Honours student at Te Tumu Ataraki Crane presenting during the Māori Success: A Snapshot Symposium.
Māori academic success takes many forms, from emerging postgraduate researchers to established professors.
The University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka Māori Success: A Snapshot Symposium brought those voices together to celebrate the people, research and ideas shaping Māori academia.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori Professor Jacinta Ruru describes the event as “a super special evening”.
“It was such a special occasion of celebration of Māori research excellence, clearly demonstrating the enormous breadth and depth of Māori research across many disciplines.”
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.
Two Māori postgraduate students presented their research in three minutes, following the format of the Three Minute Kōrero Competition held in May.
“They were incredibly brave,” Rachel says, presenting their research in front of an audience of lecturers and peers.
Rutherford Discovery Fellowship winner Dr Megan Leask spoke about two Māori postgraduate students in her lab, whose projects are contributing to improved genetic equity and health outcomes for Māori and Pacific populations.
Katrina Potiki-Bryant shared her work on Taurite Tū, an award-winning falls prevention programme for kaumātua that has since inspired the Taurite Tū Games, which will be held in November. The event brings together more than 200 kaumātua from around the country, competing in gentle competitions such as balancing on one leg, netball shooting and target throws.
Professor Karyn Paringatai spoke about becoming professors for their tamariki and mokopuna, while Dean of the Graduate Research School Professor Diane Ruwhiu reflected on her journey and the realisation that she had become a Māori researcher in her own right.
Professor Anaru Eketone continued the theme of resistance from his recent inaugural professorial lecture, Resistance is fertile, exploring how Māori push against barriers to succeed and how those barriers can create opportunities to be seen and heard.
The idea for the symposium came from Diane after judging the inaugural Three Minute Kōrero Competition. She worked with Jacinta and Dean Rakahau Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie to bring the idea to life.
The event was opened by Jacinta and Diane and MCed by Dr Kerri Cleaver, co-chair of Te Poutama Māori.
The symposium was initially conceived as a snapshot of Māori success along the pathway from postgraduate study to professorship; it showed that success is not individual.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
“My success is not mine alone, but the success of many.”
For Jacinta, the symposium reflected the collective nurturing of Māori researchers and the creation of opportunities for excellence to flourish.
Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu.
“Adorn the bird with feathers so it may fly.”
-Ani Ngawhika, Kaitohutohu Pāpāho Māori