Hamilton Public Lecture by Professor Te Taka Keegan

'Reo Māori me te Ao Rorohiko' by Professor Te Taka Keegan.

Professor Te Taka Keegan has been at the University of Waikato since 1992. He began as a student, then worked as an Assistant Lecturer with the Department of Māori, before spending almost 30 years with the Computer Science Department. Throughout that time, one question has followed him regularly: what exactly does he do at the University of Waikato, and why is he still there? The purpose of this professorial lecture is to answer both of those questions with humility and honesty.

Professor Keegan will take you on a journey through three decades of research investigating how te reo Māori can not just survive, but truly thrive, in modern computing environments and technologies. He will walk through some of the key earlier projects that shaped his career, share the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into this work, and reflect on his significant collaborations with global technology companies Microsoft and Google. He will also share his vision for where the future of te reo Māori in technology is heading.

As part of the lecture, Professor Keegan will give a live demonstration of the Waikato-Maniapoto speech synthesizer, discussing the broader implications of this tool and exploring the exciting possibilities of te reo Māori AI that operates within a mana motuhake environment, one where Māori communities hold genuine authority and ownership over their own language and data.

This 45-minute public lecture will be held at The Pā, at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, starting at 5.45pm. Ticket scanning will open from 5.15pm. Please note that light refreshments will be available after the lecture.

Free parking is available on campus from 4.30pm. We recommend you park at Gate One or 2B and walk across campus to The Pā.

Please register your attendance by clicking on the 'Register Here' button above and bring your eticket, with you on the evening to be scanned.