Kickstart Hui @ Kūaotunu

Kickstart Hui at Kūaotunu – Coromandel 

Sometimes the start of something big doesn’t look big at all. Sometimes it begins with a group of people who are mostly strangers, a weekend ahead full of questions, a shared sense that something exciting is about to unfold and a quiet question sitting in the back of your mind: What have I signed up for?
That’s how the MIT Kickstart Hui began.

The Drive Down 

The build-up to the weekend was a mixture of anticipation and nerves. Picture this: a 3+ hour drive in a van with people you have never met before. Everyone arriving with the same thoughts: a challenge, a possible solution, a deep drive to make a difference. But little did we know that the weekend ahead would turn all of that upside down in the best possible way.

The first few hours were full of small conversations, getting to know names, backgrounds, and the challenges we had each brought with us. Slowly the strangers began to feel less like strangers.
The scenery alone was enough to remind us how fortunate we were. A Special Place to Land. This is home for the next few days. It created the perfect space to pause, think, and step outside the everyday rush of school and work life.

After settling in and enjoying a lovely dinner together - Thank you Jenny for all our nibbles and kai, we gathered to hear the story behind the MIT Innovation Incubator. And this is where the weekend truly began. The Heart of the Project. Dorothy shared the story behind the Innovation Incubator.
Listening to her speak, it was impossible not to feel the depth of passion behind this work. She shared stories about some of the early innovators of the Manaiakalani journey, including Allanah King, and Derek, the founder of Core Education. Hearing how their early work helped shape the success of Manaiakalani was incredibly inspiring.
Hours, months and years of: research, connections, challenges, learning, innovation and belief that education can keep evolving. All woven together to create an opportunity like this.
To finish the evening, we watched a short message full of wisdom from the 2025 MIT cohort - 

Trust the process, Ask questions, Trust your MIT crew and you wont be doing it alone.
We weren’t just attending a program or professional development. We were becoming part of a dream to make a difference—however small that might feel right now.

Day 2 - Design Thinking

Day 2 began with a slower start—no alarms, which was a treat. It was nice knowing a sleep-in was perfectly acceptable, or that you could start the morning with a quiet walk along the beach, soaking in the beauty of the surroundings. 

After a quick breakfast, we jumped into design thinking. It sounds straightforward—empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test—but in reality the process is far messier. We arrived with challenges we wanted to solve, many of us already thinking we had a pretty good solution… only to realise that those ideas were about to change. At first that was overwhelming, but it quickly became clear that you can’t solve the right problem until you fully understand the real one. 

The first activities to kick-start this thinking was a town hall-style role play where we stepped into the shoes of parents from different backgrounds, each bringing their own perspectives and concerns. My first reaction was definitely a quiet internal “nope” as it pushed me right out of my comfort zone, but it turned out to be incredibly powerful. The activity challenged our assumptions and helped us explore the complex realities behind educational challenges. Watching the conversations unfold was fascinating and pushed us to think more deeply about the people we are designing solutions for. It reinforced an important lesson about the design process—empathising, defining, and researching often happen all at once, ideas appear and disappear, and sometimes they get completely thrown out. But that’s exactly the point. Growth happens in the mess.

Understanding the Real Problem 

The first stage of design thinking is empathy. That means understanding the challenge through the eyes of the user. And this is where I realised my original ideas were… a little unclear.
So we started digging deeper. We acted out classroom scenarios with partners to show what the challenge looked like in real life. 

Then came one of my favourite activities: the Empathy Map.
We had to step fully into our user's shoes and ask:
What do they see?
What do they think?
What do they feel?
What do they do?
 
It pushed us to look beyond surface-level problems and really understand who we want to help.

Narrowing the Challenge

Then came the tricky part: defining the problem. My challenge? It was way too broad. I had to dig deeper and ask: What is the one thing that could make the biggest difference?
Through lots of questioning (thank you Dorothy and Matt!) and plenty of “why” conversations, we began shaping our ideas into clearer problem statements.
Eventually we arrived at the magic words:
How Might We…?
Turning the challenge into a HMW statement helped shift our thinking from problems to possibilities. We went around to each others HMW statements and challenge and with post it notes could give some more ideas of what might work or have you thought of this?? The post it that really made me think was: What does success look like?
My students need to read with fluency and enjoyment to be able to apply their skills in other learning areas.

HMW statement: How might we support and empower learners to become fluent readers and are reading for enjoyment and that they can apply their knowledge in other learning areas.

Crazy 8s 

Eight ideas. Eight(20) minutes. (Thank you Matt for giving us a bit more time). Anything goes.
Big ideas. Wild ideas. (Im)possible ideas.
At first it felt really hard to let go of practical thinking. Afterwards we explained our ideas, walked around, looked at each other’s ideas, and voted for the ones that stood out.
Brains were definitely tired by this point—but we were starting to see the first glimpses of real solutions.

Identifying a network of support

We started by listing the people closest to us who could support the project—family(including our pets of course), friends, colleagues, and those we work with regularly. Then we stretched our thinking and added five more people or groups who could offer different perspectives or expertise. Lastly, we were encouraged to think big and include people we wish we could reach out to—those who might inspire us or really help move the project forward on our journey.

After a day of intense thinking, we were able to explore a bit more and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. It was a nice chance to relax, chat, and let our brains have a break. A walk along the beach and a visit to the local restaurant to check it out before heading back for dinner.
The evening ended with something really special. We walked up the hill together, away from the lights, to explore the night sky. Surrounded by the land and watching the moon rise .It was one of those moments that reminds you why experiences like this matter. Memories were definitely made that night.

More Clear… ? 

Our final morning began with a quick recap of our HMW statements and possible designs.
The honest truth? I wasn’t entirely sure if I was more on track or more confused. Probably both.
But that’s part of the process. Now I have a week to: let the ideas settle, talk to people, interview teachers and students and deepen my understanding.
From there I’ll begin developing:
Potential Features, Prototype sketches, Testing ideas to ultimately get to a solution. 

Final Reflections

This weekend challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. It pushed me out of my comfort zone to be open and vulnerable, to think critically, to question my assumptions.
But the best part?
The people. The collaboration, the shared challenges, the conversations.
And the unexpected highlight of the weekend…A 3 hour drive back to Auckland where we talked the entire way. Who would have thought?
And if the Kickstart Hui is anything to go by, the year ahead is going to be challenging, inspiring, and full of growth.
I can’t wait to see where it takes us. 

Thank you Dorothy, Matt, Jenny and Bill

and I hope to see Mack again soon....