Unitec was founded as Carrington Technical Institute in 1976 on the Mt Albert site on Carrington road, which has 55 hectares of grounds. The area on which Unitec's main campus is located was formerly home to the Whau Lunatic Asylum, later known as Carrington Hospital. The hospital building (Building 1) is an imposing brick Italianate-Romanesque structure, located at the northern end of the Unitec Campus. The hospital building was the largest in New Zealand when it was built in the 1860s. The hospital was decommissioned during the early 1990s, and the building is now part of Unitec.
The name changed to Carrington Polytechnic in 1987 and then to "Unitec Institute of Technology" in 1994. Unitec applied for University status in 1999, but the Government ruled, somewhat controversially, in 2005 that Unitec did not meet the academic criteria of a university and would remain an Institute of Technology.
In 2006, Unitec opened its Waitakere Campus in the centre of Henderson, West Auckland. The campus is a joint development with the former Waitakere City Council and includes the new Waitakere Central Library. Unitec's Waitakere campus offers mainly introductory computing, preparing for study, and health and social work courses.
In August 2011, Unitec opened a campus in Albany, on Auckland's North Shore, but it was closed in December 2016.On 1 April 2020, Unitec Institute of Technology will be subsumed into New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology alongside the 15 other Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs).
We offer a friendly and diverse learning environment with flexible study programmes, lots of support, and hands-on experience to build the skills you need for your career and your future.
The Think. Do way
We know that employers want people who are doers just as much as thinkers. So if you want a career – professional, vocational, or trade – your education must arm you with relevant hands-on skills.
Study your way
At Unitec, you’ll get exposure to a real-world learning environment that combines industry-leading theory and hands-on practical experience that’ll equip you with all the skills you need to hit the ground running. Learn from industry-experienced lecturers and take your knowledge, skills and connections with you when you graduate.
We offer a place for everyone and support a diverse wh?nau of people, where we get to know each and every one of our students by name. Because we care about your success, we can help you progress from entry to advanced-level programmes – from certificate-level all the way to an undergraduate degree.
Experience Unitec
We offer lots of opportunities to come and meet the people who’ll be teaching you. Visiting us is a great way to find out more about the student experience and see the facilities
Life at Unitec
Whether you need help to settle in, meet new people or find something to do on campus, we have a range of support services, online resources, events and activities that you can access to help make the most out of your time with us.
For Career Advisors
From key contacts to scholarship info, you’ll find everything you need here to give your young people the guidance they need to make the right decision about their futures.
Unitec ranked top of the 14 ITPs participating in the latest Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) Quality Evaluation, with 124 portfolios achieving a fundable rating, according to initial results released last week.
The PBRF is a highly competitive, nationally peer-reviewed process, run by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), that awards funding based on the quality of research in the tertiary industry.
With over a quarter of ITP sector share of the PBRF funding going to Unitec, and with Unitec ranked 9th out of the 36 participating tertiary organisations in a fund that better suits the university sector, this result highlights the outstanding research programme in place at Unitec.
Unitec’s 2019 performance is an improvement on their already successful outcome in the last PBRF round in 2012, with 97% of submitted portfolios being awarded funding, up from 71% in 2012. Unitec was awarded more of the highest quality ‘A’ categories and more ‘new and emerging’ categories than in 2012, reflecting the ITP’s focus on the high quality of its research and its support of new researchers.
