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KELLY HODEL / STUFF / Waikato Times
Education Minister Chris Hipkins announces NZIST’s permanent name, Te Pūkenga.
New Zealand’s mega polytechnic was renamed Te Pūkenga, to replace its placeholder name: New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.
Te Pūkenga, meaning skills, was announced by Education Minister Chris Hipkins at an official opening ceremony on Tuesday at the Wintec Atrium, the site of the national headquarters.
The Pūkenga Institute of Technology was established on April 1 to oversee all 16 state polytechnics, including the Wintec of Waikato.
Hipkins said that Te Pūkenga perfectly means what the merger of 16 state polytechnics is trying to achieve.
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KELLY HODEL / STUFF / Waikato Times
NZIST President Murray Strong said the goal is to create a diverse institute where there are no disadvantaged people.
“We have a new direction, we have a new organization that will lead those directions, but we need a name that deserves the mana it is being infused with,” Hipkins said.
“It is a unifying name, but like the institute, it is one that represents many trends and ideas.
“It highlights the organizations’ association with the treaty and reflects the important role that the organization will play for Maori.
“Their visual identity also reflects the strength that can be achieved by uniting providers, educators, students, employers, industry, iwi and the community.
KELLY HODEL / STUFF / Waikato Times
Chris Hipkins chatting with some Wintec communication students Cassie Owesn, 22, Jed Murtagh, 27, and Josiah Peipi, 19.
NZIST President Murray Strong said that giving something a name makes it “more real and gives it even more life.”
“For most of us, April seems like a long time and a lot of what happened in between,” Strong said.
“We are working very hard to ensure that Māori staff and students have a considerable contribution to make in the decision-making of Te Pūkenga and that is underway now with the establishment of three national advisory committees and one member from each of those groups. he will join the Te Pūkenga national council in due course.
He said senior executives have been working with Maori senior adviser Will Workman on a draft of Te Pae Tawhiti, a framework for equity for Maori students.
The goal is to create a diverse institute where there are no disadvantaged people, he said.
