Finalists announced for Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards

The ten tertiary teachers finding success in New Zealand’s Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards for 2019 have been announced today.

The finalists will celebrate at parliament on the 30th October, with guests from across the tertiary sector, at a ceremony hosted by Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education.

Kaupapa Māori category awards have been awarded to two outstanding teachers this year; Dr Ngarino Ellis from The University of Auckland, who is the only Māori art historian teaching in a New Zealand university, and Associate Professor Mera Penehira, a Kaupapa Māori teacher from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

This is the first year of the awards (since its inception in 2001) that a teacher representing a wānanga has been selected. Ako Aotearoa Director, Helen Lomax is delighted with the change. “We know that excellent teaching has been occurring in this sector for a long time, so it’s great to finally have an award recipient, and their wānanga, recognised at a national level through these Awards.”

The ten finalists are:
• Peter Bier, Department of Engineering Science, The University of Auckland
• Andrew Eberhard, Business School, The University of Auckland
• Dr Ngarino Ellis, Art History, The University of Auckland
• Associate Professor Andrew Luxton-Reilly, School of Computer Science, The University of Auckland
• Associate Professor Kathryn MacCallum, School of Computer Science, Eastern Institute of Technology
• Dr David McMorran, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago
• Dr Masayoshi Ogino, Department of Global, Cultural and Language Studies, University of Canterbury
• Associate Professor Mera Penehira, School of Indigenous Graduate Studies, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
• Dr Heather Purdie, Department of Geography, also from University of Canterbury
• Dr Cami Sawyer, Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University

Ako Aotearoa is leading the change to broaden the diversity and inclusivity of nominees entering these national awards. Helen Lomax adds, “While we anticipate these changes will take some years to gain traction, we are delighted to see early impact through the success of staff at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and regional ITP, Eastern Institute of Technology.”

Read more about the ten finalists on the Ako Aotearoa website.

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