Otago Polytechnic/OP 2021 Strategy

Otago Polytechnic 2021
Developing a Vision and Strategy

This is where you can place your ideas... All day meeting planned for April 10.

Okay, will place ideas here before i go to Europe on 23 March, Leoni.

Vision Team:

Kris Bennett Marc Doesburg Steve Henry Chris Morland Alistair Regan Leoni Schmidt

Some notes from Marc Doesburg: Successful tertiary education in the future is going to be dependent on the capability to adapt to change, to find opportunities in change, and to have the capacity to take full advantage of opportunities that are presented.

Be well-informed: know what factors are shaping education, whether nationally or internationally. Actively develop networks and glean information. Be first off the block with innovative responses to a changing environment. Cultivate an environment of innovative thinking. Clarity and flexibility in systems in order to respond quickly to change. Financial robustness in order to Systems assist rather than stifle innovation. Staff expertise to find opportunity in change. Leadership and project management capability and capacity. Quickly develop expertise in a changing educational environment and market this. In becoming expert in adapting to change, function in a consulting capacity. Set trends, rather than follow them. Be a centre for applied research in order that recommendations about pedagogy and teaching practice are well-informed and adopted by others. Increased use of research funding for teaching and learning research. OP becomes a centre for education excellence. Consistently achieve learning excellence in order to sustain core programmes. Exploit opportunity to finance innovation. Maintain a value system that has market currency. Values reflect increasing individuality of the learner. Individual's selected focus on skill, experiential learning, yet developing the whole person, including creativity and innovation. Increasing individual participation in decision making in education. Graduates are work ready and are equipped with the ‘soft skills’ employers seek. Graduates become leaders in their fields.

Some notes from Steve Henry: Welcome to the year 2021 In the 2018 tertiary re alignment, Otago Polytechnic joined all other South Island Polytechnics and Te Wananga o Aoteroa to create a new entity Te Wai Pounamu Wananga. Te Wai Pounamu Wananga operates with the following kaupapa; -	Students do not enrol in a qualification prior to a learning programme. Learners buy the services of training in a vocational community of practice including mentors and learner co-ordinators who steer the learners engagement within this community. When the learner decides they wish to leave the community of practice (eg after 3 or 6 months or 1,2 or 3 years) they are able to be assessed for the work they have done and a qualification to the level they have achieved is awarded. This approach has led to an increase in mature students and the average age of awarding a first qualification is now 28. -	Learning co-ordinators are based in industry settings, as all government funding associated with vocational training is directed to the work setting. Preferred employer partners receive the bulk of what was tertiary education commission funding and the employer in partnership with a learning co-ordinator decide how the training serves the workplace and the learner. This is audited externally by iwi, industry and government agencies. Learning co-ordinators are paid according to the level of value of the vocational training they enable which remains a contentious issue. -	Learning co-ordinators prefer to work on contract because they are among the highest paid staff, which has increased the mana of the vocational learning sector. -	Learners no longer attend lectures- this practice was banned as it was considered such a bad practice for learning. Learners are required to gain knowledge from recorded presentations before bringing this to discussions with peers and their learning co-ordinator in seminars in what is now considered the most relevant setting for best learning- the work place. -	Te Wai Pounamu Wananga enjoys significantly more access to funding than the vocational sector previously had. This is because of its close relationships with communities of practice with alumni, iwi, industry, government agencies and non governmental organisations contributing funding because their research and development needs are met by this community. Learner fees are significantly less than ten years ago because of the lower amount of contact time of learners with learning co-ordinators and because of the diverse range of funding available. In some communities of practice, new learners are invited to pay their fees when they have the means to do so- this has led to generous endowment funds being created. -	Campus hubs are significantly smaller and provide a social setting for sharing learning only, without specialist facilities. The resources that were put into Campuses are now directed at preferred employers who present the case to most effectively use the specialist equipment, such as artists, designers, health services, and in building, engineering and automotive workshop settings. The library is an information access hub with little printed material as video has become the main way learners are processing information. -	Te Wai Pounamu Wananga has seven campuses in the south Island with a manager in each which comprise the leadership team of the Wananga.

Steve Henry Manager Centre for Sustainable Practice Central Otago New Zealand

