FLANZ 2026 Conference: He Tāngata, in association with ODLAA

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Adrian Woodhouse (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) as a confirmed keynote speaker for the upcoming FLANZ 2026 Conference, hosted at Otago Polytechnic in Ōtepoti Dunedin from 7–9 October 2026.

As an Associate Professor and Head of School at the Food Design Institute at Otago Polytechnic, Dr. Woodhouse brings a wealth of expertise situated at the intersection of hospitality, vocational pedagogy, and kaupapa Māori theory. His academic leadership is deeply rooted in his personal journey navigating the tensions between work and study. This lived experience drives his enduring commitment to building flexible, inclusive, and human-centred educational frameworks.

Since 2021, Dr. Woodhouse has pioneered the design and implementation of innovative work-integrated culinary arts programmes. His work has successfully challenged traditional campus-bound structures, repositioning the workplace as a highly legitimate and valuable site of learning. A two-time recipient of the prestigious Ako Aotearoa National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award, his contributions to responsive teaching practices continue to reshape the tertiary sector.

Aligning perfectly with our conference theme, He tāngata (the people), Dr. Woodhouse’s insights will inspire anyone invested in the future of flexible learning.

Don’t miss his keynote session—register for FLANZ 2026 today!

Keynote Abstract

“When Education Demands a Trade-Off”

I didn’t drop out of tertiary education. I left. Not because I lacked capability, but because I was asked—quietly, systemically—to choose. To choose between study and work. To choose between being a student or a practitioner in the ‘real world’. To choose between obligation and opportunity. I chose opportunity. Years later, I was offered something different—a way back in. A flexible learning model that didn’t require me to step away from my job to succeed but instead allowed my work to become the learning. That moment provided me with the qualification I had once sought. More importantly, it reshaped my understanding of what constitutes authentic education.

This keynote is not about flexible learning as a concept. It is about what happens when our systems fail to recognise the realities of the people they are designed to serve—and what becomes possible when they finally do.

Drawing on both my professional culinary journey and my role within the evolution of Otago Polytechnic’s suite of trade and higher education culinary programmes, this talk traces a shift  from rigid, campus-bound delivery to models deeply invested in Work-Integrated Learning. It is a journey marked by experimentation, tension, and persistence: from early mobile learning innovations, to recognising the legitimacy of workplace knowledge through Assessment of Prior Learning, to building approaches where the workplace is no longer viewed as a barrier to education, but the site of it.

Along the way, a critical question emerges: Why do some institutions continue to design systems that require learners to choose between learning and earning? The question, then, is no longer whether flexible learning is possible, but whether we are willing to let go of the structures that make it necessary. When will we begin to design for people rather than systems?

— Dr. Adrian Woodhouse