Waikato Institute of Technology, popularly called Wintec, was established as Hamilton Technical College in the Waikato region in 1924. As the institute grew, it began offering a range of vocational training programmes and was renamed as Waikato Technical Institute in 1968. As its scope of academic activities continued to widen, the institute's name was changed to The Waikato Polytechnic in 1987. It offered its first bachelor's degree in 1992 and was given its current name in 2001. At present, this government-run institution offers high-quality tertiary education and is consistently rising to meet the growing academic demands of today's students.

Wintec has three world-class main campuses in the city of Hamilton in New Zealand as well as smaller campuses across Waikato. Situated in the centre of the CBD, the Hamilton City Campus is one of the institute's main campuses. It is dotted with great food outlets and houses excellent on-campus accommodation facilities. Located in the north part of Hamilton, the Rotokauri Campus is home to exceptional facilities, like a huge library, hi-tech computer labs, and amazing cafeterias.

This campus offers programmes in the fields of sports science, engineering, trades, animal care, cookery and hospitality. The institute's third main campus is situated in the Hamilton Gardens. This campus offers programmes in horticulture, arboriculture and landscape construction/design. Wintec also owns Otorohanga Trade Training Centre and additional academic facilities in the town of Thames.