A programme of research (2024-2028) exploring the lives of Māori PhD graduates
Calling all MAI scholars who graduated in 2023 or 2024
We are actively recruiting participants for our Tahatū-o-te-rangi project.
Click here to sign up
About the Promising Futures research programme
Māori doctoral scholars frequently encounter significant obstacles within Western-dominated academic environments, where educational structures often conflict with cultural values and needs. These challenges are deeply embedded in colonial legacies that continue to marginalise Indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies. In response to these systemic issues, Te Kupenga o MAI (MAI) programme was established as a national initiative aimed at supporting Māori and Indigenous doctoral scholars. MAI strives to increase Māori participation in doctoral programmes and creates spaces within the academy where Māori cultural practices and pedagogies can thrive. In this programme of research, we explore the unique experiences and challenges Māori PhD graduates and MAI scholars have faced in their lifeworlds.
Learn more about the projects.
News Media
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Pou Matarua Professor Melinda Webber
The rise of our Māori and Pacific Drs
Waatea News July 29, 2025
Māori and Pacific doctorates result in big community gains
The University of Auckland July 21, 2025
Meet the research team
- Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora
- Dr Tania Cliffe-Tautari
- Associate Professor Deb Heke
- Associate Professor Hinekura Smith
- Dr Tim West Newman
- Professor Moana Theodore
- Professor Lara Greaves
Sign up for our newsletter and help build a network of MAI Alumni
Be the first to find out about what our researchers are doing, the resources being created, publication and presentations, on going recruitment and much much more.
Contact Us
Approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee on 06/12/2024 for three years. Reference Number UAHPEC28447.
