17 February 2025

“It takes a village to raise a child” is a proverb well known in Pacific communities.

It was a clear theme to emerge from Unitec’s Pacific Orientation Day on Tuesday, 11 February where close to 100 Pacific ākonga were given a warm welcome at the Pacific Fale.

Pacific Orientation was a fun, immersive and informative day, where our new learners were introduced to the key services and kaimahi supporting their learner journey.

The event incorporated cultural activities and games, which showcased and demonstrated the core values that underpin Unitec’s commitment to our Pacific learners and connectedness as a wider whānau.

Unitec-MIT executive director, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga thanked our new ākonga for choosing Unitec and encouraged them to reach out and take advantage of the support they had around them.

Kamuka Pati, Academic Programme Manager for Building Construction, pointed out the “fanau (family) environment” as being a strength of Unitec and a key reason why Pacific learners thrive.

“Lean on the support you have. That is our key message to new students – that you have a lot of support at Unitec and we encourage you to utilise that as this is a key part of our success,” he said.

The orientation ended appropriately with music, dance, and plenty of food as our new ākonga were treated to a delicious Pacific-styled lunch and given a chance to mix and mingle with Unitec kaimahi and other ākonga.

Ngā mihi and thanks to all our kaimahi and support teams in attendance who took the time to pass on important advice and information. We look forward to seeing all our ākonga return for the start of Semester One on Monday, 24 February.