Category: Eastern Institute of Technology

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

Encouraging students (ākonga) to action their learning outside of the classroom is the focus of new EIT | Te Pūkenga art and design tutor, Steph Barnett.

Steph, who describes herself as a “creative from day dot”, has recently joined the IDEAschool team in Tairāwhiti to teach the New Zealand Certificate in Arts and Design (Level 3 and 4) programmes.

She brings with her a personal creative practice as well as experience as an educator, including in trauma-informed education. She is now focused on giving her akonga every opportunity to develop their skills and creativity.

“I’ve always loved art. My earliest happy memories are of creating. I’ve been varied in my creative and professional practice. I would definitely say that I like new challenges, and I really like cross-disciplinary practices.”

“One of the reasons why this role specifically appealed to me was that it is wide ranging. It’s printmaking, fashion design, graphic design, photography, and fine art. Those are all things that I get excited about, and it’s a bit of a taster for emerging creatives, to find out what is working for them, before they decide to go down one path.”

She says it is important for tutors to link what they are teaching in the classroom to the wider creative world.

“We need to be creating community connections and enabling our ākonga to see themselves outside of the classroom.”

Steph has a diverse background with her work in trauma-informed education and learning te reo Māori in a full-immersion course at Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

“Trauma-informed education is another passion of mine. It is around positive social change, community change, and definitely a huge part of my teaching ethos is recognising everyone’s potential to grow and to develop. The learning pathway looks different for different people.”

“The full immersion year was super impactful for me. It really shifted my perspective. I gained a much deeper appreciation for te ao Māori, and how powerful an indigenous perspective is. I think that a Māori lens on our global issues right now holds potential for healing and regenerative practice for our whole world. Especially in relation to climate change, wealth inequality and our relationship with technology and AI” 

As for her personal artistic practice, Steph is currently working towards having her own exhibition.

“It is centred around the female experience, and in particular looks at female cycles, like our menstruation, and then how that relates to our environmental and social context.”

“I celebrate growth in my work, this comes through in native plants and flowers of Aotearoa present in most of my work.”

Steph says she is loving her new position and credits her colleagues for supporting her and ākonga for being passionate about creativity.

“They are just so wonderful. They’re so supportive of each other, and they’re very impressive artists already. I feel like I’m learning so much from them.”

“They are comfortable with experimenting, pushing different ideas, dreaming big, and really aiming for a high standard in their work. They are also really open to trying new opportunities and saying yes.”

The Acting Head of IDEAschool, Sue Blackmore, said: “IDEAschool welcomes Steph to the team. She is a fantastic asset to EIT | Te Pūkenga, bringing with her a wealth of experience and strong relationships within the Tairāwhiti creative community.”

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

Alena Kamper, a graduate of the Viticulture & Wine Science Concurrent Degree at EIT | Te Pūkenga, is the 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey North Island Young Winemaker of the Year, following the competition held at Indevin’s Gimblett Gravels winery.

Not only did Alena, 22, who now works at Sacred Hill Winery, win the competition, but Casey Mackintosh, a current Bachelor of Viticulture & Wine Science  student came second.

Alena said she had been nervous to enter the competition, which made the win unexpected.

“I had heard great things about the competition and that it was a great way to make connections in the industry and to really challenge yourself.”

“At first I didn’t feel ready because I was quite new into the industry. It’s going to be my first year of full-time work. And then what got me over the line to apply was people were saying, it’s really a great place to learn and see what you don’t know.”

“They were talking about how they regretted not entering and so that made it seem less intimidating, which is what pushed me to apply.”

To win the competition, Alena had to prove her skills in a range of tasks from blending, wine market knowledge, cellar skills, wine tasting and an interview.

The awards dinner was held at Brookfields Winery where the contestants delivered their Fruitfed speeches, which focused on hot topics for the wine industry. Alena says her speech was on Hawke’s Bay neeing a new varietal to entice new age wine drinkers.

“it was a super cool topic. I really enjoyed writing that. I had a lot of fun with the speech. I was quite happy with the topic I got.”

For her efforts Alena won $1,000 cash, premium wines, a Dale Carnegie leadership course and an educational trip sponsored by Fruitfed Supplies. This trip will take place early next year.

Alena now goes on to represent the North Island in the National Final of the 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey NZ Young Winemaker of the Year on 31 October at The Bone Line in Waipara, North Canterbury.

She says she is looking forward to the national competition, but realises it will be a step up.

Alena looks back at her time at EIT | Te Pūkenga with fondness, saying the programme was recommended to her by an old science teacher of hers at the school she attended, Sacred Heart College.

“I always loved science and did really well in that area at school. When I was about to leave high school, I was unsure of what I wanted to do. I wanted it to be science-based, but I didn’t want that to be the core of the degree. So when the teacher recommended the course, I signed up for it.”

“I was lacking knowledge in  wine and experience in wine but I loved it and I never looked back. I was really happy I made that decision.”

She says she loved the degree and was pleased that the lecturers gave one-on-one help to students.

“Some of our lecturers were from the industry, so they were teaching us real-life wine industry related content..”

“I think it was a really good, well-rounded degree and I think it was really easy to ask for help and receive help, which made it feel a little bit less intimidating when we’re going into study.”

Alena finished her degree last year, but only graduated this year because of Cyclone Gabrielle delays.

She wasted no time in getting employment in the industry. She did two vintages at Villa Maria and then got an opportunity to do one at Sacred Hill, where she was offered a permanent role as a cellar hand.

Sue Blackmore, the Head of the School of Viticulture and Wine Science at EIT | Te Pūkenga, said: “The Viticulture and Wine Science School congratulate Elena on both her success in the Young Winemaker but also forging ahead with her career in the Wine world. We aim to assist our graduates to find their feet quickly and find exciting career paths in an exciting NZ industry.”

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

Students (ākonga) in their last year of school have been offered the opportunity to apply for a limited number of Year-13 scholarships to study their chosen career at EIT | Te Pūkenga.

The Year 13 Scholarship, which is offered annually by EIT | Te Pūkenga, covers one year of tuition fees including any course related costs which have been approved to be included as part of the scholarship.

Currently the Government Fees Free policy covers the fees for their first year of study and this scholarship could cover the student’s second year of study. This could mean two years of their degree are fees free.

To qualify, students must meet the degree (or eligible certificate or diploma) entry criteria, be accepted to undertake full-time degree study at EIT|Te Pūkenga, starting semester one, and any other terms and conditions related to the programme.

Meriama Taufale, the Team Leader – Engagement and Transitions at EIT | Te Pūkenga, says the scholarship offers school students in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti the opportunity to remain at home and study what they are interested in.

“Some of our students are still surprised that they can study a degree locally. We’ve got some really specialised degrees which are well-renowned across the country.”

“Examples of this are our Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science; our Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts, which is based at Toihoukura in Tairāwhiti; or our Bachelor of Veterinary Nursing.”

“We’ve got some degrees that are open to students nationwide, but primarily we want to focus on our Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti students to keep them local.”

Meriama says that not only is it cheaper for students, because they can live at home, but they also have the wraparound support from whānau, which helps them succeed. They also benefit from a lower student loan at the end of the degree.

Applications close on Thursday, 19 October at 5pm and more information can be found at https://www.eit.ac.nz/students/year13scholarship/. To register interest in the Year 13 Scholarship email yr13@eit.ac.nz.