This week, tertiary educators from across Aotearoa are gathering for the Te Toi Tauira mō te Matariki Conference 2025, hosted by MIT and Unitec.
The annual hui, now in its 15th year, brings together Māori staff, academics, and students to share knowledge, celebrate success, and plan for the future of Māori education.
Manukau Institute of Technology Deputy Chief Executive – Māori Dr Wiremu Manaia says this year’s theme, “Kotahitanga,” emphasizes unity and the importance of Māori voice in the rapidly changing tertiary sector.
“It’s basically a way for Māori staff across universities, wānanga, polytechnics and even PTEs to come together. The kaupapa has always been Kotahitanga. It’s been connected up with Matariki, the Māori New Year, because it symbolizes renewal, learning and collective vision,” says Manaia.
A key focus this year is the impact of artificial intelligence on Māori learners and staff, as the sector adapts to new technologies and the ongoing merger of MIT and Unitec.
“In the last five years, AI algorithms drive knowledge and research. So we’ve got to learn how to roll with it, and how that’s going to impact us in the tertiary education area, because it’s here, and everyone’s using it, and the education sector is leaning towards it. It’s full of Western knowledge, but what concerns us is the Māori knowledge in there, and the way it’s collected and the way it’s used, and what influence it’s going to have,” says Manaia.
With more than 200 attendees expected, the Te Toi Tauira mō te Matariki Conference runs from Wednesday 24 September to Friday 26 September at Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae, Unitec Mt Albert campus, Tāmaki Makaurau.
