Caleb Houia, 22, started as a student at the Digital Natives Academy and is now the music tutor for sound production and engineering. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Caleb Houia, 22, started as a student at the Digital Natives Academy and is now the music tutor for sound production and engineering. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
A Rotorua tech entrepreneur couple are stoked they can provide more gaming computers for their students after receiving a $31,000 grant from BayTrust to address digital equity in the town.
Nikolasa and Potaua Biasiny-Tule got together while studying tech at Canterbury University 10 years ago.
On returning to Rotorua, theyestablished the Digital Natives Academy (DNA) with a focus on digital equity and Mātauranga Māori - the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of te taiao (the natural world).
They started in a small studio on Eruera St, Nikolasa said, and began tutoring Potaua’s nieces and nephews. When their friends at Lynmore Primary School heard about it, their roll grew bigger.
DNA is now based on the corner of Hinemoa and Fenton streets. More than 7000 students have come through the doors.
Classes, which are all free, are NCEA-accredited and include subjects such as 3D animation and VFX, game development, website development, narrative storytelling and robotics.
“We run the gamut at Levels 1, 2 and 3 because [tertiary training provider] Media Design School has an amazing Level 4 and we saw there was no staircase to that Level 4.
“It was really hard for some of our kids, so we wanted to create a really clear pathway to ... tertiary foundation courses and beyond.”
The BayTrust grant would enable DNA to provide 300 students with gaming PCs that had better programming capabilities than the ones they were using, she said.
It was the largest sum of money DNA had yet received.
An additional class with 30 students was introduced this year to meet the waitlist demand.
“Everyone gets their own computer here and they all get their own space because we know that place and belonging is really important,” Nikolasa said.
Access to expensive software and hardware was difficult for many families in the Bay of Plenty.
“Many schools discarded their computer labs, so we’ve actually lost the digital infrastructure not only at home but [also in] schools.”
Nikolasa and Potaua Biasiny-Tule are the founders of the Digital Natives Academy on the corner of Hinemoa and Fenton St in central Rotorua. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Waitlist grows through word of mouth
The couple had always focused on forging pathways for students who were disengaged from mainstream education, she said.
Potaua grew up in Rotorua’s Ford Block suburb, and the pair wanted to “create something essentially that would have cared for his inner child as he was growing up, and suited his way of learning and engaging”.
“To us, those kids have these amazing superpowers and just need a little bit more support and a little more focus,” she said.
Teaching Mātauranga Māori and tech was about “reminding our kids their ancestors were explorers and innovators by using the stars to navigate, and using all sorts of different technologies of the time to travel the world”.
One of their classes was run for students expelled from mainstream institutions.
“Those are kids who have been disengaged long-term and kids who’ve been bullied.”
Other classes worked with visiting students from schools around the Bay of Plenty.
Nikolasa said attending DNA courses motivated children to improve their behaviour.
“Kids who refused to wear their uniforms are wearing their uniforms and showing up to class because they have to show up to class to come to our programme.”
Grant for Rotorua’s digital and tech future
BayTrust community & Māori liaison adviser Lotima Vaioleti said the grant would allow up to 300 Rotorua students to attend regular DNA workshops in 2025.
“DNA is the only organisation of its kind in New Zealand and has spent 10 years gaining a deep understanding of the challenges Māori face in the digital space.”
Vaioleti said there was a significant gap in access to high-quality computers and relevant tech education, “particularly in Māori kura”.
In his view, “The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated these inequalities. Schools moved away from computer labs to a BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] model, which widened the digital divide and further restricted access to advanced technology.”
The grant would also help fund a major esports event in Rotorua in May. About 300-500 people from across the Ngā Kura ā Iwi education network were expected to take part in Rotorua Tech Week.
Viella Kingi, 21, will complete her final year of the Digital Natives Foundation 3 programme at the end of this year. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Tech pathways
Caleb Houia, 22, started at DNA as a student in 2023. After completing his foundation courses, he began running the sound design studio and teaching music production to students interested in sound engineering.
“I started making beats when I was 16 ... I’m self-taught”.
Working his way up to a tutor role felt “fantastic”, he said.
He looked forward to helping other students start making music this year.
Viella Kingi, 21, was working when she heard about DNA in 2023.
“I just left school and went straight to mahi, I thought that’s all life had to offer ... then I came here, so many opportunities just popped out at me,” she said.
She looked forward to implementing tech and tikanga upon completing her Foundation 3 course this year.
“The main thing that I enjoy is the tangata, or the people, I’m around. Everyone here is quite like-minded and really kind. They’re very good at listening.
”Whenever you have issues, or if you need to just to have a kōrero about anything, they will be there for you.”
Attending the Indigidata Aotearoa wananga in Wellington last year inspired her too.
“I’m a very proud Māori, so the fact I’m surrounded by not only the digital world but Māoritanga as well and just combining the two ... I really like that.”
Nikolasa said Rotorua appreciated its primary industries, tradies and farmers, but there were alternatives and “what we’re seeing with this generation is they want more”.
“This is what they’ve grown up with, games - they are so easy for them and they’ve got minds that are crazily dynamic and they are self-taught.
“We know that, by 2030, Māori and Pasifika rangatahi are going to be 40% of the population, which is huge.
“If we don’t give them the skills to really extend and enhance what they can do, then we undermine the future of the whole country.”
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
