Introducing the Māori Success Strategy

E aku waka pītau whakareia, e aku wāwahi ngaru, koutou i tere mai i te tahatū o te rangi tēnā koutou katoa,

I am absolutely thrilled to be able to share the renewed Māori Success Strategy of Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka with you all. This strategy is the result of many wānanga with our Māori staff and is intended to drive real change for the benefit of our students, staff, and the wider Unitec community.

Thank you to all those who attended our official launch of the Māori Success Strategy at our marae. It was a great opportunity to start a conversation and to share our vision and aspirations with you. At the launch celebration, Merran announced our goal of achieving parity in academic success for our Māori and Pacific students by 2022. To reach this great milestone it is important to have a clear and unified approach. The Māori Success Strategy and Pacific Success Strategy (which has also been refreshed and will be shared shortly) will play a key role in supporting our development as an institution, as will the strategies for our under-25 and international students.

The success of any priority group is always something we strive to achieve alongside the success of all other groups. It is never a question of one group succeeding at the expense of another; educational research shows that in New Zealand when we support the success of Māori, we see improvements for all.

The Strategy

Manaakitia Te Rito
Sustaining growth and success, fulfilling promise and potential

It has taken a year of work and consultation to create the strategy. We began the process with a two-day wānanga where 30 of our Māori staff, student representatives and members of our Rūnanga shared their insight, expectations and aspirations for Māori success at Unitec.

We have attempted to capture the conversations and process in the full strategy document, which I encourage you to read in full. The document is led through the lens of Te Noho Kotahitanga and discusses our Māori success outcomes / drivers (what Māori Success looks like at Unitec), the key actions and priorities, and our five Strategic Priority Action Plans to help us achieve success.

A one-page document (click the image below to enlarge) provides a high-level overview of our priorities and actions which will contribute to successful outcomes.

Some actions have already been implemented, such as the establishment of another Māori leadership role (our Director of Māori Success, Toni Rewiri), introduction of our priority group Success Champions to each School, and strengthening our kaihautū to provide support to all Unitec teams.

The strategy is intended as a living document. While we are deeply committed to achieving the success outcomes, the ways in which we can best support and deliver our priority actions may evolve as we continue to develop within our institution and the wider community.

Turning strategy into results

We are proud of this strategy, but the most important thing is how it translates from the page into real action and real change. Its value will be measured by the impact it has for our staff and students. For us to succeed and deliver the outcomes our students deserve will require the full support of everyone here at Unitec.

The Directors of all success areas are working with Heads of School to co-design a Schools Action Plan which will provide schools with a range of ways to support the goal of parity. This includes, but is not limited to:

At its core, the strategy is about creating a campus where every student feels welcome, supported, and a sense of belonging within the Unitec whānau. You will see from the strategy that there is not one single solution, it is a holistic approach which aims to boost support, knowledge and capability across the organisation.

Information sessions for all staff

We will be running a series of wānanga which will give every team and individual the opportunity to inspect, interrogate and implement the strategy. This has been endorsed by the Academic Board and information of these wānanga will be available on the Nest shortly.

Support to deliver the strategy

Each team will now have their kaihautū contact details as someone who can provide a wide range of support. If you have any further questions at any time, please also contact either Toni or myself.

Ngā mihi

Glenn Mckay
Te Tumu & Executive Director Student Success