for success.

Our ākonga really are at the heart of everything we do, with their energy and enthusiasm this week being a pertinent reminder of the impact our mahi has on their educational journeys, their whānau and communities, and their lives. Ka nui te mihi to all our teaching and support kaimahi who work so hard to create a welcoming and engaging environment.

We’ve recently received the first round of 2024 Educational Performance Indicators data from Tertiary Education Commission:

• Successful course completion is at 82.0%, just below our 85% target. We expect this to improve in May once all grades are processed, with our internal data indicating we are on track.
• First-year retention stands at 75.7%, our highest result in 20 years.
• Qualification completion is at 57.5%, slightly below our 60% target. This is something we will monitor closely and through self-assessment and Programme Evaluative Plans.
• Progression from Levels 1-4 to higher study has increased to 39.0%, the highest level in the past decade.

The results show both some excellent outcomes for learners, as well as areas where we can continue to focus and improve, particularly with regard to parity for our Māori and Pacific priority group learners.

Our latest Student Net Promoter Score results are pleasing, with our returning student NPS rising to 26, and our new student NPS at 37. In their feedback to us our learners consistently highlight the support of our staff, our engaging learning environment, and our practical, career-focused courses.

These outcomes are a testament to your passion and commitment. Key areas for continuous improvement focused on enhancing course content and structure, strengthening communication, and upgrading our facilities.

As we look ahead to the continued evolution of vocational education this year promises to be a significant one. Whatever changes, challenges, and opportunities 2025 may bring, I know that through the mahi we do and the way we support each other we will continue to provide the excellent teaching, learning, academic quality, and support that empowers our learners and strengthens our communities.

Ngā mihi

Chris King,
Director – Schools & Performance, Unitec.