Māori Centre / Te Huka Mātauraka

04/09/2026

Trust Tairāwhiti is currently recruiting for our 2026/27 Summer Internship Programme, and we would really appreciate your help sharing the opportunity with your students and networks.

We have a range of paid summer internship opportunities based in Gisborne, with areas including:
• Economic and regional development
• Māori economic and business development
• Community development and wellbeing
• Tourism, events and visitor services
• Research, data and analysis
• Strategy and project delivery
• Stakeholder, iwi and community engagement

The internships are designed to give students meaningful, practical experience working on real projects and organisational priorities, supported by experienced Trust Tairāwhiti staff.

Paid 8–10 week summer internship programme in Gisborne with hands-on experience and mentoring.

31/08/2026

Science, innovation, and technology based kaupapa - Friday 18th September - Lincoln, Canterbury

Anei tētahi opportunity to explore one of New Zealand's largest science institutes, observe and participate in real projects, meet and kōrero with current researchers, and gain a better idea of what a career in research, science, innovation, and technology might look like.

28/08/2026

Organised by Māori Postgraduate Support Advisor Dr Rachel Sizemore and Kiri Miller, the event brought together postgraduate researchers, academics and professors to share their work and experiences.

Māori academic success takes many forms, from emerging postgraduate researchers to established professors.

25/08/2026

Are you a Māori student looking to advance your education and gain hands-on experience in Kaupapa Māori research? Whakauae Research Services is offering incredible Ngā Karahipi (Scholarships) to support your academic journey and help build capability in Māori health and wellbeing!

👉 Whakauru mai / Apply today: Visit the Whakauae Scholarships Page to submit your application or send an enquiry.
Karawhiua! Best of luck to all applicants! 🌿

Whakauae Research has committed to support Māori student development, emerging researchers, and leading new Māori researchers in the field of Māori and Indigenous research with the help of funding awarded to us by the Health Research Council’s Independent Research Organisation Capability Fund.

20/08/2026

Kia ora e te whānau
Te Heika Pounamu is on today and we're celebrating all you amazing tauira and your journey with us at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka! We have a live stream taking place for the entirety of this event for anyone that can't make it in person. Please do feel free to share with your whānau. Just click the link to take you through to the web page to watch this ceremony from 2.00pm.
Ka pai and congratulations to all graduates!
Click this linkto the streaming channel which will be used for the ceremony
https://www.otago.ac.nz/digital-services/services/teaching-and-research-services/streaming/video-streaming-channel-5
photo rights reserved by University of Otago Photographer

19/08/2026

Now in the final year of her PhD at Otago, Laura Gemmell-Sinnott 9Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, Ngaruāhine and Waikato) has presented at several conferences and received numerous awards and scholarships, including a Fulbright Scholarship, allowing her to carry out aspects of her doctoral research in the US.

Q&A with Laura Gemmell-Sinnott 2025 20Twenties Young Alumni Award winner. Laura (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, Ngaruāhine and Waikato) graduated from Otago in 2021 with a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Māori Health.

18/08/2026

Tukutuku are a traditional Māori art form, with woven wall panels carrying layers of meaning. Made from natural fibres such as toetoe and harakeke, they adorn the interiors of wharenui (meeting houses) across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Professional Practice Fellows and keen weavers Nichola Agnew and Kimberly Ti came up with the idea for the project. As Tangata Tiriti, the pair sought advice from weaver Marcanui Taura and Associate Dean (Māori) – Sciences Tracy Perry to ensure they upheld tikaka throughout the project.

A team building exercise in the Department of Human Nutrition involved wetsuits, stained fingers, and a trip to the emergency room.

17/08/2026

The rokoā garden has been gifted the name Te Korowai o Papatūānuku, by Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, Associate Professor Justine Camp (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) to acknowledge the protective embrace of Papatūānuku, whose gifts sustain the health and wellbeing of all living things.
Lead by the School’s Associate Dean Māori Dr Lisa Kremer (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha), this initiative was pursued with the intention of creating a physical space that emulates a korowai wrapping around those who enter it and offering a place of learning, reflection and connection.

With the aim of creating a living space dedicated to teaching and learning about rokoā Māori, the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes He Rau Kawakawa (School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology) has built a new rokoā garden right outside the Adams Building.

12/08/2026

Nominations for the 20Twenties | Taiohi Taiora: Young Alumni Awards 2026 are now open! Established in 2020, these awards aim to highlight the achievements and inspirational stories of twenty outstanding young alumni under 30 years old.

Nominations close on 23 September 2026.

04/08/2026

Alumna Lemalu Christina Mualia's appointment marks the latest chapter in a career that has taken her across New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, and the wider Pacific, working in technology, telecommunications, higher education, government, insurance, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Along the way, Lemalu Christina has led teams, delivered organisational change, and supported initiatives designed to improve outcomes for people and communities.

Returning to Otago was never simply a career move for alumna Lemalu Christina Mualia. It was a homecoming.