Auckland University of Technology

Auckland University of Technology (AUT; Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a public university in Auckland, New Zealand. It was established on 1 January 2000, when the Auckland Institute of Technology was incorporated into the newly created university by Order in Council under the Education Act 1989. The institution’s lineage dates to 1895, when the Auckland Technical School opened; it became Seddon Memorial Technical College in 1913 before later evolving into a tertiary institute.

AUT is one of the country’s larger universities by enrolment. Universities New Zealand reported a student headcount of 25,270 in 2024 (18,565 equivalent full-time students). The university operates three campuses in Auckland—City, North and South (Manukau).

AUT is also associated with two specialist locations: AUT Millennium, a high-performance sport and community facility on Auckland’s North Shore, and the Refugee Education Centre at the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre, where new teaching spaces were opened in 2016.

Historically, New Zealand lacked technical training institutions, even after the establishment of free and compulsory education in 1877. As a result, many calls were made for the education system to incorporate technical training. In response, Robert Stout, the Minister of Education in 1885, tried to compel universities and secondary schools to establish technical education. This fell on deaf ears, so instead he gave land to the Wellington Board of Education to establish a school.

In 1886 the Wellington School of Design was opened. Later, in 1895, the Auckland Technical School opened as an evening school. In 1913, the organisation became the Seddon Memorial Technical College, named for Richard Seddon, the longest-serving New Zealand premier.

In the early 1960s, educational reforms resulted in the separation of secondary and tertiary teaching. Two educational establishments were formed; the tertiary (polytechnic) adopting the name Auckland Technical Institute (ATI) in 1963 and the secondary school continuing with the same name. For three years they co-existed on the same site, but by 1964 the secondary school had moved to a new site in Western Springs, and eventually became Western Springs College. In 1989, ATI became Auckland Institute of Technology (AIT), and the current name was adopted when university status was granted in 2000.

Sir Paul Reeves served as university chancellor from 2005 until his death in 2011.

AUT has three campuses: City (in Auckland CBD), North and South, and the training institute, Millennium. City and North campuses offer student accommodation. AUT runs a shuttle bus service between the city and south campus.