NorthTec: Courses, Admission, Cost

Established in 1978, NorthTec Institute is an open tertiary education provider which was earlier known as the Northland Community College. It was renamed to its current name in 2006. The institute began offering over 50 courses by 1981 and in 1983, it introduced the nurse training programme. The institute offered its first bachelor's degree in 1989. It became a polytechnic institution in 1988. The institute majorly focuses on technical studies and is known to have contributed to various research programmes. Also, the institute is in partnership with various international colleges and universities, namely Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, University of Hawaii Community Colleges, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Son Yat-Seu University, Guang Zhou Vocational School of Tourism and Business and Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics.

The main campus of the institute comprises a health centre, a cafeteria, a restaurant, a salon, an art gallery, and a library that consists of thousands of journals, books, novels, and magazines. The students can also access the online resources available at the library. The campus provides all the facilities required by the students. The students experience a calm learning environment. All the competitions, fests, events, debates and seminars organised by the institute are held within the campus. In addition, the institute has several learning centres. The centre in Dargaville features the departments of Forestry, Horticulture, Agriculture and Hospitality. Another centre is set in Kaitaia which is home to two large workshops, an administration building and the departments of business and horticulture. The third learning centre is in Kaikohe which houses the faculty of automotive engineering, the faculty of social services, faculty of agriculture, the faculty of business, the faculty of forestry and the faculty of construction.

The institute offers undergraduate programmes, postgraduate programmes, diploma level programmes, short-term courses and certificate courses. The academic curriculum of the institute comprises a wide range of subjects including environmental studies, engineering, business studies, computing, architecture, arts, agriculture, nursing, construction, horticulture, forestry, health & safety, and tourism & travel. This wide list of subjects gives students a great opportunity to choose as per their area of interest. The students learn under skilled faculty members. Many industry professionals visit the institute for guest lectures, interactive sessions and practical workshops. The students also get a chance to work as interns at notable companies under professionals. This gives them a better understanding of the fieldwork. Presently, the institute has a total of 7,835 students. A number of alumni of the institute have contributed their research work to many industries and many of them are working at renowned organisations