Wellington’s Polytechnics gain funding

MEDIA RELEASE

6 June 2007

Wellington’s Polytechnics gain funding to work more closely

The Government has announced an investment of $600,000 in projects so that Wellington region polytechnics and institutes of technology can work more closely together. Funding has come from the Tertiary Education Commission’s Quality Reinvestment Programme.

The chief executives of Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec), Whitireia Community Polytechnic and the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand formed the Wellington Regional Polytechnic Federation (WRPF) last year.

WelTec CEO Dr Linda Sissons says that the six projects identified for funding will deliver huge benefit to students and others with a stake in outcomes from tertiary education.

“The Government has sent us a strong message through the tertiary education reforms that they want a coordinated network of tertiary education across the country,” says Dr Sissons.

“Each of the six projects we are planning will deliver benefits and together they are designed to be a tool that will create a strong and focussed network of provision to meet the needs of the Wellington Region – educationally, economically and socially.”

CEO of Whitireia Don Campbell says that the establishment of the WRPF and the projects for 2007 are an important move towards a more collaborative and cooperative relationship between education providers in the region.

“Combining our efforts to improve tertiary education in the Wellington region is an exciting move in New Zealand education,” says Mr Campbell. “And sharing the expertise and strengths of the separate institutions will result in superior education and services, as well as savings,” he says.

Murray Hill, Acting CEO of The Open Polytechnic, says: “Each of us has our own unique strengths. We will look at using existing resources in new combinations to enhance our collective contribution to the region while achieving greater business efficiencies.”

“The TEC has approved six projects, which have been selected, designed and allocated to specific institutions to lead in a way that uses and builds on those strengths,” Mr Hill says.

The six projects are:

• Investigating a shared approach to electronic learning. Currently each institution uses a different platform for e-learning. Sharing resources and expertise will enable each partner to deliver an improved product at lower cost.

• Reviewing the potential for shared purchasing of goods and services to make savings through combined purchasing power. The WRPF partners independently spend in excess of $100million each year in goods and services.

• Exploring the potential for common records management to make cost savings and improve service and compliance with record keeping.

• Joint business continuity planning in the event of incidents or disasters, aimed at reducing the potential for crises to interrupt normal activities.

• Collaboration on the development of a pilot academic programme to be delivered by all three partners to see if this is practical and cost effective.

• Collaborative regional facilitation to involve all regional tertiary education providers – including universities and private training providers – and key stakeholders, to explore the needs, gaps and priorities for tertiary education in the region.

The projects will all start this year and be completed by the end of March 2008.

ends

© Scoop Media