EIT graduation coordinator Diana Morris (left) and Diploma in Applied Business graduate Amandeep Kaur revel in the rainbow of new regalia colours.

Graduation was a particularly vibrant occasion this year with EIT graduates launching the institute’s new-look capping colours.

The 350 graduates who took part in the capping ceremony wore the black gowns and trenchers that are traditional for graduations world-wide.   However, their deep hoods were lined with new colour satins to more clearly identify the degrees with which they were conferred.

EIT has doubled the number of colours to encompass a widened range of diploma, degree and postgraduate qualifications.  And for the first time, bi-coloured hood trims identified those graduating with concurrent degrees.

The new colours are pohutakawa for the Bachelor of Arts (Māori), fuchsia (Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design), oceania (Bachelor of Computing Systems), paua (Bachelor of Business Studies), syrah (Bachelor of Viticulture), champagne (Bachelor of Wine Science), mandarin (Bachelor of Applied Social Sciences), kowhai for the Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education), amethyst (Bachelor of Nursing) and ice (Bachelor of Recreation and Sport).

Hastings-based Soma President Ltd machinists sewed the satin lined hoods, and manager Harold Trigg says the exercise provided a further linkage between the company and EIT’s fashion design programmes.

Academic staff attending EIT’s graduation ceremony at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House wore regalia trimmed with colours that apply for the educational institutions where they gained their degrees.