University of Otago — Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka (Otago), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), and Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau have recently signed a non-exclusive Statement of Intent focused on enhanced collaboration.
The collaboration is designed to boost student experience, help our universities share knowledge, improve services, and respond to sector challenges. By combining our efforts, we aim to deliver better outcomes for students, staff, and the communities we serve.
This agreement adds to significant collaboration already undertaken across the sector, including a wide range of collaborations in research and joint activity within the context of Universities New Zealand.
By working together, we can:
- Maximise the opportunities available to students to enhance their learning and experiences
- Offer added inclusive and flexible learning options
- Accelerate innovation
- Build stronger partnerships between different areas of our universities, and
- Ensure efficient use of funding and resources.
Initially, the collaboration will focus on developing five key strands:
Languages: Supporting languages through shared teaching and resources.
This strand builds on the collaboration between Otago and Te Herenga Waka that started with Otago students studying German at Te Herenga Waka in 2024. This expanded to Otago providing Ancient Greek and Latin for Te Herenga students this year. The collaboration is now exploring adding other languages, including Japanese.
Student Exchanges: Creating additional opportunities for students to enhance their learning through exchanges with other New Zealand universities.
All three universities have well-established international student exchange programmes, involving designated partners overseas. The domestic student exchange programme will see our students spending a semester at either Otago or AUT, with the courses they take while at that partner university being credited to their home University degree. The domestic student exchange pilot programme will commence in Trimester 2 of 2026, with each university sending and receiving up to ten students.
Accommodation for students on placement: Providing access to university-operated accommodation for students on placement in other cities.
This strand aims to make it easier for students to arrange and access university-provided accommodation at partner universities. For example, Otago health professional students who have placements at the Wellington campus would access VUW accommodation. Similarly, AUT health professional students on placement in Wellington or Dunedin or our students on placement during their studies would access accommodation available at these universities
Other areas under exploration include:
- Cybersecurity: Working together to enhance cybersecurity capability across the three universities.
- AI innovation: Promoting AI creativity and collaboration across our staff and student communities.
- Sustainability: Aligning how we report on environmental impact and progress.
- Staff exchanges: Enabling skill and knowledge transfer, and development, especially for professional staff.
This collaboration is being led for Otago by Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson, with support from the Strategy, Analytics and Reporting Office (SARO). More information on each of the strands will be available in due course.