Ceremony One - 12.30pm 

Ceremony One has graduates from the College of Community Development and Personal Wellbeing, the College of Health and the Central Otago Campus. 

10.40am: Gather outside the Faculty of Dentistry (Great King Street) for the OPSA Graduation Parade
11.00am: Parade departs for the Dunedin Town Hall 
11.30am: Check in at the Dunedin Town Hall Glenroy Auditorium 
11.30am: Dunedin Town Hall doors open to the public
12.00pm: Guests to be seated in Dunedin Town Hall 
12.30pm: Graduation Ceremony starts 
2.30pm*: Graduation Ceremony ends (*estimated time only)  

Please note: If you're a staff graduate and are not taking part in the OPSA Parade, you need to be at the Dunedin Town Hall Glenroy Auditorium by 11.30am for check in. If you don't check in, you won't be able to take part in the graduation ceremony.

Ceremony Two - 3.30pm 

Ceremony Two has graduates from the College of Engineering, Construction and Living Sciences, the College of Creative Practice and Enterprise, Capable NZ, and the Auckland International Campus.

10.40am: Gather outside the Faculty of Dentistry (Great King Street) for the OPSA Graduation Parade
11.00am: Parade departs for the Dunedin Town Hall 
11.30am - 2.30pm: Free time - when the parade arrives at the Town Hall, please move away from the entrance so we can get everyone sorted for Ceremony One (thank you!)
2.30pm: Check in at the Dunedin Town Hall Glenroy Auditorium 
3.00pm: Guests to be seated in Dunedin Town Hall 
3.30pm: Graduation Ceremony starts 
5.30pm*: Graduation Ceremony ends (*estimated time only)  

Please note: We only have one parade for both ceremonies. If you're a staff graduate who is not taking part in the parade, you need to be at the Dunedin Town Hall Glenroy Auditorium by 2.30pm for check in. If you don't check in, you won't be able to take part in the graduation ceremony.

The Parade departs from the Faculty of Dentistry on Great King Street and will finish at the Dunedin Town Hall.

Graduates and their guests need to gather there at 10.40am. 

You can find a map of the parade route here. 

We have a series of webpages about graduation on the Polytechnic website. 

This is the main information page for graduates >

It has info about gowns, the schedule for the day, the parade route, photography and a link to information for guests. There is also a list of the pre-grad events and a large section of FAQs. 

 If they're still struggling to find the answers they need, please encourage them to email graduation@op.ac.nz

In the six weeks leading up to graduation, we send out a weekly email to all graduates with extra information about things like how to wear their academic regalia, how to find the gown room, and what the format of the ceremony will be like. 

All student and staff graduates are held on the same database and we send the email out to all graduates. 

This may mean you see messaging intended for all student graduates. 

Please disregard information that isn't intended for staff graduating (e.g. staff do not have to pay for their gowns). 

All the pre-grad events that we have received information about, have been listed on this webpage for graduands.

You can see a video here on how to update your Tūhono regalia settings. 

There will always be a cut-off date for any kaimahi who want to register for regalia so please keep an eye out for this. We need to pull the report for kaimahi regalia in the weeks before grad to give us time to prepare.

For our March 2026 graduation, kaimahi needed to order their regalia by Wednesday 4 February.

No, kaimahi don't need to pay for their regalia.

Check the list of regalia colours and their corresponding area in the one page doc below. 

Regalia colours and areas

The Gown Room is located in A Block. 

This series of photos show how you can access the Gown Room from St David Street. 

The Gown Room is located in A Block. 

Yes BUT please email ahead to let us know that this is what you’re doing. We can then make sure they’re ready for you to collect.

Email graduation@op.ac.nz 

Please note: Only individual requests will be handled at the Gown Room itself.  

No, we don't have capacity to do this. 

Please remember to come to the Gown Room (A Block) to collect your regalia. 

You can drop your regalia off as you leave the Town Hall (the drop-off point will be in the foyer). 

Or you can return your regalia during the following times at the Gown Room (A Block) or Customer Services:  

For University regalia 

Please return your regalia to us in the plastic bag that it comes in (along with the paper slip with your name on it). We will have extra, but with sustainability in mind, we don't want to keep using new plastic bags when we can reuse the existing set.

Yes!

You are still included in our list of graduates and we need to make sure you’re there on the day. 

Please make sure you’re at the Glenroy Auditorium by 11.30am for Ceremony One and by 2.30pm for Ceremony Two.

This is essential as your name will not be read onstage unless you have checked in at the Glenroy Auditorium.

Graduating kaimahi have two options. The one which we strongly advocate for and prefer kaimahi to do is the first option. 

1. Kaimahi do exactly what a regular graduand does for the ceremony. You will line up in the Glenroy Auditorium after you’ve checked in, be led through to the Town Hall behind the piper, sit with the graduands during the ceremony, cross the stage and then sit back with the graduands. 

2. Or, you can check in, line up, sit with the graduands, cross the stage and then either:

• sit in the front row of the public seating which is reserved for kaimahi (remembering to tell the graduate behind them to continue back to the main graduate block of seating), or
• join fellow staff on the stage (if there is a vacant seat).

In exceptional circumstances, staff members may be given permission to sit on the stage throughout the ceremony. To join the line from the stage and then to go back to the same seat on the stage after crossing. This is disruptive to the flow of the event however so will only be allowed in very rare situations.

Official Party

• Please go to the Upper Green Room.

Rest of kaimahi

• Please meet at Door C of the Town Hall. 

If you are sitting on stage, please remember to smile throughout the ceremony as the event is being live streamed.

Our Graduation waiata is E Taua Mā.

Listen to E Taua Mā >

Please feel free to join us when we practise this waiata at our daily karakia and waiata (8.45am near the greenstone in the atrium of The Hub). 

E Taua Mā

 Kaea (Leader): Ka puāwai te rakatahi e

E taua

E taua ma, e poua ma

Whakaroko ki te taki o te rakatahi

E whai ana ka taoka o ka tupuna Māori e

Kaea (Leader): Tēnei te kaupapa

Tēnei te kaupapa e manaaki nei

Whakapono, tūmanako me te aroha e

Auē!Ka heke ka roimata o ka tūpuna

Ka puāwai te rakatahi e

Kaea (Leader): Ka mihi atu

Ka mihi atu ki te whānau o te motu nei

Kia kaha rā, kia ora rā e te iwi e

Auē! Ka heke ka roimata o ka tūpuna

Ka puāwai te rakatahi e

 Kaea (Leader): Ka puawai

Ka puawai te rakatahi e

Haumi e, Hui e, Taiki e

Yes, and you can find the details below. This will also be communicated to graduates and volunteers. 

WIFI network DVML Guest Internet 

Password 1991P1anoNob1le