This year's eFest is co-hosted by the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics New Zealand (ITP New Zealand) and Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand (FLLinNZ).

ITP New Zealand

ITP New Zealand is the national association of the councils of Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics in New Zealand. Its membership consists of 19 of the 20 ITPs in the country. The main function of ITP New Zealand is to act as the collective voice on behalf of its members.

The association is proud to support efest 2007, the 6th annual conference to be conducted by the ITP sector. The growing interest in online technologies has been demonstrated by the increasing numbers of delegates to these events—and it is clear that the ITPs are keen for their staff and students to be able to take advantage of new ideas and applications.

Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand (FLLinNZ)

Based on her involvement with the successful Australian Flexible Learning Leaders network, the late Nola Campbell had a vision that would see the development of New Zealand's tertiary e-learning and leadership capability. A key feature of this vision was to focus on the development of individuals within the sector rather than targeting organisations. These individual leaders would then bring about change from within their professional communities.

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) e-learning Collaborative Development Fund (eCDF) was the vehicle which enabled Nola’s vision to be enacted. She proposed a three-year project with the aim of creating a network of Leaders who would be able to help take the New Zealand flexible learning community forward.

The proposal was successful and she became the inaugural Director of the Flexible Learning Leaders in New Zealand (FLLinNZ) project.

The project recognised that leadership was important for all areas of the tertiary sector so its development had to support all types of tertiary provider. Leaders were selected from a wide range of specialisations, roles and levels from within the tertiary sector. This meant bringing together a range of people, practitioners, researchers, and managers who had the capability to make a difference to the tertiary e-learning landscape, nationally and internationally, through their knowledge and leadership.

In 2004 and 2005, thirty Flexible Learning Leaders (http://www.fllinnz.ac.nz) were selected to receive FLLinNZ awards. These scholarships enabled them to undertake a personalised and targeted programme of professional development.
 
Starting in July 2006, the final year of the project is concentrating on taking the achievements of the Leaders into the wider community by,  

• “raising awareness of and disseminating the outcomes of the project from 2004-05 and 2005-06,
• ensuring knowledge among leaders is made accessible,
• promoting the development of “a sustainable community”.

This project provides a series of opportunities at the institutional, regional and national level, for the Leaders to apply and demonstrate their skills, expertise and knowledge through a range of activities. The goal is for the Leaders to build on their community networks and foster the longer term sustainability of the FLLinNZ project concepts of leadership within a community in order to effect positive and lasting change.