Academic staff member, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic

"Boundless enthusiasm for a job he loves ensures consistently high achievement for Mike’s learners"

Mike remembers his father saying, “You’ve only got to be good at ‘one little thing’ and you’re made for life!”  He has been teaching Electrical Engineering trades for 24 years and has very close connections with industry.  His unique capability to develop and use technology as an integral part of his programmes has ensured students are provided with an environment in which to demonstrate their ability to learn and succeed in ways they find exciting and useful, using tools that appeal to them.

He seeks to create an environment where his students become a cohesive, efficient group who enjoy learning and have a common aim of academic success.  His students achieve consistently high pass rates in externally set Level 3 national exams with at least one student every year gaining a Top Achievers Award. 

“Inspirational, enthusiastic, modest, humble, a pioneer, forward thinker and an active teacher” are words used by his students and colleagues to describe him which affirms that teaching is Mikes ‘one little thing’.