Students welcomed to UCOL Whanganui with pōwhiri at Pākaitore

CAYAD coordinator at Nga Tai O Te Awa Jay Rerekura (left) shares a hongi with a new student. Photo / Supplied

About 150 students attended a pōwhiri at Pākaitore welcoming them to UCOL Whanganui.

There they had the opportunity to meet local iwi representatives, chat with UCOL staff and were addressed by chief executive Dr Amanda Lynn.

Whanganui has strong enrolments in nursing, adding to a total of more than 500 students studying the profession across all campuses.

These include Palmerston North, Wairarapa and Levin, where students have had their first pōwhiri in UCOL's second year of operation in the Horowhenua town.

UCOL Executive director of student success Dr Nicky Van der Bergh said orientation week was a good time for students to make some memories.

"The first experiences and weeks on campus are formulative for our students, this is their opportunity to make social connections and form networks," he said.

About 150 students were welcomed to UCOL Whanganui with a pōwhiri at Pākaitore. Photo / Supplied

"The programme we have built supports all aspects of a student's time here, from academic workshops, through to wellbeing and employability."

Afterwards students were treated to a sausage sizzle and most of them have now started their programmes for 2019, with numbers slightly ahead of where they were at this time last year.

UCOL's Whanganui Campus offers courses including arts and design, beauty and hairdressing, business, hospitality, health and sciences, language and culture, trades and more.

There was a free sausage sizzle for the students at the end and most of them have now started studying. Photo / Supplied