Rautaki Whakaaweawe
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Whakakahangahia te Rangatahi wāhine ki te Waka Ama - Empowering Young Women in Waka Ama
This research explored how participation in Waka Ama supports the wellbeing of young Māori women. Grounded in Kaupapa Māori, it examined how the sport strengthens cultural identity, promotes health and fitness, and builds leadership and resilience—supporting their flourishing as rangatahi Māori and contributing to the celebration and preservation of… -
He Tohu Āhuarangi: Climate Change Signs between Antarctica and Aotearoa
This project explored how the Māori concept of tohu—environmental signs—could inform Antarctic research and stewardship. By weaving te ao Māori into international climate science, the research supported Indigenous-led approaches to recognising and responding to signs of change in Antarctica.Kairangahau · Researchers
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Alyssa Thomas
Alyssa Thomas
Alyssa’s research engages with the rangatahi of her hapū, Patuharakeke; with additional funding support from New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society. Over the course of a three-day wānanga, Alyssa gained an insight into the aspirations of ngā rangatira mō apōpō, with particular regard to the management of Pukekauri dam, a local freshwater resource. Through whakapapa and whakawhanaungatanga, the rangatahi connected with te taiao and began/continued their journey of kaitiakitanga and tino rangatiratanga. Alyssa presents her research and findings of rangatahi visioning and aspirations for…
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Commissioning a musical score and accompanying actions to a poi-waiata (called “Te Proton Poi”)
This project created “Te Proton Poi” — a waiata integrating mātauranga Māori with quantum physics to support community engagement with advanced health technologies. Inspired by MRI concepts and kapa haka, the project highlights how culturally grounded approaches can bridge science and te ao Māori to empower whānau. -
Mō Ngā Uri a Muri Ake Nei: Supporting Te Tai o Araiteuru Inter-generational Decision-making Through Sea-rise Visualisation
Sea level rise is threatening many marae and coastal cultural sites across Te Tai o Araiteuru. Yet existing climate models are complex and often not locally relevant or easy to understand. This project created a dynamic, culturally grounded 3D visualisation of the Otago coastline, integrating Kāi Tahu cultural data with environmental modelling to support…Kairangahau · Researchers
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Dr Nigel Stanger
Dr Nigel Stanger
Dr Nigel Stanger teaches at 200, 300, and 400 level, covering topics such as database design, management and administration, relational and object / relational database systems, distributed data management, and data warehousing. His research interests include digital preservation, digital repositories, data management of all kinds, data model translation, data integration, physical database design and database performance, and information visualisation.Dr Stanger is also the webmaster and South Island representative for:the New Zealand Oracle Users' Group (NZOUG)Dr Stanger is also the… -
Dr Brendon Woodford
Dr Brendon Woodford
Dr Brendon Woodford lectures in the diverse areas of knowledge engineering, machine learning, information systems development, and health informatics.He conducts research for the Knowledge, Intelligence and Web Informatics (KIWI) Laboratory in the areas of artificial neural networks, fuzzy systems, data visualisation, and image processing and recognition. Since 1998 the overall aim of this research is in the area of computational intelligence. The main objective of his work has been to create adaptive learning systems which generate new knowledge from data that they process and allow for… -
Owyn Aitken
Owyn Aitken
Owyn Aitken attended Aotea College in Porirua where he first begun “messing around with computers” with his best friend and would be co-founder of Remojo Tech, Hadi Daoud. The venture began under the Young Enterprise scheme established in secondary schools and providing mentorships, access to networks and funding.
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Using a Māori lens to analyse media discourse on the introduction of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022
This internship explored media coverage of the Pae Ora Act 2022, analysing tone, key messages, promises around Māori health outcomes, Treaty and equity framing, and budget considerations. Working with Associate Professor Bridgette Masters-Awatere and Dr Amohia Boulton, the intern contributed to a wider HRC-funded study by theming and analysing media content… -
Whanake te kura i Tawhitinui – Building resilience within Māori communities
This research explores how mātauranga Māori enriches natural hazard resilience in Aotearoa by integrating Indigenous knowledge with science. It highlights Māori-led solutions that strengthen cultural identity, wellbeing, and community response to disasters. The resulting publication will be accessible and visually engaging, showcasing collaborative research…Kairangahau · Researchers
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Kristie-Lee Thomas
Kristie-Lee Thomas
Tēnā koe! He uri au nō Ngāti Mutunga ō Wharekauri me Te Āti Awa.I'm passionate about bringing people and knowledge systems, particularly Mātauranga Māori and disaster risk science together in ways that best support whānau, hapū, iwi & local communities in planning and preparing for disaster events and climate change.I currently work part time for UC on a number of kaupapa Māori research projects, co-lead RNC Te Whanake Te Kura i Tawhiti Nui research programme and teach into the UC Master of Disaster Risk and Resilience programme whilst I study towards my doctorate. -
Professor Taiarahia Black
Professor Taiarahia Black
Taiarahia Black is a New Zealand academic known for advancing Māori language revitalisation and reclamation through scholarship, teaching, and cultural knowledge work. Rising to full professor at Massey University, he built a career that blends Māori language priorities with academic credibility and institutional service. His public engagements have also reflected an educator’s instinct: interpreting language and cultural values in ways that can be carried into everyday life. Across decades in higher education, he has come to represent a careful, language-centered approach to sustaining… -
Dr Darren Ngaru King
Dr Darren Ngaru King
Darren Ngaru King is an interdisciplinary research scientist with experience spanning the earth and human-systems sciences. His research focus is climate variability, tsunamis and impacts on Māori communities. He investigates factors that influence the risk, vulnerability and endurance of climate-sensitive sectors, systems and groups, using approaches grounded in applied geology, Māori oral history and Mātauranga Māori. Darren is also a member of the Kāhui Māori of the Deep South National Science Challenge. -
Dr Peter Meihana
Dr Peter Meihana
Peter is a Senior Lecturer in Māori History at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Massey University, and a Trustee of Te Rūnanga a Rangitāne o Wairau. His research interests include Māori history; tribal history; and colonisation. -
Israel Birch
Israel Birch
Israel Tangaroa Birch is known for his distinctive work with steel and lacquer. His highly polished, patterned surfaces interact with light to create shifting, luminous fields of colour and shadow that seem to ripple as the viewer moves—offering a deeply immersive experience.Birch’s practice involves grinding and carving directly into steel, embedding a physicality into each work that speaks to the process of making. This dynamic energy—of movement, sound, and intent—feels captured within the material itself, reflecting his constant exploration of the medium’s limits.Birch holds a Master of… -
Professor Regan Potangaroa
Professor Regan Potangaroa
Dr Regan Potangaroa is Professor at the School of Future Environments at AUT. He is recognised as a global expert in humanitarian engineering and Māori-centred resilience. With 45 years of experience spanning structural engineering, architecture, disaster response, and academia, Regan has been involved with over 200 humanitarian deployments in 22 countries and pioneered innovative assessment methods for traditional timber structures like wharenui. His recent work, featured in the short film Rising from the Earth; showcases how marae across Aotearoa are navigating seismic risk, climate change… -
Dr Ruakere Hond
Dr Ruakere Hond
Dr Ruakere Hond is a longstanding advocate of te reo Māori revitalisation and a key supporter of the Parihaka community. He was instrumental in working to achieve reconciliation between that community and the Crown, and he has held several leadership roles in Māori language organisations, including Te Reo o Taranaki, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, and Te Ataarangi. He has served two terms as a member of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and is a past board member of Te Mātāwai, which leads the implementation of the Maihi Māori language strategy.In 2013, Dr Hond completed a doctorate in public… -
Lara Taylor
Lara Taylor
Lara Taylor's whakapapa is to Ngāti Tahu, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Pāhauwera, and Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku. She is passionate about Māori rights and interests, particularly related to Te Ao Tūroa. Her career has involved Māori planning and strategy – Auckland Council, Māori researcher at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, and advisory and governance roles for hapū and iwi. She is a Komiti Member on the national Māori planner’s forum Papa Pounamu, associated with the New Zealand Planning Institute. Lara has recently established her own business, E Oho! which specialises in Māori policy… -
Tonga Karena
Tonga Karena
No Ngāti Kahumate, no Ngāti Hinekura ahau. He kaiawhiawhi ki Parihaka, ā, he kaiwhakaūkaipō i te reo o Taranaki. Inā tata nei i noho hei kaimahi ki PKW – he rau whakaihoiho te tūranga. I tua atu i tērā, he kaiwhakahī waiata, he tauira tākuta, ka mutu, he pūkenga ki roto i nga whare wānanga hoki. Ko ia tērā ko te Pou Tikanga o Tuiora.As Pou Tikanga, Tonga Karena provides the cultural leadership and vision for our whole organisation. He ensures that the cultural resilience of Tui Ora kaimahi is the framework for our everyday activities and our engagement with our community.Tonga has had a…
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