Our journey towards defining graduate attributes began with a fundamental question: what should a University of Canterbury (UC) graduate embody? This sparked an institution-wide conversation that led to a graduate profile with five key elements – global understanding, community engagement, employability, innovative thinking and, perhaps the most transformative of all, bicultural competence and confidence.
Developing bicultural competence and confidence was never intended as a symbolic gesture. Instead, its integration into UC’s programmes was a deliberate process that required structural change, long-term leadership commitment, adequate resourcing and collaboration across the university.
Bicultural competence has been embedded within the curriculum to ensure that students not only understand the principles of Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural heritage but also develop the practical skills to engage with it effectively in real-world settings.
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The Faculty of Education has shown how bicultural values can be applied effectively in curricula, leadership and teaching practices, supported by staff and students who see this work as part of their professional responsibility to Aotearoa and future generations. Empowering a faculty or school to lead the cultural shift and connecting classroom learning to community impact have proved critical to lasting change.
These are the principles we used to underpin that change.
1. Structural change as a foundation
Bicultural competence cannot thrive without structural change within the university. The first step is to establish dedicated roles or offices that define and integrate bicultural competence and confidence into the curriculum. This requires specific learning outcomes, assessment activities and programme content that go beyond symbolic gestures. These elements should be embedded at all levels of the curriculum to ensure students are assessed on their understanding and ability to apply bicultural concepts in real-world settings. As competence grows, students become more confident in these real-world applications.
Practical tip: Bicultural or diversity skills need to be embedded throughout programme design with assessment and scaffolding that ensure they are visible and valued. They should not be treated as optional extras.
2. Creating meaningful Indigenous partnerships
A commitment to Indigenous partnerships, such as honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi), is essential for any institution aiming to integrate bicultural competence meaningfully. Universities should ensure that these commitments are reflected in both policy and practice. This includes establishing deep, active partnerships with local iwi (tribes) or Indigenous communities, ensuring that these relationships influence not only institutional culture but also day-to-day operations. Engaging in genuine utu (reciprocity), by recognising and supporting the contributions of these communities, strengthens this commitment.
Practical tip: Partnerships must be more than symbolic. Institutions need to reflect Treaty and Indigenous commitments in real, structural ways across policies, curricula and relationships.
3. Embedding biculturalism through curriculum development in the Faculty of Education
Bicultural competence must be a structural commitment woven throughout curriculum development. In every faculty, kaiārahi (cultural advisers) play a crucial role in embedding bicultural principles into the curriculum. In the Faculty of Education, for example, kaiārahi sit on faculty leadership teams, boards and academic subcommittees, ensuring biculturalism is reflected in all aspects of academic practice.
Kaiārahi work collaboratively with academic staff from the earliest stages of programme development. In the case of UC, this ensured that treaty partnership, te ao Māori (Māori worldview) and te reo Māori (language) are embedded within learning outcomes, assessments, readings and course content.
Experiential learning is also essential. In the Faculty of Education, this includes courses that enable students to engage with Māori knowledge and culture through structured learning pathways.
Practical tip: Cultural adviser roles should be embedded in all faculties and resourced well. This prevents cultural taxation – the extra, unseen workload expected of people from under-represented groups to provide cultural knowledge or representation beyond their formal role – and ensures Indigenous knowledge is meaningfully and respectfully integrated.
4. The importance of language
Language is the carrier of culture, and its role in biculturalism is essential. For universities aiming to embed bicultural competence, prioritising Indigenous languages is vital. Universities can foster a deeper connection between language and culture by integrating Indigenous languages into both the academic curriculum and campus life, from bilingual signage to structured language courses.
The evolution of biculturalism goes beyond simply offering language courses. Universities should invest in professional development that encourages staff – both academic and professional – to use Indigenous languages in daily work. Normalising Indigenous language across academic and administrative contexts helps make it accessible and meaningful for all, whether fluent speakers or learners.
Practical tip: Bilingual signage and the everyday use of Indigenous languages in classes, staff training and across the campus help normalise their presence and reinforce the institution’s commitment to biculturalism.
Biculturalism grounded in collaboration, leadership and resourcing
Through structural change, dedicated roles and a sustained commitment to treaty partnership, UC has created pathways for students and staff to engage meaningfully with Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural foundations.
From curriculum design and academic processes to language visibility and professional learning, bicultural values are embedded across the institution in ways that are intentional and enduring. Importantly, both formal systems and the moral commitment of staff sustain the work, who see it as part of their responsibility to Aotearoa and its future.
For other universities seeking to build more inclusive and equitable learning environments, UC’s experience offers a potential way forward, one grounded in collaboration, leadership and resourcing at every level. Genuine commitment to bicultural competence is not a checklist item; it requires long-term cultural and structural shifts, and a willingness to engage deeply with the communities that institutions exist to serve.
Joce Nuttall is the executive dean of the Faculty of Education and Liz Brown is the executive director of the Office of Treaty Partnership, both at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
The University of Canterbury is the host of THE Campus Live ANZ “Local roots to global reach: Shaping ANZ universities’ future” on 2-3 September.
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