Roger Sowry, Council Chair, has turned the first dirt for a $16.5M Campus upgrade

Whitireia has started its multi-million dollar development programme to upgrade its main campus in Porirua. Over the last few weeks, several of the old pre-fabricated buildings have been re-sited so building works can begin on stage one of the campus development programme. Construction work will now begin on building “one” which will have a total footprint of around 3817 square metres, will cost around $16.5m to complete and will house the Health Faculty, administration, classrooms and conference facilities. The building will include laboratories, simulation suites and will provide state-of-the art training facilities to around 1000 nursing and paramedic students who study at Whitireia.

The development of this block will take around 12 months to complete with its scheduled opening for early 2013. A blessing of the site of this building was held today. Whitireia staff members, Council, contractors involved in the development project, invited guests and Ngati Toa were all present at this morning’s site blessing ceremony. It’s very exciting to be at this stage of the development project said Don Campbell, Chief Executive, Whitireia New Zealand. “This project has been a long time in the planning and seeing the work going on over the last few weeks and the blessing today shows the progress we are making. We are about to embark on a building project that is going to create a campus of the future. We are replacing more than 40 prefabricated buildings with purpose built buildings that will be connected through learning streets to provide a modern educational learning environment and be very community focussed” he said.

The Porirua campus development will be a statement to the Porirua community said Roger Sowry ONZM, Chair Whitireia Council. “It is a significant build for Whitireia and for Porirua and a courageous decision by all involved to invest in building works of this nature at this time” he said. The Porirua campus development is a two stage programme. Stage two provides for a new student services and arts programme building.

Council Chair, Roger Sowry wields a spade to start the upgrade at Whitireia

The development of a specialist nurse framework for New Zealand

Dr. Kathy Holloway has received confirmation of her doctorate on the development of specialist nurse frameworks.  She began this in 2006 with the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Kathy chose this University because of their  internationally renowned professional doctorate programme.  She completed her thesis in April this year, in five years – the first in her cohort.  The award of this qualification supports the growth of this leading postgraduate health centre of study at Whitireia. Kathy was supported through professional development funding to attend compulsory doctoral schools.

Kathy’s thesis topic was the development of a specialist nurse framework for New Zealand. As Associate Dean responsible for postgraduate nursing programmes this doctoral study informs the direction of our programmes. Publications produced during the course of research raise the profile of the organization both professionally and within industry.  Dr. Holloway’s research has been picked up by national nursing groups and Health Workforce New Zealand.

Further information on this thesis is available from associated publications:

Holloway, K., Lumby, J. & Baker, J. (2009). Specialist nursing framework for New Zealand: a missing link in workforce planning Policy, Politics and NursingPractice. 10(4):269-75.

Holloway, K. (2009 ). New Zealand National Nursing Organisations Glossary of Terms: New Zealand National Nursing Organisations.

Holloway, K.  Developing consensus in Cyber Space.  Presentation at Research Student Symposium, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 1-3 December 2009

Holloway, K.  Competent on the way to capable. Peer reviewed conference presentation at Opening doors: celebrating nursing research conference, Wellington, 21-21 November, 2009

Holloway, K., Polaschek, N. & Pool, L. (2010). DIFE: A new model in undergraduate nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education. doi:10.3928/01484834-20100524-03

Holloway, K (2010) Time to consider the special character of specialist nursing. Peer reviewed abstract published in proceedings and presented at 21^st International Nursing Research Congress, Orlando, Florida,12-16 July 2010.

Holloway, K. T. (2011). Development of a Specialist Nursing Framework for New Zealand. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Technology Sydney,    Sydney (this is in our library).

Holloway, K. (2011). If we build it, will they come?  Building a national framework for educating the capable nurse specialist. Paper presented at the NET2011 conference, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 5-8 September 2011.

Three further publications are currently being considered by international journals.

Kathy was also an invited key note speaker at a recent national nursing conference and is heavily involved in national strategic groups looking at educational pathways for postgraduate nurses.

Here’s the invitation to Whitireia year 1 & 2 Jewellery Students’ Exhibition…

Invitation to SPEAK at BakWal Gallery.

The Year 1 and 2 Jewellery Students are exhibiting at  BackWal Gallery in Otaki. The exhibition ‘Speak’ is a showcase of workduring the year from these students at Whitireia New Zealand.

Opening: Saturday 10th of December 11am, BackWal Gallery, 99 Atkinson Ave, Otaki.

Opening hours: Sunday 11th, Saturday 17th, Sunday 18th, 11am-4pm

Building a Virtual Classroom: Sue Chard’s Doctorate is in the (snail) mail.

A doctorate earnt investigating the development and use of 3D web-based learning environments. Virtual worlds. Sue Chard from Whitireia New Zealand has been awarded her doctorate from Curtin University, Perth.

Building a Virtual Classroom: An Education Environment for the Internet Generation, was developed through many hours in virtual worlds. Sue’s thesis examines the provision of learning environments that enable people to participate in high-quality learning experiences without physically travelling to classrooms and classes.

New technologies enable the asynchronous web currently based on text, images, and video, to be extended to facilitate multi-channel synchronous communications. There is significant potential to enhance learning using the 3D worlds used for interactive gaming, populated by avatars representing the participants, and chat systems using text and audio channels.

Developing and using 3D web-based learning environments, staff and students conducted their interactions through the virtual space. Results indicate that the 3D web-based environments were well received by the students and show significant potential for the future provision of learning environments. The technology has no negative impact on students’ perception of their learning environment.

Dr Chard’s research suggests directions for the future development and application of 3D webbased technologies to fully enable their potential to be achieved in educational learning environments.

Sue Chard teaches in the Bachelor of Information Technology at Whitireia New Zealand. Publications from her thesis include:

Chard, S. M. (2004a). A 3D learning environment: Building a virtual classroom. Paper presented at the Whitireia Research Symposium.

Chard, S. M. (2004b, July 2004). A 3D world for learning: Building a virtual classroom. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the NACCQ 2004 Post- Graduate Symposium, Christchurch, NZ.

Chard, S. M. (2004c). Building a virtual classroom: The construction process. Paper presented at the Refereed Proceedings Eighth Annual NZACE Conference.

Chard, S. M. (2005, August 2005). Evaluating the learning environment: Students perceptions of the virtual classroom. Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Victoria, BC, Canada.

Chard, S. M. (2006). Evaluating the virtual learning environment. In D. L. Fisher & M. S. Khine (Eds.), Contemporary approaches to research on learning environments: World views (pp. 603-620). Singapore: World Scientific.

Chard, S. M. (2009). Learning in 3D virtual worlds: Experiences with design. Paper presented at the World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2009 Vancouver, Canada.

Chard, S. M. (2010). Experiences of learning in 3D worlds. Paper presented at the Sixth International Conference on Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Hualien, Taiwan.

Kapiti Campus signage goes up….

The new Kapiti Campus is on Kapiti RD, Paraparaumu.

Almost two years in the making, The Whitireia Kapiti Strategy promised a large, new initiative to deliver the right qualifications to the people of Kapiti. And it is nearly ready. Kicking off in 2012, you’ll be able to see everything on offer in our Info Space in Coastlands Mall from early December 2011.

Alongside high school based courses which take students through all the steps to build a house – and deliver the final product – the new main campus has youth funded (Youth Guarantee) qualifications and general qualifications developed with industry. Fantastic contemporary kitchens will provide aspiring chefs with excellent facilities. Outdoor Adventure qualifications will be based here in 2012. Adventure tourism programmes tap into new niche tourism markets. Business and management, administration and small business related skills are among the options. You can call Customer Service on 0800 944 847 with any questions aboiut courses or pop into Coastlands Mall from 8 December.

Pighunting and Elvis Presley, 4th Floor Literary Journal is on ‘the stands’.

Pighunting and Elvis Presley: 4th floor 2011 celebrates with live gig on Sunday 20 November.

The annual literary journal 4th Floor is releasing its 2011 edition along with
an ebook anthology of writing from the first six years of the journal. Both
will be celebrated with a live event on 20 November in Wellington.

4th Floor is the literary journal of Whitireia New Zealand’s writing programme,
and is published online each year. This year, however, some of the writers are
bringing it live to their audience with music, poetry and prose in performance
at The Ballroom Café in Newtown, Wellington on Sunday 20 November.

The event, which begins with an open mic, will feature music by the
publications’ editor, poet and musician Hinemoana Baker, and readings by local
writers James Brown, Adrienne Jansen, Natasha Dennerstein and Rob Hack among
others.

“I’m thrilled to be releasing 4th Floor with this big, busy live event this
year,” says Baker. “The celebration is a great way to bring these
e-publications – which are less tangible than print books – into the writing
community.”

 
Baker has edited the literary journal for four years and says it’s the
diversity she enjoys most about the publication. That diversity was apparent
again when selecting the work for the retrospective anthology and this year’s
edition.

“There’s definitely a lively frisson when these works are gathered together.
Everything from pig-hunting to Elvis Presley. It’s a vibrant and wonderful
mix,” says Baker.

Both 4th Floor and 4th Floor Since ’05 are collaborations between the writing
and publishing programmes at Whitireia New Zealand. All the technical and
production work for the ebook and website is undertaken by Whitireia publishing students
completing their year-long course in book publishing.

4th Floor 2011 is on the Whitireia website. The ebook 4th Floor Since ’05 is available as a free download from 21 November 2011.

The Green Party is launching ‘Hey Kiwi’ at Whitireia next week, to get expats to vote.

The Green Party is launching the ‘Hey Kiwi’ campaign on Tuesday 8 November at 12.30pm at the Porirua Campus Atrium (or E 103 if wet). The campaign is designed to get young Kiwis and expats overseas to enrol in the up-coming general election. Eight New Zealand musicians and bands have donated a track to the campaign that can be downloaded when people enrol, and when they invite their friends to enrol, through the Hey Kiwi website (details to come). Sam Scott from the Phoenix Foundation, Gareth Hughes, Green’s Youth Spokesperson and Jan Logie, Green’s Candidate for Mana and Megan Salole, National Campaign Manager from the Green Party will be at the launch.

How much icing does a 1.5m “W” shaped cake need? #25thcake

One large (stainless steel) bucket of icing is what it takes! Should leave us all feeling mellow for the Soul Foundation gig at the Whitireia 25th birthday Fun Day.

One great big stainless bucket of Choc icing!

Chef students stir the icing to a creamy state.

Latest poster for the Fun Day at Whitireia this weekend 29 Oct…

Whitireia Fun Day poster.

 

Here it is, everything on in the Whitireia Fun Day on 29 October 2011: Performing Arts, comedian James Nokise, cake (of course), Wellington band Soul Foundation, lots of free childrens’ activities, sports activities for everyone with Stephen Bachop and lots of other stuff.

“Sigh after Sigh” invitation to a reading of new poems by Mary Jane Duffy.

Invitation to Sigh After Sigh

Creative Writing tutor Mary Jane Duffy presents new poems with vocalist Lee Hodson and guitarist Jim Perkins at the Lembas Cafe, 34 Poplar Ave, Raumati South on Sunday 30 October at 5.30pm.

Fast Track Study – The Summer Programme details have been posted

If you need to gain study credits to fast track your study or get the credits you need to enter a polytechnic course, The Summer Programme is a good way to do it. Starting on November 28, courses in business, arts, music, IT,  writing or bridging courses to lift your school credits to meet polytechnic entry criteria are on offer.

Some students want to finish their arts or business qualification as soon as they can. Modules over summer get you to the end of study that much quicker. You can check the courses on offer through the Summer Programme page of our website.

If you need a few more credits to get from school to a tertiary course, you can pick them up here. Timed to start after exams, you can get the credits you need to meet entry criteria for a polytechnic qualification. Check the entry criteria by looking up the qualification on the subjects page of our website.

You’ll get a break over Christmas and come into 2012 fresh and fully loaded with credits to make the most of the year! Phone us on 0800 944 847 to discuss options or get an information book let sent out to you.

Summer programme poster.

Whitireia Public Birthday is on 29 October, with fun free stuff…

Whitireia is opening its doors to the public for an afternoon of fun and entertainment, to celebrate 25 years of quality tertiary education in Porirua. Mark 29 October in your calendars now, and come down to the main campus on Wineera Drive in Porirua.
The afternoon kicks off at 2pm with an opening and cutting of a ‘big’ birthday cake, followed by music, performances, free children’s activities, campus tours and showcases of some of the programmes on offer. At 2.30pm, comedian James Nokise will entertain the crowds, and at around 4pm, well known Wellington Band Soul Foundation will take over the main stage. (featuring Soulcake and Nudge members.)
Food vendors will be on hand, and sports games will be run by ex All Black Stephen Bachop and a local Hurricanes player.
Bring the family for a fun day out!
Free event.

Free Wifi, super fast processing, three (Ok six) things I didn’t know about Whitireia Bachelor of IT

I’m sitting in the carpark using the free Whitireia IT dept wifi…  Its fast – really really fast. And free. These are two of the things I value most in wifi. Its a real curse at campuses and cafes around Wellington when the data pipe is more of a straw. I started to wonder how this could be available here. When I asked, I was pointed towards Sue Chard who runs the Bachelor of IT at Whitireia and found out a few interesting facts about the service I was using.

Sue is into 3D virtual worlds. Very into them. She has just submitted a doctorate on them and was playing around with “Open Wonderland,” preparing for an open day on 29 October when I bowled up. Sue has spent all her study time looking at ‘rendering capacity’. It turns out there is an incredible set up here. Whitireia is using the Blade Servers (with extremely fast processing power, gifted by Weta) to do point cloud reconstruction. This is using points on a 3D (real) object to recreate models in a 3D world. Very cool. There might be some summer courses in this. There will definitely be student projects in it inside the BIT.

Sue says she has the absolutely latest software, with complete control of a dedicated network at her (and her students’ disposal). This is unique in Wellington. So there is free access for student laptops, phones and smart devices. App development is what this dept is all about Sue says – going on to list all the usual code….

Whitireia is the only polytechnic in the region on KAREN – the research network that offers great gobs of bandwidth throughout New Zealand.

“I just don’t think there is a better place to study, says Sue. You need to make your own mind up of course.”  I’m pretty blown away by the processing power of the Blades. And you just can’t beat great wifi.

Whitireia is the No1 polytechnic in New Zealand for ‘qualification completion’

Whitireia has come out on top in a recent report released by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).

The Performance of Tertiary Education Organisations report for 2010 ranks Whitireia in the number one position for qualification completion.  The qualification completion measure looks at students across the polytechnic, in a given year that complete a qualification.

Twenty Institutes of Technology or Polytechnics were ranked in the report and a total of four measures were reported on including; successful completion of courses, completion of qualifications, student progression to higher level study, students retained in study.

This is a very pleasing result for Whitireia said Don Campbell, Chief Executive. “Staff and students have worked hard to ensure completion and success of the students chosen qualification.”   Sixty-five percent of students who studied at Whitireia in 2010 were successful in completing and obtaining a qualification.

Great Māori phrases… like ‘māu te haute e hoa’, your shout, mate!

Kia ora anō e tua mā. Anei ētahi atu kiianga mā koutou hei whakarākei i tōu reo.

Hi there. Here are some more phrases you can use to in te reo Māori:

Kei a koe mō te manaaki manuhiri! = You da bomb at looking after guests!

Kei a koe mō te tunu keke! = You are awesome at baking cakes!

Māu te haute e hoa = Your shout, bro (in terms or buying something)

Kua pakaru taku pūkoro = I’m broke! (got no money, honey)

te hia pai! = Got the cheek!

Good luck with these ones. Hopefully you have friends with pūkoro (pockets) that aren’t pakaru (broken) but full with pūtea (money) and willing to haute you all night!

Kia ora rā

Justin Puna

Maori language week, some quick phrases you can use

This year the theme of manaakitanga inspires Maori Language Week. Manaakitanga is one of the core values at Whitireia. Its about being a good host and the deeper understanding that by helping others, the mana of everyone is increased.

Justin Puna is firing out some phrases and for us, here are today’s:

Nikā ehinu atu rerenga kōrero hai manaaki i āu ruranga. Here are some more sentences to help you out when hosting guests.

Kua whai moenga koe? = Do you have a bed?

Nikā tō moenga = Here’s your bed

Māu anō koe e kuhu = Help yourself

Kia au tō moe = Have a good sleep

I au taku moe = I slept like a baby!

Have a go at these ones and we’ll have some more for you to try out āpōpō

In the era of facebook, do students use Coke Expo for study information?

Its been two very busy days for the Marketing, Schools Liaison and Pacific Liaison teams at the Coke Expo in Wellington. Its an old-fashioned style approach to helping students make a tough decision. A big hall of displays, lots of flash tertiary signage telling you about qualifications and applications and careers in many subjects, a rediculous amount of free plastic stuff…. It all makes for pressured thinking.

But we were pleased to be there. Because Facebook just isn’t enough. Our paramedic students gave demonstations on patient situation stabilisation, Whitireia Media Training Centre tutors spoke about the range of careers open to print, radio journalists – particularly in the new media landscape. Our advisors covered all programmes, from certificates in trades through to applied degrees in health, business, IT, arts, education and social work. Lots of people asking questions about the steps they can take to get into these courses and asking for more material on subjects.

Many more students attended than we expected, more than last year. The team arrived back on campus with 1000s rather than 100s of enquiries, questions, forms. If we didn’t get your question, phone us on 0800 944 847. Our subjects are described in the main whitireia website, you can choose a subject and investigate available qualifications.

Paramedics from Whitireia show what its about.

Some info for students graduating on 29 July….

Congratulations if you are attending and graduating in the Whitireia Graduation Ceremony – 29 July 2011!

 Key facts, when and where:

Friday 29 July – at Elim Christian Centre, Heriot Drive, Elsdon, PORIRUA

Be there at 3.15pm for the 4pm ceremony. Students from the Faculties of Arts, Business, Service Industries and Trades are receiving their testamurs at this ceremony.

There is a map showing the location of the venue in our website.

The website also has this information for graduates:

In your information pack there is a form to return – you need to do this to attend!  You need to return the form with your student details by 8 July, or have advised your tutor in class about your attendance. If you are concerned about this, phone us on 0800 944 847.

Venue:

The Graduation ceremony will take place at the Elim Christian Centre in Porirua.

Regalia is only required for Diploma graduates

Regalia is only required for students graduating with diploma or degree qualifications. In July, the only programme to be gowned is the National Diploma in Journalism (Multimedia)

Gowns will be available from the front room at Elim, from 2pm. We ask that you collect your gown in plenty of time prior to your ceremony, as there is a bit of organising to do around grouping everyone.

Formal dress should be worn by everybody else, and we encourage you to wear a garment of honour from your own tradition – a korowai or ta’ovala, for example.

Those hiring gowns will be asked to return them immediately following the ceremony to the front room. If gowns are damaged or go missing, you will be responsible for them.

Grouping up:

Graduands are required to assemble in the main auditorium at Elim by 3.15pm.  

At this time, you will be organised into order to ensure you receive the correct award. You will line up alphabetically in your class groups and be organised into seating areas.

Once the certificate part of the ceremony starts, class groups will be asked to come forward and graduands will be called up one by one, and your certificate will be handed to you. 

Guests:

We ask that graduating students invite up to three guests as the capacity of the venue will not exceed more than this. If you would like to invite more than three guests, please specify this on your application, or email jo.prestwood@whitireia.ac.nz and we will endeavour to accommodate your request.

There is parking at Elim, along Heriot Drive, and nearby.

Guests need to be seated at least 15 minutes before the ceremony starts – by 3.45pm. Children must be closely supervised and accompanied by an adult (who is not graduating) at all times.

The ceremony is scheduled to take about 1 hour. Guests and graduands are asked to remain for the entire ceremony, out of respect for all who graduate.

Refreshments:

After the ceremony, light refreshments will be provided at Elim.

All the best!!

A strategic partnership between Whitireia and Weltec has been announced

Students and industry will both benefit from a proposal announced today by Whitireia Community Polytechnic (Whitireia) and Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec). They propose to form a Strategic Partnership, including a Combined Council to govern both Institutions.

Chair of both Councils, Roger Sowry, said that the proposal is innovative and a first for the tertiary education sector in New Zealand. It will draw on the strengths of both institutions to give students easier access to a diverse range of programmes; create distinctive, new Centres of Excellence that work closely with industry; provide a single strategic overview of, and stronger voice for, vocational tertiary education; and be a one-stop shop for industry in the greater Wellington region.

“This journey started with WelTec and Whitireia exploring a range of options for working more closely together to benefit students, the community and industry, and to support the economic development of the Wellington region,” Mr Sowry said.

“We believe the Strategic Partnership will enable us to deepen existing relationships with industry on programme development, industry-specific training, and research, and by being more flexible to their rapidly changing needs. This will mean graduates are better prepared to join the workforce, have an even better chance of getting jobs and can start contributing to the economy quickly.”

The Strategic Partnership will become a magnet for students with opportunities for specialist study through large new Centres of Excellence, access to more resources, and greater accessibility to programmes on a number of campuses.

Staff will benefit from greater professional collaboration, working with a more diverse range of students, and more career and development opportunities including an expanded professional development training programme.

Both Institutions will continue to be managed by their own Chief Executives and Executive teams. The proposed Strategic Partnership includes establishment of a common Academic Board and a Shared Services Centre to provide infrastructure and support services for the two Institutions.

“Our vision is that this Strategic Partnership will lead to a larger network of tertiary education institutions in the Wellington region working together and continuing to grow opportunities for students and enhancing our contribution to industry,” says Mr Sowry.

The consultation period runs until 31 July. The consultation document and feedback form is available on WelTec and Whitireia’s websites or by calling the Institutions.

Official opening of the Whitireia Performance Centre in Wellington City

The Whitireia New Zealand Performance Centre will be officially opened in Wellington this week by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon Chris Finlayson.

25 Vivian Street, Wellington City will be the central hub for all Whitireia performance disciplines including Performing Arts, Stage and Screen Arts, Musical Theatre and Commercial Dance. Rooms for music and drama, studios for ballet and dance, a ballroom style dance studio, a function room and a theatre are just some of the areas that make-up this fantastic facility for students studying in these disciplines.

The new centre will cater for as many as 500 students on a wide variety of courses, community weekends, weeknights as well as full-time programmes during the day. Those who choose to study at the Whitireia Performance Centre have the opportunity to become fantastic live performers, tour internationally with the highly acclaimed Whitireia dance programme, gain confidence and develop talents in a wide range of art forms.

Students can study for a Bachelor of Applied Arts, Performing Arts, for a Diploma in Performing Arts in either Dance or Singing and for a Graduate Diploma in Applied Arts. Also on offer is the Diploma in Stage and Screen Arts. All courses are full-time.

Students are provided with a number of opportunities to perform live in front of local, national and international audiences. These opportunities are made available through Whitireia and the commercial contracts they have with a range of organisations. Performing Arts students have exciting opportunities to perform at Te Papa – this year during the rugby world cup, the Mayo Clinic Conference, WOMADelaide, WOMAD Taranaki, while festivals in Italy will be part of the line-up for 2011. All students perform at WOW and the rugby sevens in Wellington.

Two years ago in 2009, Whitireia purchased the Wellington Performing Arts Centre and relocated its performance programmes into the city. “It’s great having all the performance programmes together and now in this fantastic new facility, the centre is a hive of activity and buzz” said Pip Byrne, Programme Manager, Whitireia New Zealand. “What we have created is a fabulous Performance Centre with a great atmosphere, great performance programmes on offer, real industry professionals as tutors who can provide students with an abundance of knowledge and skills and we are right in the heart of New Zealand’s cultural capital” she said. “What more could Whitireia and our students want!”

The official launch is on Thursday, at the Whitireia New Zealand Performance Centre, 25 Vivian Street, Wellington City. It will include a showcase performance, “Illuminate”, a celebration of new beginnings. The performance will include all disciplines studying at the centre.