Te Pūkenga’s national network unified

September 30, 2020 | 2 min read

This afternoon, learners and staff right across Aotearoa joined together virtually to listen to Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education, announce the new permanent name for what was called NZIST (the working name).

Using livestream technology, the announcement event held in Kirikiriroa, near Te Pūkenga’s head office, was able to be shared right across the vocational education network, with subsidiaries and Transitional ITOs tuning in.

With over 320 connections into the announcement, many more people got to share the excitement.

In Dunedin, a group gathered at Otago Polytechnic to share the announcement which was broadcast in a public area of the city campus. About 50 people watched on the big screen, enjoying the warmth inside the Hub Atrium, while snow swirled in the breeze outside.

Further north, team members from the Manukau Institute of Technology were gathered in the wharenui at Ngā Kete Wānanga Marae, Ōtara to watch the livestream.

MIT Deputy Chief Executive Māori, Dr Wiremu Manaia (Tainui / Ngāti Awa), explained, “Ngā Kete Wānanga marae is the place where all our students and staff start their journey at MIT and we thought it was right to welcome this news here. For us it’s a big deal and it signals the next stage of our journey going forward. In the Māori world, names are significant. They can help shape a kaupapa and unite us behind a single cause which is important because it is us - the kaimahi and tauira - who will deliver its meaning and purpose through the things we do every day.”

The special announcement was big news, far and wide across Aotearoa.

Large and small groups of learners and staff gathered to participate and share in the name announcement. Locations included Timaru (Ara Institute of Canterbury), Greymouth (Tai Poutini Polytechnic), Tauranga (Toi-Ohomai) and New Plymouth (Western Institute of Technology). Staff from MITO, BCITO, Competenz and ServiceIQ were also watching the announcement.