New institute boosts Māori research at University of Waikato

Māori research at the University of Waikato is to be given a boost with the formal launch of Te Kotahi Research Institute (TKRI) on October 27.

Te Kotahi Research Institute is one of several new research institutes recently launched by the University of Waikato.

Wai 262 Symposium

The launch will be marked by a free day-long public symposium on the Waitangi Tribunal’s Wai 262 report, co-hosted by TKRI and the new Māori and Indigenous Governance Centre in Te Piringa - Faculty of Law, followed by an invitation-only dinner in the evening.

Keynote speakers at the symposium include High Court Judge Justice Joe Williams, former Chair of the Waitangi Tribunal and former Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court, and barrister Leo Watson.

Other speakers will address issues including the rights of kaitiaki in taonga works and mātauranga, IP issues, Te Reo, genetic and biological resources, Māori traditional concepts of health, and the relationship with the environment.

The new institute’s director, Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, says the aim of Te Kotahi Research Institute is to promote innovation, wellbeing and inspiration.

Working with Iwi

“The Institute’s ethos can be summed up by a new whakatauki created by senior adviser Professor Pou Temara: ‘Koi te mata punenga, maiangi te mata pūihoiho’ which is translated as ‘Imagine the invisible, explore the potential, defy the impossible’.”

Te Kotahi Research Institute will also provide a front door for iwi, Māori and Indigenous communities wanting to access research capability that supports their development aspirations.

Named for Sir Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta, founding Director of the Centre of Māori Studies research at the University of Waikato in 1972, and supported by Te Roopu Manukura, the advisory body representing all iwi within the University’s region, the new institute aims to enhance the contribution of university research to iwi development.

“We also expect the institute to attract postgraduate students, national and international researchers, and become a hub for high-quality indigenous research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and focuses on improving the lives of whānau, hapū and iwi,” says Professor Smith.

Research

The institute will have a number of roles including providing interdisciplinary and applied research, facilitating collaborative research projects, building research capacity with iwi, project management support for iwi research, and enhancing knowledge translation and uptake.

These activities will be focused around a number of themes identified by iwi and other key stakeholders during the development phase. The themes are:

· Economic development and inter-generational sustainability;

· Environmental and iwi well-being;

· Solving complex social challenges;

· Mātauranga, Tikanga and Reo; and

· Leadership, kaitiakitanga, and rangatiratanga.

Visit the Te Kotahi Research Institute website.