Qualifications
Futures Certification of Completion – Tamkang University (currently studying)
PRINCE2 Foundation Project Management Certification – ILX Group
National Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education – Manukau Institute of Technology
National Certificate in Adult Education Level 5 – Open Polytechnic
National Certificate in Adult Education Level 4 – Open Polytechnic
Bachelor of Information Communication Technologies – CPIT
Professional profile
Josh Hough (he/him) is the Tumu Te Aho Auaha at Tātai Aho Rau Core Education. He specialises in transformation strategy, leadership, programme management, futures thinking, human-centred design thinking, research and effective learning practice.
Josh operates in the intersections between futures thinking, equity design and learning. He is an encouraging agitator who believes strongly in the power of co-constructing preferred futures and is a relentless advocate for empowering and enabling all individuals; learning, creating and doing in ways that connect with their unique identities.
His core mission is to push the boundaries of possibility, disrupt inequities and broken systems and work collaboratively to realise equitable, inclusive and resilient futures through learning.
In his role Josh is responsible for:
- Providing strategic leadership for the visioning and designing of Tātai Aho Rau’s professional service responses to the needs of those we serve and to meet changing sector needs
- Providing equity centred and future focused thought leadership
- Governance, relationship management, troubleshooting and removal of barriers to success across concurrent complex projects
- Leading professional service proposal development
- Providing high level consultancy services
- Managing insights and coordinating collection and use of data
- Implementing effective evaluation methodology
- Working closely with individuals and teams from across Tātai Aho Rau to guide development, implementation and monitoring of products and services
- Liaising with key stakeholders and strategic partners
- Speaking at conferences and events and maintaining an active research profile
In addition to his managerial responsibilities, Josh is also actively involved in supporting a wide range of initiatives. He is a co-lead researcher on Ko tātou tēnei, project lead for Kura ki Pakihi, co-lead for the Ministry of Education Relationships and Sexuality Education project, involved in the Grow Waitaha Futures impact area, a founding member of the Ōtautahi Futures Collective, a designer with Liberatory Design Aotearoa and occasionally facilitates lead-for-change, inclusive design and digital technologies in secondary schools.
Josh’s background involves participation in the business, tertiary and secondary education sectors. He actively works with national and international futurists, equity designers and technologists and he has been closely involved in the Ōtautahi education ecosystem since 2011. During his career he has led multiple initiatives to combat inequity and develop and deliver experiences that connect with learners and empower them to be inspired, future aware, always curious makers and doers.
Projects that Josh is or recently has been closely involved in:
- Ko tātou tēnei | This is us – action research giving voice to rangatahi takatāpui and empowering them as future makers
- Kura ki Pakihi | Schools to Business – building a collaborative network of school and industry partners who unite to understand each other's needs and solve gnarly digital equity challenges
- Relationships and Sexuality Education workshops – co-leading the development of coaching workshops for curriculum leaders and community groups to support capability building and to promote collective responsibility
- Ōtautahi Futures Collective – a local futures thinking collective sharing practice and collaborating on projects that grow futures literacy across the city and beyond
- Ten Trends 2020 – research on the major trends affecting education on the local and global scenes through the lenses of technology, structure, culture, economy and process
- Senior Secondary Digital Technologies project lead – working with Ōtautahi educators to connect, support and empower them as deliverers of innovative and impactful digital technologies programmes
- Inaugural Boma NZ Education Fellow – a year-long fellowship to explore and activate exponential thinking and innovative leadership in education
- Liberatory Design Aotearoa – a local design collective connected to the international work of Liberatory Design. The collective empowers individuals and teams to hold the vulnerability and courage needed to develop as equity-centred designers and design allies
Expertise
Josh has expertise in the following areas:
- Futures thinking: he actively practices and invites others to reflect on a macro and micro view of the past and the present to inform the intentional pursuit of equitable futures
- Equity design: he applies human-centred design thinking to inform and transform educational systems, design and practice in the pursuit of equity, justice and liberation
- Programme design: he works collaboratively to create high-impact learning programmes designed to build skills, instill confidence and transform hearts and minds
- Transformational strategy: he encourages and motivates co-design and collaboration in the establishing of moonshots and the building of unified processes that contend with technological, environmental, economic and social change
- Nurturing leadership: he mentors, supports, and empowers individuals and teams who value awareness, diversity, inclusivity, courage, equity and clarity. Josh is Brené Brown Dare to Lead trained
- Effective learning practice: he advocates for and champions the design of innovative learning experiences that engage, inspire and equip learners for an exponentially changing future
- Research: he employs inquiry and curiosity to lift the lid on and share facts, figures, stories and data that change the way we see each other and the world.
Publications
2021: Ko Tātou Tēnei | This is us
2020: Ten Trends 2020
Conference presentations, seminars and workshops
2021: Futures & Exponential Technology – Ngāti Tama language revitalisation workshop
2021: Ko tātou tēnei with Lex Davis – uLearn21
2021: Equity in Aotearoa – Ōtautahi Learning Days 2021
2020: Pursuing Equity in Innovation – Learning Days 2020
2020: Beyond the Triage: Harnessing the Power of Technology to Create a New Experience of Learning – Techweek 2020
2019: Liberated Learning – The Future of Learning
Awards, fellowships and scholarships
2019 Boma NZ Education Fellow
2017 Ara Excellence in Teaching & Learning Award
Personal statement
Tēnā koe!
I’m a passionate leader in the education sector who believes in fanning the flames of hope that we can build a better world through learning.
I am endlessly energised by collaborating with others to realise the innate potential in every human. I am most fortunate to serve, lead, collaborate and connect with remarkable people every day who share a belief in the transformative impact of education.
I’m English by birth and have lived in Aotearoa since 2003. I’m a husband of 10 years, dog and cat Dad, self-confessed geek, avid disc golfer and I have too many books and not enough shelves.
I have a strong desire to work in partnership with others and I greatly value the power of the collective. If you’re interested in working with the team at Tātai Aho Rau, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!
