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About the Awards

Te Whatu Kairangi celebrates outstanding tertiary educators who are making a difference to learners, their whānau and communities.

The awards include:

General Award with specified criteria applicable to both individuals and groups.
Kaupapa Māori Award presented to individuals or groups whose practice incorporates te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori.
Le Moana Mua Award for Pacific educators, available to both individuals and groups.
Te Tohu Reo Māori award, presented to individuals, recognising the practice of kaiako who teach te reo Māori.

The awards offer $20,000 for a group award and $15,000 for an individual award. The Prime Minister’s Educator of the Year Award, with an additional $10,000 grant, will be awarded to the nominee whose portfolio best exemplifies the overall criteria.

The 2018 Te Whatu Kairangi Awards dinner in Parliament buildings

Awards history

These national Awards were established in 2001 to celebrate and promote sustained excellence in tertiary teaching and have grown to be one of the most well-recognised and respected tertiary education awards programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand.

From 2007, Ako Aotearoa has managed the awards on behalf of the Ministry of Education. Since then, we have recognised and celebrated many innovative, passionate, outstanding tertiary educators from Industry Training Organisations, Private Training Establishments, Adult & Community Education, Wānanga, Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics, Universities and more. 