Te Aho Tapu Scholarship
Applications for the Te Aho Tapu PhD Scholarship are now open (Applications close 5pm, Friday 17 June).
With an annual stipend of $28,000 (plus tuition fees), this scholarship is designed to support a Māori PhD student who is interested in pursuing their studies around the relationships between healthy people and healthy natural environments.
The scholarship is part of the 3 year Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) research project - Te Aho Tapu - which sits within Te Tai Ao (The Natural Environment), one of the new research themes of NPM, New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence.
The chosen candidate will be supervised by Te Tai Ao Theme Leader, Professor Helen Moewaka Barnes, at SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, Massey University in Auckland and enrolled through Massey University.
Focusing on the theme of healthy people/healthy places, the overall aim of the Te Aho Tapu project is to build knowledge around mātauranga Māori-driven theory, research, decision making and action through working across community-driven projects, based on aspirations and actions generated by those communities.
The current communities where the project will be implemented are Te Hiku (Far North) and Waitaki (Ngai Tahu, Te Wai Pounamu), however the scholarship could provide an opportunity to include another community.
Māori have a long association with the natural environments of Aotearoa and are well-positioned to make important contributions to sustainably managing natural resources in New Zealand and the world. Kaitiakitanga and other practices provide a powerful foundation for developing paradigms in governance, management, caring, development and benefit-sharing of land, water (freshwater and marine) and other natural resources.
This research project will take a Kaupapa Māori participatory action approach with a clear vision and plans developed with the communities and organisations involved. Methods will vary from site to site but will include interviews, monitoring and evaluation of initiatives; the doctoral study may use some of these methods, but may also take a different approach.
A key outcome of the project is to provide sustainable solutions (cultural, economic, social and environmental) for the benefit of the numerous stakeholders, their whānau and the wider community. The precise topic of research will be developed with the successful candidate when the scholarship is awarded, however it will have a clear alignment to Te Aho Tapu.
All applicants should submit:
- A CV (including masters topic and grades – an official transcript would need to be sighted if shortlisted)
- A cover letter and an outline of your proposed doctoral study. This does not need to be a fully developed proposal but could include your expertise (methods or approaches you use/are interested in using), community connections and research ideas/plan.
In the first instance, please submit the above to both h.moewakabarnes@massey.ac.nz ande.mcphee@massey.ac.nz
Applications close 5pm, Friday 17 June.