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Ms. Phillipa Gimmillaro of Hind Management joins Crown’s Local Advisory Committee

We are proud to announce that Ms. Phillipa Gimmillaro – Director of Talent & Culture of Hind Management, is now a member of our Local Advisory Committee (LAC). Phillipa applies over 16 years’ experience in the hospitality and tourism sectors in New Zealand, Australia, USA and more recently United Kingdom to her overseeing of six New Zealand hotels in the group, with two more properties under construction.

Phillipa will be joining Crown’s LAC that is composed of leaders and experts from the sector of hospitality, tourism, IT and health and wellbeing. The purpose of the LAC is to advise Crown on emerging trends of the industry and to recommend new courses or revisions of curricula to strengthen the institute’s relevancy. We look forward to working closely with Phillipa in producing great learning outcomes for our students.

 
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Study pathway with Massey University

Crown Institute of Studies is proud to announce that an agreement has been reached with Massey Business School (MBS) of Massey University.

The agreement covers both domestic and international students. Under this agreement, graduates of Crown’s New Zealand Certificate in Business Level 4 (NZCBL4) will be considered to have met both the academic and English requirement to gain direct entry into Massey’s Bachelor of Business (BBus), any major.

This is an important milestone for Crown Institute of Studies. In addition to the vocational and employment opportunities that are already in place, this agreement provides our student with a clear and secured pathway to further education at a higher level.

We look forward to seeing our students thrive at Massey Business School!

 

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Crown Managing Director – Dr. Josephine Do joins Function Staff as co-owner

We are thrilled to announce that our managing director, Dr. Josephine Do, has joined Function Staff as its co-owner.

Function Staff is one of the most successful event management and staffing company in Auckland.  Since its establishment 15 years ago, Function Staff has become the preferred partner and supplier for many of New Zealand’s high end brands, events and venues.

As an education provider that offers training in hospitality, business, computing, tourism and travel, Crown has partnered with Function Staff for many years. This partnership has allowed our students to gain paid work experiences during their studies, which is extremely important for a vocational institute like us.

With this growing partnership, we will continue to improve our education services and equip  students with the knowledge, skills and experience to thrive in their selected careers.

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Interview with Dr Bloomfield

We are honoured to have the opportunity to interview Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health on 25 May 2021 via Zoom. Questions were collected from each class prior and our student representative, Sianna Faalavaau, alongside the communications manager of Crown were responsible for conducting the interview.

On behalf of Crown Institute of Studies, we would like to thank Dr. Bloomfield and his team for their effort in keeping us safe. Last but not least, we would like to thank Dr. Bloomfield for taking the time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. The interview will be shared with all students and staff of Crown Institute of Studies .

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Crown Local Advisory Committee Meeting

We held our Local Advisory Committee (LAC) meeting last Friday at the Auckland City Hotel, one of our partner’s venue.

Our LAC meets formally twice a year, it serves as a platform for us to collect feedback and updates from our partners. These insights are extremely important as it helps to keep our programmes relevant. It also sheds light on the type of skills and roles that are in demand, which is crucial for us when it comes to development of new programmes and short courses.

During the meeting, we updated the partners on what’s happening at Crown and we had meaningful discussions on topics such as skills and attributes required in the post-covid era, development of short courses…etc.

The LAC members that attended are:

  • Ross Chin – Auckland City Hotel
  • Benjamin Dale – Akorn Destination Management
  • Richard Froggatt – Regency Tourism Group
  • Daniel Henderson – SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium
  • Troy Huston – Function Staff
  • Tash Lawrence – AJ Hackett Bungy
  • Paul Fuimaono – Toru Tours
  • Edwin Saldanha – STAAH
  • Leon Shouksmith – Flatpack Global
  • Jacqui Wilkinson – Adventure Capital
  •  Gaye Wood – Regency Tourism Group

Thank you once again to all our partners for their continuous support, our next LAC meeting is scheduled to take place in November 2021.

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Crown update & professional development day

It was our honour and pleasure to host a Crown update & professional development day for over 25 career advisors and educators from Auckland based high schools last Friday (7th May 2021). Crown is moving at a fast pace to match the changing needs of students and employers. We currently provide short courses such as Gateway, Star, Internship and English language programmes as well as level 3 – 5 vocational training in Business, Hospitality, Computing and Tourism. We are also actively working on programmes in new subject areas. The event ended with a lunch at The Northern Club, which was served by one of our recent graduates, Jessie Harfield.

Special thanks to our partners, Jerry (The Northern Club), Shona (FUJIFILM Business Innovation NZ) and Jason (iFLY) for being the guest speakers.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Crown institute of Studies

2020 has been the most unpredictable year in everyone’s living memory.  The ride’s been wild and exciting but we’ve weathered the storm together and we’re now in a good place.  As we speed down the last days towards Christmas Day, we want to thank you for your dedication and commitment to Crown.  We appreciate you; we wouldn’t be in the good place that we are without you… 

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Partnership with Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong

We are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) and Crown Institute of Studies (CIS).

The aim of the MOU is to establish framework for the collaborative efforts between the two institutions to build a firm, professional relationship and cooperation in a mutually beneficial fashion. This partnership will foster internationalised activities for both institutions in the form of cultural and educational exchanges between THEi and CIS, including but not limited to student and staff exchange, study pathway, overseas internship, curriculum development and fostering of partnerships.

We are confident and enthusiastic that this partnership will strengthen and advance the interests and activities of THEi and CIS, and continue to promote excellence in education, cultural and global awareness for student and staff of the partnering institutions.

 

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Queenstown Professional Development Trips for Auckland-based educators

As an innovative tertiary education provider that provides training in business, hospitality, tourism and travel, Crown Institute of Studies, based in Auckland CBD, has successfully hosted two professional development trips to Queenstown for Auckland based secondary school teachers and careers advisors. The aim of these trips is in twofold, firstly to instil confidence; that the industry is resilient and tourism remains to be a viable career despite the current adversities and challenges. Secondly, to serve as a bridge that facilitates communications and knowledge transfer between industry leaders and educators. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, the sharing sessions from industry leaders fully demonstrate the reality they are currently facing and the creative solutions and means they have implemented to mitigate the impact.

Participants had the opportunity to meet with Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult, Matt Wong (iFly), Roger Taitt (Ramada), Trent Yeo (ZipTrek Eco Tours), Wayne Rose (Skyline Queenstown), Sara Irvine (Queenstown Airport), Shane Wairau (AJ Hackett Bungy), Heidi Gillingham (Go with Tourism), Aaron Halstead (Study Queenstown), Jessica Harkins (Destination Queenstown) and Blair Deasy (Remarkables Park and Porter Group). These interactions provided a platform for educators to learn of the industry’s resilience and how various tourism businesses are pivoting to meet the needs of the domestic market while planning for the future. Given the economic importance of tourism to New Zealand, and in particular Queenstown, it is vital that educators are kept up to date on how this industry, an important employer for rangatahi, is adapting to the global changes the pandemic has brought about. Issues such as sustainability, innovation, crisis management and coping strategies were covered. These valuable knowledge and experiences are transferred to and recorded by the educators that participated and will be presented to the students attending their respective schools.

The reimagining of this sector will require collaboration between government, industry, and education providers. This Professional Development trip have strengthened these connections so that each sector knows how best to contribute to the rebuild. Special thanks to our generous sponsors, Ramada by Wyndham hotels, iFLY, Gibbston Valley Winery, Ziptrek Ecotours, Skyline, AJ Hackett Bungy, Lakes District Museum and Gallery, and to the educators who attended, and bravely attempted all the activities!

The next Professional Development trip is scheduled to take place in May 2021.

Find out more at https://crown.ac.nz/professional-development/

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Crown partners with TWONA to develop Healthcare and Wellbeing Programmes

Crown partners with Te Puna Whānau Ora Network Alliance to develop Healthcare and Wellbeing Programmes

Crown Institute of Studies (CIS) is proud to announce that we are partnering with Te Puna Whānau Ora Network Alliance (TWONA) to develop and deliver Healthcare and Wellbeing programmes.

As a tertiary education provider that serves many Maori students, we fully acknowledge the Māori Values of family, communitarianism and collectivism. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, CIS realises the dire needs of healthcare and wellbeing training; not just at the vocational level, but also at the personal and the familial level. We believe having knowledge and training in this area will benefit our students in all aspects of their lives, and the partnership with TWONA is a significant step towards reaching this goal.

The health and wellbeing programmes will be co-owned by both organisations; CIS will be responsible for its overall development while TWONA will focus on the development and the delivery of the Whānau Ora component.

Programme development at the foundational level is currently underway and developmental work on higher-level programmes will commence within the next 2 years.