About Us

The Mind Lab launched in 2013 to support education innovation, contemporary practice and the pursuit of highly relevant, applied knowledge in classrooms to improve education access and outcomes.

The team Our Founder

Our Vision
Our vision is to transform New Zealand education by aligning digital skills and capabilities with the demands of the contemporary world.
Our Mission
Our mission is to lead New Zealand education, to share knowledge, to collaborate, and to build partnerships in order to achieve sustainable, impactful change.
Key Objectives
Our key objectives are to raise student achievement, build teacher confidence, and challenge outdated legacy education practices.

Our Story

The Mind Lab launched in 2013 to support education innovation, contemporary practice and the pursuit of highly relevant, applied knowledge in classrooms to improve education access and outcomes.

Our mission is to continue to lead New Zealand education, to share knowledge, to collaborate, and to build partnerships in order to achieve sustainable, impactful change.

With a suite of Postgraduate qualifications, workshops, programmes and online learning platforms, The Mind Lab has become New Zealand’s only dedicated Postgraduate Facility for Contemporary Education.

We’ve formally accredited thousands of educators with our Postgraduate Certificate in Digital & Collaborative Learning, and in 2018 launched the Master of Contemporary Education for those who are ready to go even further.

We’ve helped Teach First NZ get 120 brand new teachers into the workforce with our Master of Teaching & Education Leadership, and guided more than 12,000 educators through the 2020 changes to the curriculum with our online course, Digital Passport.

The Mind Lab (including its subsidiary Tech Futures Lab) is a Tertiary Education Organisation registered by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to deliver qualifications approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) under the provision of the Education Act 1989.

The Mind Lab started with classes for children in 2013. In 2018, The Mind Lab Auckland got a new home at MOTAT for its school groups and school holiday workshops.
Our programmes are known for being innovative and for working around busy teachers. Our Postgraduate Certificate has been all over the country, from Kerikeri to Invercargill and nearly everywhere in-between!
Over 4,500 teachers across the country have taken on the Postgraduate Certificate in Digital & Collaborative learning. That makes our programme the largest integrated Postgraduate Certificate in New Zealand.

The Mind Lab Board

Frances Valintine
CEO & Founder
Nic Kennedy
Director
Frank Janssen
Director & Chair
Rob Lee
Director

Executive & Support Team

Fiona Webby
General Manager
Craig Hilton
National Academic Director
Lorraine Guerin
National Projects Lead
Sandy Taylor
Financial Controller
Hayley Sparks
National Academic Manager
Frank Li
Data Analyst
Jarin Klee
IT Manager
Te Mihinga Komene
Pou Ārahi
Justin Roberts
Pou Whirinaki
Melissa Fincham
Assistant to Frances Valintine

Student Success

Manpreet Malhotra
Student Director
Debbie Armour
Student Enrolment & Finance Manager
Shruti Patil
Student Enrolment & Finance Manager
Tasha Bowen
National Portal Manager
Tino Peilua
Academic Registrar
Talita Hope
National Portal Assistant
Jessica Culley
National Portal Assistant
Eugenia Lytvyn
Student Experience Manager

Master of Contemporary Education

Lynley Schofield
National Programme Lead
Florence Suckling
National Programmes Manager
Herbert Thomas
Postgraduate Director
Jonathan Lynch
Postgraduate Director
Anna Johnstone
Postgraduate Director
Dor Kayes
Postgraduate Director

Master of Teaching & Education Leadership

Tim Gander
Education Director
Rochelle Thorn
Education Director
Philly Wintle
Education Director
Hancine Samvelyan
Education Director
Roseline Setu
Regional Teaching Advisor
Seini Pifeleti
Programme Coordinator

Postgraduate Certificate in Digital & Collaborative Learning

David Parsons
National Postgraduate Director
Karen Baker
National Lead
Alex Chapman
Programme Coordinator
Milla Inkila
Postgraduate Director (Maternity Leave)
Sarah-Kay Coulter
Postgraduate Facilitator
Ben Egerton
Postgraduate Facilitator
Jill Pears
Postgraduate Facilitator
Melinda Dixon
Postgraduate Facilitator
Genevieve Rae
Postgraduate Facilitator
Truman Pham
Online Educator
Darcy Vo
Online Educator
Binglan Han
Online Educator

The Mind Lab @ MOTAT

Damon Kahi
National Technologist
Jessica Tragalia
EdTech Educator (Maternity Leave)
Emma Grobart
EdTech Educator
Kensa Randle
EdTech Educator

Gisborne Lab

Shanon O’Connor
Centre Director
Emily Walpole
EdTech Educator
Sam Reckas
Lab Manager

Marketing & Communications

Lisa Whittington-Slater
Outreach Manager - North Island
Michael Campbell
South Island Director
Cheryl Whitfield
Editor & Digital Comms Manager
Simone Kerr
Communications & Public Relations Manager
Andrew Bell
Community Manager
Yeji Do
Graphic Designer

Advisory Group

Mater of Teaching & Education Leadership
Nina Hood, Kate McKegg, Hinekura Smith
Master of Contemporary Education & Postgraduate Certificate in Digital and Collaborative Learning
Stuart Kelly, Richard Wells, Te Tuhi Robust

Our Founder: Frances Valintine (CNZM)

Frances Valintine (CNZM) is a passionate educator and technologist. For over 20 years she has been committed to shifting education and business practice to respond to the future of work and industry. In 2013 she founded The Mind Lab, developed to empower students and educators to develop applied digital knowledge and capability.

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