We welcome the New Zealand Government Announcement this week that EIT will become an independent institution from January 2026.

The move is positive for the Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti regions as EIT will have the autonomy once again to make decisions that are best for students (ākonga) and the diverse communities it serves.

For the past three years, EIT has been a business division of Te Pūkenga, which was an amalgamation of 16 Polytechnics and 9 industry training organisations.  

This year, EIT proudly celebrates 50 years of providing education and training to the community. What was originally the Hawke’s Bay Community College first opened its doors in 1975. EIT consolidated itself as the preeminent educational provider on the East Coast when it merged with Tairāwhiti Polytechnic in Gisborne in 2011. EIT has thrived over the last 50 years, now offering more than 160 postgraduate, degree, diploma and certificate-level programmes.

Glen Harkness, Acting Operations Lead for EIT, is thrilled by the announcement.

“We are focused on ensuring we are an institution that is financially viable, academically rigorous, founded on strong and enduring industry engagement and community connections within our region. We will do this by making sure our EIT values are at the heart of what we do. This is to ensure we are fit for purpose in a modern, digital age where our ākonga learn in different ways and have expectations around what we deliver and how we do this. I want to acknowledge our kaimahi who have been through so much change over the past few years and have stuck at it due to their commitment and passion for our ākonga and communities.”

As we look forward to a bright future, we would like to express our thanks to you for your unwavering support throughout the last few years. We look forward to continuing to work with you, our EIT partner recruitment agents, in welcoming international students to study at our Hawke’s Bay and Auckland campuses this year and beyond.