Since 2007, the awards have celebrated over 300 outstanding tertiary educators from across Aotearoa, and from many different tertiary settings.

2025 awardees

In 2025, seven individuals and four teaching groups received Te Whatu Kairangi – Aotearoa Tertiary Educator Awards for their contribution to tertiary teaching and learning under the General, Kaupapa Māori, Le Moana Mua, and Te Tohu Reo categories.

The presentation of the awards, and the announcement of the Prime Minister's Supreme Award winner will be made during a ceremony in the Great Hall at the Dominion Museum Building in Wellington on 5 November.

We congratulate all awardees!

Te Tohu Reo Māori

• Haani Huata-Allen | Leadership & Culture, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

Le Moana Mua

• Associate Professor Dion Enari | School of Healthcare and Social Practice, Unitec
• Dr Moeata Keil | Faculty of Arts and Education, The University of Auckland

Kaupapa Māori – Individual

• Associate Professor Melissa McLeod | Eru Pōmare Māori Health Research Centre, University of Otago

Kaupapa Māori – Group

• Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership (MMIL) Group at the University of Canterbury
  Associate Professor Garrick Cooper, Sacha McMeeking, Jamie Hape and Liam Grant  

General Awardees – Individual

• Associate Professor Antonie Alm | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, University of Otago
• Dr Nasser Giacaman | Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering, The University of Auckland
• Richard Hope | Automotive trades, Ara Institute of Canterbury

General Awardees – Group

• Te Atakura Team at Universal College of Learning (UCOL)
  Jon Bailey, Erin Lincoln, Janell Kiriona, Tim Seaholme, Sherylee Spencer, Mere Robb and Lynette van Hutten
• Bachelor of Culinary Arts Distance Delivery team leaders at Otago Polytechnic
  Chloe Humphreys and Juliane Tautz
• New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Team at Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
  Dr George Major, Susie Ovens, Rachel Coppage, Pascal Marceau, Agnes Terraschke, Rebekah Guy and Melissa Simchowitz

Previous years' awardees

2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007