To make an impact, my approach integrates responsible artificial intelligence with scalable, adaptive education-building systems that prioritize equity and bicultural values. With my expertise in AI, interdisciplinary research, and strong partnerships with educators and industry, I create solutions that empower both learners and teachers. The future of education, as I envision it, is deeply personalized, culturally grounded, and globally innovative, with AI enabling lifelong learning and meaningful opportunities for all.

Education’s future is applied and personalised—blending technology with humanity to deliver authentic, equitable learning and prepare people for an AI-driven world.

After twenty years in vocational education, I've seen how one-size-fits-all approaches fail our diverse learners, particularly Māori and Pasifika students. Addressing completion rates and engagement challenges requires the kind of bold, research-driven innovation this platform represents. QTI's network of quality-assured providers offers deployment sites across multiple campuses, making us active research partners ready to validate and scale breakthrough adaptive learning technologies across New Zealand's entire vocational education ecosystem.

My doctoral research on receptive bilingualism showed me how learners who comprehend a language but cannot produce it need fundamentally different pedagogical approaches. This platform's focus on adaptive AI systems that respond to individual learner contexts directly addresses what I've seen missing in language revitalization and education—technology that understands that comprehension and production are distinct skills requiring personalized pathways. As a researcher who has contributed to Pacific language revitalization strategies for the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, I see immense potential for AI to support diverse learners, particularly Māori and Pasifika students, in ways that honor their unique cultural and linguistic contexts.

Through my work documenting indigenous knowledge and mātauranga Māori, I've witnessed how powerful stories and culturally-grounded content can transform learning. My research on iwi-led initiatives has shown that when education reflects learners' cultural contexts and responds to their communities' aspirations, engagement and outcomes improve dramatically. This platform's commitment to culturally-responsive AI and integration of te ao Māori frameworks represents exactly the kind of innovation needed to address persistent equity gaps in vocational education, where storytelling, cultural connection, and personalised learning pathways can make the difference between a learner persisting or dropping out.

Over 38 years in Māori education and language revitalization, I've learned that technology is only transformative when it's grounded in cultural integrity and genuine partnership with communities. My work developing digital dictionaries, leading He Pātaka Kupu, and advising researchers across AUT on Vision Mātauranga has shown me that AI can be a powerful tool for Indigenous education—but only when designed with, not for, our communities. This platform's commitment to Treaty of Waitangi frameworks, Māori and Pasifika partnership, and adaptive learning that respects diverse pedagogies represents the future of vocational education. As someone who has supervised 37 postgraduate students to completion and led major language technology initiatives, I see this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to embed mātauranga Māori into educational AI at a national scale.

Vocational education requires trustworthy AI designed for real workflows, not generic automation. This proposal exemplifies the responsible, human-centred approach I advocate for—with provider co-design ensuring solutions extend educator capacity and address persistent sector challenges. This homegrown initiative represents exactly the kind of sector-specific innovation New Zealand needs to strengthen digital infrastructure while building national capability in applied AI.

When we ask providers what support they need, one message comes through loud and clear, they want guidance on AI. How to use it, how to manage it, and how to meet NZQA and other stakeholder expectations. AI’s impact on education is growing rapidly and its use is already woven into everyday teaching, learning and assessment.

EduGrowth accelerates Australia's $4.2 billion EdTech ecosystem across 775 companies, and we see vocational education as critically underserved by adaptive technology built for its complexity. SupaHuman's research-driven approach, particularly their cultural AI framework integrating Māori and Pasifika pedagogies, addresses a high-value global niche with unique IP that resonates across markets grappling with Indigenous education equity. Through our export programs and testbed networks, we see clear commercialization pathways across Australia and Asia-Pacific where vocational systems face similar completion, cultural responsiveness, and adaptive learning challenges.

Education is the engine of every economy. By harnessing AI in a uniquely Aotearoa way, we can give every learner a personalised pathway, every educator a powerful ally, and New Zealand a workforce ready to meet the future — not chase it.