Teaching partnerships and secondments
At Wintec we believe in delivering real skills for the workforce and in doing so, creating an intellectually and socially vibrant educational experience for all.
To be successful, we need to be relevant, agile and future-focussed, so it’s important we develop partnerships with employers. By engaging with employers and industry partners, we bring real-life stories into the classroom and our students gain real experiences in the workplace. It’s also our job to educate work-ready graduates so they’re equipped with the skills they need for their future career.
We believe learning is more effective when skills are tried, tested and experienced.
Valuable partnerships with employers can be achieved through Industry Secondments, where our staff spend time working in industry; and Industry Teaching Partnerships, where industry experts are invited to teach, speak to and/or work alongside our staff and students, and where they provide work-based learning for our students.
If you are interested in finding out more about Industry Secondments or Industry Teaching Partnerships at Wintec please contact: Klaus Reiter.
Industry secondments
Secondments to industry are a valuable tool that can enable our staff to maintain their industry connections and knowledge of changing or emerging trends.
An industry secondment is an agreed period when a staff member attends a planned and agreed industry organisation, away from Wintec, for a one-off event, a few hours or for a regular number of hours across a period of days or weeks. It may be to contribute to a specific project, or to enable the exchange of knowledge between the academic and industry environments through the development of collaborative relationships.
Benefits of industry secondment include:
- Maintaining awareness of industry developments, practices and trends
- Building and maintaining the currency and relevance of our people’s knowledge and experience through applied activities in industry
- Creating relationships that will add value for Wintec, industry, our students and graduates
- Providing a mechanism for access to industry for Wintec and our students
- Creating a flexible, measurable and sustainable model of industry engagement
- Developing students and graduates who are work ready and capable to engage with industry.
Industry teaching partnerships
An industry teaching partnership happens when we invite a person outside Wintec to contribute to the student learning experience, whether directly or indirectly.
There are many different types of industry teaching partnerships outlined below. New or adapted models of the partnership types may evolve. With the rise of virtual meetings, for instance, many industry speakers are now using that technology. Presenting from their own home or place of work, industry teaching partners can save time and resources otherwise used for travel to a campus. This works, for instance, very well for work-integrated learning where an industry teaching partner presents a case or project in one session and then provides feedback to the students' work in another session.
Co-researcher - A person who is appropriately qualified and industry-experienced who is appointed to undertake a co-research project with a student/s and/or academic staff member/s.
Design Factory - An industry person who is appointed to work alongside students in the Design Factory. They work alongside and provide structured guidance to students to research, problem-solve and co-create innovative solutions to create new products, systems and processes.
Guest Speaker - A person from industry who speaks or facilitates workshops, on a one-off basis or over several sessions. The focus will typically include practical experience and applied theory in their area of expertise.
In Residence - An accomplished and recognised industry professional that is assigned to the staff position In-Residence" eg Writer In Residence, Editor In Residence, or Chef In Residence. While engaged in this position, they continue their professional work, study and/or research, and share their professional insights with staff and students. These positions are fixed term, for a period of no more than one year.
Industry Assessor - A person from industry who participates, alongside our staff, in the assessment of practical and/or theory work. They may contribute to the design of the assessments and/or providing feedback to students.
Industry Mentor - A person from industry who facilitates access and immersion into the business environment relevant to a student project. They provide mentorship and guidance to a student and are usually part of a supervisory team, working with the student's academic lead supervisor. Industry mentors are an integral part of the Masters of Transdisciplinary Research and Innovation.
Research Supervisor or Research Co-supervisor - Appropriately qualified and industry-experienced person who is appointed to provide research supervision or research co-supervision to a student or groups of students. Appointments must be made in line with the Postgraduate Research Supervision policy and procedures.
Teaching -This could occur as part of 'business as usual' hourly paid academics or part-time tenured positions; but could also include job swaps, job sharing or staff exchange.
Workplace Supervisor - Appropriately qualified and industry-experienced people who are appointed to provide off-campus supervision to students in a workplace, academic or practical context. Examples include Clinical Supervisor or Professional Supervisor.
Industry partnerships in action
Opus International Consultants
Paul King and Russell Kean from Opus International Consultants worked with Wintec’s Design Factory – a problem-solving project based at Wintec. Paul says the experience was rewarding for Opus and the students, who put forward many smart solutions.
“The student groups were given several significant real-world problems which they approached with both a professional attitude and great gusto. Without the shackles of a traditional design process (driven by cost), their concept proposals explored new themes that challenged the usual paradigms,” says Paul.
“Opus International Consultants was delighted to share its expertise with these up-and-coming designers and engineers. We see this partnership as a fundamental part of growing New Zealand’s pool of future talent,” says Russell.
To find out more about working with Opus visit www.opus.co.nz
Hyundai New Zealand
Hyundai New Zealand are Wintec’s automotive training equipment provider.Hyundai New Zealand provide Wintec with mule vehicles for automotive training at our Rotokauri trades facility.
Our partnership with Hyundai also provides opportunities for our students to be involved in the Spirit of Adventure and work with world Rally Car driver Hayden Paddon. Wintec are proud to support Hyundai’s Pinnacle Programme which is a unique scholarship providing talented young New Zealanders with the foundations for success. For more information on the Pinnacle Programme click here http://pinnacleprogramme.co.nz
