Partner Spotlight: Dr Nina Hood, The Education Hub

We recently caught up with Dr Nina Hood to find out more about her as an individual and learn what drives her kaupapa.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

I grew up in New Zealand and in many ways it is ironic that I ended up in education given that I refused to walk down the school driveway on my first day of school. The deputy principal ended up having to carry me into the classroom! When I left school I didn’t think that I would end up as a teacher. I left New Zealand at 18 to study the history of art and spent most of my twenties overseas in Paris, London, New York, and Oxford. But the pull of New Zealand was strong and I realised that I while I was interested in education everywhere, it was education in New Zealand that I particularly cared about.

How did you get into the area of work you’re in?

I started my career as a secondary school teacher but always knew that I wanted to do further study in education. After a few years in the classroom I was fortunate to be able to do a Master’s and DPhil at the University of Oxford. When I returned to New Zealand in 2015 I took up an academic position at the University of Auckland. I realised fairly quickly that full time academia was not the thing for me and I had always had at the back of my mind that I would quite like to set up a new organisation. The gap between research and practice in education had always fascinated me, not least because I had experienced it from both sides – as a teacher and then as an academic. The Education Hub was born out of my experiences working in education (which are not unique to me, people have been writing about them for over sixty years!) and frustrations with how difficult it was to access high quality, usable research information in teaching.

What motivates you to do what you do?

I believe in the power of education and I want all young people in New Zealand to receive an outstanding education, which sets them up to thrive in their future lives.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

To be generous, not so much in the material sense, but with my thoughts and associated actions. When I was given the advice it was in relation to how I think about and approach other people. But I think it also includes how I think about and treat myself as well.

Knowing what you know now, what is one thing you would do differently if you were to start again?

I think I probably would have looked to have launched The Education Hub with a co-founder. Starting an organisation is tough and lonely at times. I think it would have been really valuable to have someone who I could bounce ideas off and who brought a different skill set to me.

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