Academic Director

Maria Hayes PhD (Candidature); Master of Education; Graduate Diploma in Higher Education; The Trust Technique (UK); BTec National Diploma in Musculoskeletal and Body Therapies (UK); National Diploma in Reflexology (UK), Usi Masters in Reiki/Energy Healing.

Maria is deeply passionate about learning, about the learner within the journey. Coming from a health sciences and wellbeing background, most of her career has been dual, clinic practice combined with over 30 years in education; in roles including education leadership, quality assurance and compliance, accreditation and approvals, education design, staff PD, senior research lecturer, research co-ordinator, digitising learning, to learner support and pastoral care programmes. All have been driven by learner success and what that means to the staff who hold and support the learning journey. Her career and learning journey have taken her from the UK to Australia and New Zealand, she has worked within the PTE, Polytech, corporate to not for profit sectors, in a diverse range of learning environments that have required unique and specific solutions. Her two Masters have come together for her PhD: Transformational learning through animal and human interconnections. Her happy place is the ocean.

Ph: 09 526 9275