Unitec Institute of Technology
 | |
| Established | 1976 |
|---|---|
| President | Dr. Richard Ede (CEO) |
| Students | 15,420 EFTS (2015) [1] |
| Location | , |
Unitec Institute of Technology (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka) is the largest institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand with over 15,000 students in 2015.[1]
The main campus is situated in Mt Albert, Auckland, while a secondary campus is situated in Henderson, Waitakere, Auckland.
Unitec offers degree programs in arts, business, and technical subjects at the bachelors, masters and doctoral level. Applied technology (Trade) training is offered at certificate, diploma and degree level. Unitec is a member of the International Association of Universities.
History
Unitec was founded as "Carrington Technical Institute" in 1976 on the Mt Albert site on Carrington Rd, which has 55 hectares of grounds. The area on which Unitec's main campus is located was formerly home to the Whau Lunatic Asylum, later known as Carrington Hospital. The hospital building (Building 1), is an imposing brick Italianate-Romanesque structure, located at the northern end of the Unitec Campus. The hospital building was the largest in New Zealand when it was built in the 1860s. The hospital was decommissioned during the early 1990s, and the building is now part of Unitec.
The name changed to "Carrington Polytechnic" in 1987 and then to "Unitec Institute of Technology" in 1994. Unitec applied for University status in 1999, but the Government ruled, somewhat controversially, in 2005 that Unitec did not meet the academic criteria of a university and would remain an Institute of Technology.[2]
In 2006, Unitec opened its new Waitakere Campus in the centre of Henderson, West Auckland. The campus has recently been extended to include a new state-of-the art learning centre and library. The campus is a joint development with the former Waitakere City Council and includes the new Waitakere Central Library. Unitec's Waitakere campus offers mainly business, language, and health and community studies programs.
In August 2011, Unitec opened a new campus at 10 Rothwell Avenue, Albany, on Auckland's North Shore. The new campus was located in a high growth area where there is unmet demand for vocational and trade training. The Albany Campus offered a range of courses including: automotive and mechanical engineering; electrical and electronic engineering; building and construction; information technology; health care; animal care; business services and retail; language, and foundation courses. The Albany Campus closed in December 2016.[3]
There are also three libraries across the two existing campuses:
- Mt Albert, Hub Library
- Mt Albert, Building 1 Library
- Waitakere Campus Library
Courses
Study areas
- Animal Health, Management and Welfare
- Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Garden Design, and Interior Design
- Biodiversity and Conservation
- Business Studies - Marketing, Management, HR, Operations, Accounting, Finance, Retail Sales, Small Business, and Real Estate
- Engineering - Electrical, Electronics, Civil & Environmental
- Community and Social Practice - Social Work, Youth Work, Health Promotion
- Communication Studies - PR, Event Management, Media Studies, International, and Science
- Computing
- Trades - Building, Construction and Services
- Creative Industries - Design, Photography, Animation, Visual Arts, Performing Arts and Screen Arts (Acting, Dance, Music, Clothing Design, Lighting & Sound, Props & Art Department)
- Education - Early Childhood, Leadership, Technology (MindLab and TechFutures), and Creative Thinking
- Bridging Education (Foundation Studies) and an alternative to University Entrance
- Health - Nursing, Medical Imaging & Osteopathy
- Language Studies - English (as a second language), IELTS, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese
- Sport
- Vehicles - repairing and diagnosing
Qualifications
- 2 doctorate degrees
- 14 masters degrees
- 17 postgraduate and graduate diplomas and certificates
- 19 bachelors degree programs
- 77 diploma and certificate programs
Unitec is the largest trade training provider in New Zealand and also provides the only New Zealand-based programme that enables graduates to register with the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand, and to enter practice as an osteopath.
The Institute is also one of the largest nursing training providers in New Zealand. Unitec has strong links with industry and 85% of undergraduate degrees have elements of industry based learning. The emphasis in many learning areas is for a high ratio of practical (hands on) learning of learned theory, as opposed to the traditional model of traditional university-level tuition, which is predominantly theory. For example, the Introduction to Policing course is delivered in partnership with the New Zealand Police. Also, the School of Computing Science has an industry internship program with IBM, which includes the IBM Center at the Mt. Albert (Carrington) Campus.
References
- ^ "Participation/Participation Rates". Education Counts. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Dye, Stuart (11 August 2005). "Unitec set to fight Government denial of varsity status". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ "Unitec to close Albany campus, remain on the Shore". Unitec. 30 August 2016.