Contribution of MAI to LEAPS

Māori and Indigenous PhD students and graduates at the 2022 MAI conference.

In the world of academia, many Māori and indigenous scholars can feel isolated and alone. Within Aotearoa, New Zealand, these scholars are provided the MAI network which provides a safe space for Māori and indigenous researchers to share their ideas, create connections and forms bonds that for many will last a life time. There are many MAI alumni that can attest to these relationships and as recent alumni, Dr Jake and Dr Grace are one of the newest examples.

Whilst Jake was completing his qualifications in mechatronics engineering, Grace was completing hers in social psychology. Under normal circumstances the odds of these two meeting would of been unlikely, however, through the MAI network, these two scholars not only met each other, but have been able to meet numerious talented and knowledgeable Māori and indigenous scholars from across the globe for the past five years.

The meeting of such networks would not have been possible without the the annual Māori and Indigenous (MAI) conference which attracts indigenous scholars from around the world. With this years conference held in Tāmaki at Unitec. People attended from outside Aotearoa, coming from Hawai’i, to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, to Taiwan. Presenters shared their research insights from all disciplines. These included language Stockholm syndrome, wahine in carving, COVID killing drug development, and exploring indigepunk within te Tirirti.

Grace and Jake after presenting at the MAI conference.

As recent graduates, both Jake and Grace attended their last MAI conference as ‘students’ and presented to the new generation of MAI scholars on the significance of the MAI kaupapa and the positive impact MAI relationships can have on future research and MAHI. Within this presentation, they told the story of how they met, how LEAPS was formed, and their plans for developing the technology by Māori (Grace and Jake), with Māori (community consultation), for Māori.

Grace and Jake
22/11/2022