Source: New Zealand Government
The Minister of Education and the Minister of Finance have appointed Jeremy Banks (Ngāti Rārua, Rangitāne ki Wairau and Ngāti Kuia) as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Crown-owned organisation, The Network for Learning (N4L).
“In the last decade, N4L has grown from providing internet connection and a basic firewall service to schools and kura, to a purpose-driven, values-led organisation that is connecting, protecting and supporting more than 2,450 schools and 900,000 users – close to 20% of the country’s adult population,” Minister of Education Jan Tinetti said.
“They now account for a quarter of the country’s daytime business internet consumption, block more than 2.3 million cyber threats each day, and have become the largest network of their kind in Australasia.”
Mr Banks is a software developer with experience in growing software startups, including the Tipu educational mobile app which has helped people of all ages learn te reo.
With links to iwi groups across Te Waipounamu, Mr Banks brings a depth of experience integrating te ao Māori and technology. This will be of benefit for N4L, whose purpose is to help all ākonga thrive in today’s digital world.
“Jeremy Banks is an exciting appointment as N4L Chair, and the organisation is fortunate to have someone of his talents to step into the role.
“Jeremy will support the next phase of N4L’s growth and development, partnering with the Ministry of Education to help progress digital equity across the motu, deliver great service and value for money, and continue tackling the cybersecurity threat landscape,” said Minister Tinetti.
Mr Banks replaces previous Chair, Colin MacDonald, who between March 2019 and June 2023 helped steer the organisation through the significant challenges and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain shortages, an ever-growing, ever-changing cybersecurity threat, and a period of tremendous transformation and growth for the company.
