Mātauranga Māori celebrated
From esteemed business awards and networking events with industry, to mounting a new Māori business minor at AUT and showcasing Māori researchers and scholars online - there are ample reasons to celebrate the stars of mātauranga Māori in and beyond our University.
Te Ara Pakihi, Te Ōhanga Me Te Ture | Faculty of Business, Economics and Law has played a significant role in these successes.
The faculty’s Piki Ake Kaipakihi | Office of Māori Advancement is led by Associate Professor Ella Henry (Ngātikahu ki Whangaroa, Te Rārawa, Ngāti Kuri, no Muriwhenua), Te Kura Pakihi | AUT Business School, and by Associate Professor Khylee Quince (Ngāpuhi, Te Rōrōa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungungu), Dean of Te Kura Ture | AUT Law School.
New Māori Indigenous Business minor
Over the past year, Associate Professor Henry has worked tirelessly and collaboratively to develop a Māori Indigenous Business minor. The minor covers a wide range of topics, from Māori Indigenous management and business to governance and management from a Mātauranga Māori perspective. The papers, offered from Semester One 2023, will prioritise kaupapa-based study skills and pastoral care.
Māori industry awards
The faculty also supports industry excellence, sponsoring the Emerging Entrepreneur Award at the recent Māori Businesswomen's Awards 2022. Associate Professor Henry presented the award to Trudy James of Kura Kārearea Ltd., for her work to establish a highly successful Te Reo Māori After School Care & Holiday Programme in Rotorua. The awards were hosted by the Māori Women's Development Incorporation (MWDI).
Connecting students and business leaders
The faculty also recently organised a Māori Business Networking event with NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE). Piki Ake Kaipakihi hosted a panel of NZTE Māori investment managers, who spoke of their careers in finance and investment, and about growing the Māori economy.
Online Māori research hub launched
The event was also an opportunity to launch the faculty’s new web pages, Piki Ake Kaipakihi Māori | Māori Research in Business, Economics and Law. The online hub showcases BEL’s Māori staff, scholars and senior students, as well as the research, partnerships and activities that underpin the kaupapa of the faculty.
“It has been exciting and gratifying to see the accolades for Māori excellence across such a span of disciplines, practices and industries,” says Associate Professor Henry. “The events and accolades reinforce our commitment to developing strategies to support Māori students and staff, and affirm the value of Māori research, mātauranga Māori, practice, and pedagogy.”