May 07, 2018
Victoria flips research agenda
Victoria University of Wellington is looking for ways Maori communities can have more say in the way research is done around them.
Deputy vice chancellor Rawinia Higgins says recognition of te reo Maori, matauranga Maori and Te Tiriti of Waitangi are now considered core values for the university.
As a way to give effect to that, it matches dollar for dollar scholarships put up by iwi or Maori organisations, and it looks for opportunities to connect researchers with Maori communities in way the research is driven by and of value to those communities.
"When I first started at university more than 20 years ago it was probably driven more the other way where researchers came up with the agenda, drove the research questions, tried to make connections, but I think we have tried to flip it around where our people are driving the research agenda and I think that is a different kind of position to be in and a great position for our people," Professor Higgins says.
Victoria is the consistently highly rated for its research in matauranga Maori.
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