| Whitireia New Zealand | |
| Native Name: | Te Kura Matatini o Whitireia |
| Motto: | Leading and Illuminating |
| Established: | 1986 |
| Former Names: |
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| Faculty: | 302 FTE in 2020 (together with WelTec)[1] |
| Students: | 7,703 in 2022 (together with WelTec[2] |
| City: | Porirua |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Affiliations: | TEI |
| Address: | Wi Neera Drive, Takapuwahia, Porirua, New Zealand |
Whitireia New Zealand, previously called Whitireia Community Polytechnic and Parumoana Community College (Māori: Te Kura Matatini o Whitireia) is a subsidiary of Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, a government-owned and funded vocational education provider in New Zealand. Whitireia was established as an independent tertiary education institute in 1986 on the shores of Porirua Harbour. Since 2015 it has shared its leadership council and chief executive with WelTec (Wellington Institute of Technology). In 2020 it became a subsidiary of Te Pūkenga following a merger with 15 other New Zealand tertiary education institutes., Whitireia and WelTec share 7,700 students, with campuses in Wellington, Petone and Porirua.
Whitireia was founded in 1986 in Porirua and was originally named Parumoana Community College. It was renamed Whitireia Community Polytechnic in 1989 and Whitireia New Zealand in 2010.[3] It then partnered with WelTec, with the two organisations sharing a combined council. After running into financial difficulties, Whitireia was bailed out by the government with a NZ$15 million grant in 2018. Shortly afterwards, the combined board was sacked and replaced with a commissioner.[4]
Whitireia, alongside all other Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) in New Zealand, was subsumed into Te Pūkenga (New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology) on 1 April 2020.[5] [6]
Dr Tūroa Royal was the foundation principal and CEO of Whitireia Community Polytechnic from 1986 to 1996.[7] He was succeeded by his deputy, Deirdre Dale, from 1996 to 2006.[8] [9] From 2006 to 2015, Don Campbell was CEO. When Chris Gosling, the current CEO, took over from Campbell in 2015, this was a combined role as chief executive for both Whitireia and WelTec.[10]
Mark Oldershaw took over as chief executive from Gosling on 1 April 2020. The date coincided with Whitireia being subsumed into Te Pūkenga.[2] [11]
Whitireia operates five campuses in the north island.
Campus locations: