This year at Liger Leadership Academy, we’ve been working towards our goal of welcoming 200 community experts to enhance learning in our Exploration projects. So far, we have welcomed over 160 amazing experts, either in person or virtually. They have been essential to our students’ success in Explorations.
What are Explorations?
Explorations are a key component of the Liger curriculum. Spanning an entire term, they allow learners to engage deeply with a community issue or challenge, taking it from initial conceptual and ideation phases through to a finished product or solution. Through this process, it is expected that learners identify and engage with experts from our local, national and global communities. Their research helps them identify the best people to reach out to, learn from, and gain feedback on their ideas and their work.
Explorations in 2025
Social entrepreneurship: Locky Docks
A recent example from Term 3 saw a group of learners working alongside Auckland-based social enterprise Big Street Bikers to bring their electric bike locking and charging stations, called Locky Docks, to Queenstown. This involved meeting with founder Cleve Cameron and discussing the structure of the enterprise and why it was created, involving council members at Queenstown Lakes District Council to understand what is needed to gain consent for stations, assessing possible locations where they are most needed using market research, and searching for local businesses to partner with.
Cultural and environmental engagement: Mana Tahuna
Liger learners learnt to be Environmental Consultants alongside Mana Tahuna, to evaluate the health of a Queenstown Lakes District waterway using macroinvertebrate sampling.
Most recently, they have been integral to the success of our newly formed Maori Cultural Group, helping members to create a structure for the group and to engage with the rest of the Academy on elements of tikanga, ready for Liger’s first marae trip later this term.
Creative inspiration: Artists and artisans
To celebrate Matariki, an Exploration group worked on light sculptures, photography, garden design and digital art, culminating in an exhibition at the end of Term 2. Students visited artists in their studios, attended exhibitions, spoke with curators, and worked alongside designers. Many of these experts then attended the final exhibition, allowing learners to gain valuable feedback on their work.
Learning to ask questions
Our mission is to teach students how to teach themselves, what they need to know, when they need to know it, and there is a wealth of knowledge in the wider community. Under Facilitator supervision, numerous phone calls, emails, video calls, and out-of-school visits with experts are made by our learners on a daily basis.
Liger students learn to be open-minded and curious, but most importantly, interconnected and active members of their community. We are very grateful to everyone who shares their time and expertise with our Academy.
Liger Leadership Academy: Liger blends strong academic foundations with Explorations that connect learners to real people and real problems, so they can make meaningful impact.
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