AI Committee – Terms of Reference

19/02/2025

AI-Committee-Terms-of-Reference

Unitec & MIT | Te Pūkenga

Artificial Intelligence Committee – Terms of Reference

Verion 1: 11th February 2025

1 Purpose

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – and particularly Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) – is having a profound impact on a rapidly expanding scope of areas in vocational education and training.  It is necessary to take an informed and considered approach to how we deal with this phenomenon, which is likely to only grow in scale, scope, complexity and pace of change.

The Artificial Intelligence Committee (AIC) is a standing committee of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of MIT & Unitec.  Its purpose is to provide high level oversight and guidance on our use of AI and the impact of AI on our activities.

The AIC will also take instructions from and report when and as appropriate to the Academic Committees of MIT & Unitec in relation to our use of AI and the impact of AI in relation to academic activities (including but not limited to research, curriculum, teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation).

2 Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the AIC are as follows.

  • Ethical Framework. The AIC will recommend to SLT the adoption and maintenance of a robust ethics framework that will guide our use and impact of AI.
  • Policy and procedure settings. The AIC will make recommendations to SLT and, where appropriate, the Academic Committees, pertaining to policy and procedure settings, be they within existing policies or in specific AI policies, to ensure that the use and impact of AI is governed in any and all areas.
  • AI Technologies and Roadmap. The AIC will provide advice to SLT on technologies that should be a) adopted and supported, b) accepted but not supported, or c) prohibited for use at MIT & Unitec. As part of this, the AIC will establish and maintain criteria against which procurement of and access to AI technologies will be vetted.
  • Māori data sovereignty. The AIC will provide guidance as to how MIT & Unitec can engage with and respond appropriately to Māori data sovereignty as a Te Tiriti o Waitangi issue.
  • Risk management. The AIC will constantly monitor developments in AI and assess them for risks they may present to MIT & Unitec.  These risks will take a holistic view including such aspects as legal, employer, social (including equitable), reputational, educational and financial risks.
  • The AIC will coordinate, facilitate and gather information on the identification and assessment of opportunities to leverage AI in the furtherance of our Mission and Strategic Plan, and draw to the attention of SLT those opportunities which it deems to be worth further consideration and/or action.
  • Communication, training and support. The AIC will ensure, either directly or through other parts of MIT & Unitec, that all kaimahi, ākonga and (where necessary) other stakeholders: a) are appropriately informed of the use and impact of AI within MIT & Unitec; b) have opportunities to become capable in relation to those uses and impacts; and c) are supported in this regard.
  • Other relevant matters that may arise.

3 Membership

Members will have a strong interest in, and some work involvement with, AI, and have sufficient seniority and experience to contribute to the high level nature of the Responsibilities of the committee.

The AIC members are appointed by, and for terms at the discretion of, the Regional Executive Directors.  The Members are as follows.

  • Martin Carroll, DCE Academic, Unitec & MIT (Chairperson)
  • James Meyer, Digital Tech Lead, Rohe 1
  • Katrina Van de Ven, Director, People & Culture, Rohe 1
  • Prof. James Oldfield, Manager Digital Learning, Unitec
  • Assoc Prof. Byron Rangiwai, Ngā Wai a te Tūī, Unitec
  • Kylie Smith, Head, School of Education, MIT
  • Sandi Eickhoff, Head, School of Language, Literacy & Numeracy, MIT
  • Hamid Sharifzadeh, School of Computing, Eletrical and Applied Technologies, Unitec
  • Annette Pitovao, Director, Student Success, Unitec
  • Ben Telfer, Marketing Specialist, MIT

Members may be represented at AIC hui by delegates in the event of a temporary absence only.

The Chair may nominate to the Regional Executive Directors replacements for Members in the event of repeated non-attendance.

Other kaimahi and kaiako will be called upon when and as necessary to help ensure decisions are made with the best information available.

4 Modus Operandi

  • The AIC will meet every fortnight.
  • Meetings can be in person or online via MS Teams.
  • Secretarial support will be provided by the EA to the Chair
  • Agenda and Agenda papers will be submitted by 11am three days before the hui and circulated by c.o.b. that day.
  • Draft Minutes will be circulated by c.o.b. of the following day.
  • Minutes will be presented to the next SLT hui for ratification and then forwarded to SLT.
  • Reports will also be provided to the Academic Committees when and as appropriate.

AIC Members are expected to maintain the confidentiality of discussions and information shared at SLT hui except where otherwise notified.