Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) is the third largest Institute of Technology or Polytechnic (ITP) in the country and is the only one based in the central and north Canterbury area. It is one of New Zealand’s largest and most diverse tertiary institutions with 2000 staff serving 30,000 students annually. More than 1000 international students from 35 countries add to the cultural diversity of the CPIT campus.

The population of the region is predominantly European with a significant and active Maori population comprising the local iwi, Ngai Tahu, and nga mata waka. There is an active Pacific Islands population and increasing groups of Asian and other ethnic groups. CPIT both contributes to and reflects the internationalisation of Christchurch city and has adopted a fully-integrated approach to foreign students’ learning and pastoral care. Student and staff exchanges are encouraged, relationships with overseas institutions are growing and there is also delivery of programmes off shore.
There are over 260 programmes including bachelor degrees, graduate diplomas, diplomas and certificates. The full and part-time programmes cover an extraordinarily diverse subject range, from accounting to viticulture and include training in such specialist areas as jazz and new venture planning.

At CPIT, the emphasis is on career-focussed learning and its success is assisted by regular industry feedback and reflected in the high employability of the graduates. The education is delivered both on campus and in the workplace. Internships and work experience run alongside hands-on training from expert tutors.

CPIT’s main campus is based in one of the fastest-growing areas of central Christchurch. Close to cafés, shops and entertainment, the campus is a vibrant and busy place of learning with state of the art facilities. It is the only one of the four local state tertiary institutions to have a central city campus. In addition, on other sites CPIT has the Trades Innovation Institute and the Horticultural Training Centre, and a satellite campus in Auckland.