MAI ki Pōneke

MAI ki Pōneke is part of an international network of Māori and Indigenous postgraduate students hosted by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga at the University of Auckland.

MAI members come to the programme from a range of disciplines across the sciences, social sciences, humanities, education, business, law and architecture. We provide advice, support and information to PhD students, as well as those who are thinking about enrolling in a doctorate but aren't sure how to get started.

Māori PhD students in the MAI programme mentor newly enrolled doctoral students, as well as those who are considering doctoral enrolment. We run a variety of workshops on study-related topics, such as writing a PhD proposal and managing the academic writing process. We also invite Māori PhD graduates and Māori academics from around the country to come and speak to us about their experiences.

Goals of the programme

The goals of the MAI programme are to:

• Increase Māori and Indigenous doctoral participation and completion rates
• Develop a well-networked cohort of Māori and Indigenous researchers
• Improve transitions from doctoral study to post-doctoral research and to future careers
• Expand Māori and Indigenous capacity, leadership and research capability

History of MAI

The Māori and Indigenous Graduate Studies programme (MAI) originated at the School of Education Studies at the University of Auckland and centres in Alaska, Vancouver, Hawai'i and more recently at the Universities of Waikato and Victoria.

On the Victoria campus it is a subsidiary of Te Kawa a Māui, the School of Māori Studies. We call ourselves MAI ki Pōneke to signal to prospective members that we are region-wide, and that you don't have to be enrolled at Victoria University to be a member.