Penny Simmonds will be part of a southern delegation to meet Mr Hipkins today in Wellington to discuss the vocational education reform.
She did not have ''any particular expectation'' about the meeting, which has been organised by Invercargill Labour list MP Liz Craig, but she was pleased with the invitation.
''Any dialogue is useful. I'm taking a number of points which we need a better understanding and clarification.''
Among things Ms Simmonds wanted to discuss were the composition of the subsidiary board, the international students recruiting process, the relationship between various boards and groups, the definitions of the regions and the online SIT2LRN distance learning programme.
Those attending the meeting, either in person or via teleconference, will also include SIT council deputy chairman Tim Ward, kaumatua Michael Skerrett and Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt and other southern mayors.
Mr Hipkins announced last month the merger of 16 New Zealand polytechnics into one tertiary institution.
