The Indigitech Solution
While Māori and Pasifika communities make up about 26% of New Zealand's population, they currently represent less than 7% of the nation's tech sector workforce. Indigitech is a collaborative initiative, backed by Intel, Amazon Web Services, Education Perfect, and Code Avengers, with a mission to increase the long-term representation of indigenous and underrepresented groups in STEM careers. Our primary focus is on fostering pathways in digital technologies.
Indigitech aims to break down financial barriers for schools, making digital skills and education accessible to Maori and Pacific Island akonga (students). We provide cutting-edge, curriculum-aligned STEM resources to partner schools, empowering STEM education and learning across our network.
Indigitech Focus and Delivery
In 2023, we achieved a significant milestone by enrolling 5,700 students from 33 Auckland schools, primarily serving Māori and Pasifika communities, in the Indigitech program. This endeavour also saw the active participation of 278 teachers who engaged in professional development programs. These schools now have access to cutting-edge online teaching and learning platforms, namely Education Perfect and Code Avengers.
The core mission of the Indigitech initiative is to provide digital access to Māori and Pacific Island ākonga, with a current emphasis on ākonga in Years 7 and 8 (ages 11-13). We firmly believe that access to high-quality education and learning opportunities serves as a powerful equaliser, breaking down barriers related to socioeconomic status. It paves the way for brighter future prospects, irrespective of an individual's initial circumstances or current situation.
Indigitech focuses on 3 key components:
• Providing Free Access to Online Curriculum: We offer complimentary access to the comprehensive Education Perfect curriculum, covering subjects such as English, Math, Science, Te Reo, and Aotearoa histories. Additionally, students have free access to the Code Avengers online learning platform for Digital Technologies.
• Empowering Teachers with Professional Development: Our initiative includes a micro-credentials professional learning development program for educators. This program equips teachers with the skills to effectively engage students using Digital Technology and integrate Education Perfect into their classroom practices.
• Inspiring Future Careers in Technology: Through our program, participating students gain access to exciting activities aimed at igniting their passion for future careers in technology. This includes opportunities like the AWS Deep Racer program and the AWS Spark cloud education program.
The Indigenous Lens
Indigitech is firmly grounded in essential Māori principles and values, many of which resonate with other Pacific and indigenous cultures. Our mission is to support learners in a way that is not only relevant but also deeply authentic to their culture.
Our focus encompasses values such as manaakitanga (care and support for one another), tuakana-teina (peer mentoring), kaitiakitanga (guardianship of resources), and tikanga (cultural protocols). At the core of all these values lies whanaungatanga (building meaningful relationships), recognized as the cornerstone of educational success for Indigenous learners.
Additionally, the Indigitech program aims to cultivate rangatiratanga (self-determination), creating pathways that empower âkonga to take greater ownership of their futures.
Our overarching ambition is to foster greater diversity within the New Zealand tech sector and enhance representation from Māori and Pasifika communities. We understand that by igniting interest and engagement in digital education for our indigenous students today, we are sowing the seeds for a more inclusive and promising future.
The Latest News from Indigitech
We are new to EP this year, and my year 7 & 8 students enjoy the flexibility and structure of the lessons. They also like how they can self-pace throughout the lessons. I like how I can give feedback and cheer them on. We all enjoy the points concepts too.
Ngadia JonesWellsford School
Big ups to EP for enabling us to use a tool which has proven to be brilliant to engage students in targeted learning. Very grateful and looking forward to seeing more positive results as I become more accustomed to getting the most out of the plethora of options.
Lee TibbleRoyal Oak Intermediate
I'm really enjoying EP. It is new to the school, and there are a wide range of resources I can use to facilitate what I am teaching in class.
Danielle CooteMelville Intermediate School
[Indigitech] opens up student’s thinking to what could be possible in their lives. It’s full of really exciting and innovative educational opportunities for our students. We’re lucky to be one of the schools that are part of the Education Perfect and Code Avengers rollout.
Susan WoodMaeroa Intermediate
Code Avengers is an excellent programme because it gives our tamariki an opportunity to enhance their coding skills.
Manvi AhujaClayton Park School
Code Avengers have got the experts that can come in and spend that one-on-one intensive time with students. There’s also all of their website activities that students can access. It means that students have a better opportunity than they would in the very short space that’s within my timeframe.
David TaylorMaeroa Intermediate
Join us as an Indigitech Partner
In many schools and communities located in low socioeconomic areas, access to up-to-date technologies and digital resources remains a challenge.
The Indigitech program is dedicated to enhancing educational outcomes for students in these underserved areas, equipping them with the skills needed for 21st-century careers. At the same time, we aim to address the skills gap in New Zealand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What funding is required to expand Indigitech nationwide?
Our current goal is to enroll 10,000 students in the Indigitech program across Aotearoa New Zealand. We are over halfway with 5,700 students currently enrolled.
An additional $233,000 NZD in 2024 will enable us to reach a further 4,300 students to meet our target.
How can I or my company support this initiative?
We have sponsorship packages to suit all businesses. If you would like to explore options of how to have an impact on indigenous and underserved students in 2024, get in touch with us.
How are schools selected to participate in the Indigitech program?
Schools that are selected to participate in the Indigitech program must be committed to ensuring that teaching staff receive appropriate training to support, utilise and teach with the Education Perfect and Code Avengers platforms to ensure best possible outcomes for curriculum enactment and learner success.
At least some of the criteria below must also be satisfied in order for a school to be invited to participate in the Indigitech program:
• A high percentage of Māori/Pasifika-identifying learners
• Awareness of support needed to access learning tools. For example, where a school has indicated a lack of budget and/or are unable to raise funds within the community therefore restricting access to learning tools.
• Schools located in a lower socio-economic bracket or in a community with increased financial needs
• Schools connected to other support networks, for example Manaiakalani
How long does the in-school support last for Indigitech participants?
Support for participating schools extends through a minimum of 12 months.
Is there any cost involved for schools?
There is no cost for students, whānau, or schools to participate in the Indigitech program. We rely on external sponsorship to provide fully-funded support to schools throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
What do schools receive when they opt-in to the Indigitech program?
Indigitech specifically targets Year 7 & 8 students to expose new learning opportunities to them before they make their elective subject selections in year 9. The aim is to increase the number of Māori and Pasifika students choosing Digital Technology and Te Reo subjects at school.
The Indigitech program includes:
• Full access to both the Education Perfect and Code Avengers comprehensive online learning platforms (including teaching resources, lesson plans, and robust student data capture for targeted support).
• A year-long modular schedule for teaching and learning, aligned with the NZ curriculum and industry standards.
• Year-long professional learning and development for teachers in either STEM or Digital Technologies delivery.
• Ongoing mentoring for schools, and teacher onboarding to the new learning platforms.
Diversity, inclusion and authentic representation is foremost to guide our work.
Through Indigitech, are teachers trained or upskilled to support their indigenous learners?
Teachers are trained and upskilled to support all learners, with emphasis on the aspects of the platforms which lend themselves well to known common learning adaptations that benefit indigenous learners. On Education Perfect, for example, these include being able to accept student responses verbally instead of in writing for certain tasks and utilising the strong Te Ao Māori, Aotearoa New Zealand Histories and Beginner Sāmoan content in the system to support learning across a range of subjects.
Through targeted training, teachers are encouraged to identify specific needs within their school communities to receive guidance from EP staff on how this could be addressed utilising the features within the EP platform. These often include learning needs specific to Pasifika and Māori communities, alongside registered learning needs and device access issues in homes.
How long has the Indigitech program been running?
2023 has been our pilot year. This year we had 5,700 students across 33 schools enrolled in the Indigitech initiative with a total of 278 teachers in our professional development programs.