November 21, 2016
Haka party history remembered as FOMA buddies up to engineers
It used to be a place where Maori culture was lampooned with crude jokes and drunken haka, leading the notorious ‘haka party’ protest by He Taua in 1979.
Almost 40 years on, the University of Auckland’s engineering faculty is partnering with the Federation of Maori Authorities to foster closer ties between leading engineering researchers and Maori enterprises.
Professor Margaret Hyland, the deputy dean of engineering, says the knowledge and expertise within the faculty in areas such as nanotechnology, robotics and materials could also be of significant benefit to FOMA members.
The faculty also had much to learn from working with Maori.
FOMA chair Traci Houpapa said the relationship would ensure Maori enterprises had access to some of the best and brightest engineers and scientists in the country.
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