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Students raise money as well as awareness

A group of students from the Te Ara Poutama Faculty of  Māori Development have raised money for a good cause, while learning skills for their future careers.

Students doing the Management Processes paper, who are mostly studying for a Bachelor of Māori Development or Māori Media, recently had to plan and implement a fundraising event for Youthline.

Paper leader Ella Henry says the focus of the paper is to introduce students to management literature but then focus on it from a Māori perspective.

She says this project for Youthline was a great way to do this.

“They are learning about the management process but do it in a way that has some tangible benefit.”

She says the charity was chosen for its importance to young people and because of this they wanted to raise money and raise awareness about the work Youthline does.

Part of the project involved the students planning the event as well as making sure each student had a role.

The students had to develop a plan and budget, identify and allocate tasks, put in place control mechanisms and ensure evaluation of the event occurred.

They raised $200 for the charity in just two hours and also got plenty of names and email addresses from people who wanted to know more about the work done by Youthline.

“They really did an excellent job,” says Henry.

“They each gained some practical skills and confidence. This was an opportunity for them to do some practical management whist learning about relevant management theories.”

After the event the students visited Youthline to meet the staff and hand-over the money, then write up a brief summary about their specific tasks.

Hohepa Spooner receives Top Apple Award

Te Ara Poutama’s Hohepa Spooner has received an international award from Apple that only three other tertiary educators in NZ can say they have achieved. 

Hohepa is now part of The Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) Program which began in 1994. Apple identified key educators from around the globe who were emerging as leaders in the field of educational technology. There are 1,500 ADE’s worldwide with only 20 in New Zealand. ADE’s are recognized by their peers and Apple as educational innovators and this is a perfect example of what Hohepa is to AUT.    

As a digital leader at AUT, Hohepa has taken Apple’s technology into the classrooms. With his guidance, lecturers and students have been able to use iPods, iPhones and iPads in a learning and teaching environment at AUT.

Hohepa and the staff from Te Ara Poutama and Te Ipukarea have converted eight te reo Māori papers for online use, developed digital resources for te reo Māori and are constantly using and creating resources for iPods/iPads. He is currently working on making all the faculty hand books digital.

To Hohepa, this award only strengthens his relationship with Apple as he continues to work closely with Apple and the ADE Program. 

“At the conferences I attend, it’s great to meet other people from different areas and see what they are doing with the technology. We all have access to the same technology but everyone uses it in a different way,” he says.

General Manager of the Apple division of Cyclone Computers, Graham Prentice, says the recipients of the ADE awards are exceptional people in the space they work in and Hohepa exemplifies this. “I just wonder why he wasn’t nominated sooner …” he says.

Te Ara Poutama welcomes PhD duo

After completing a PhD with Te Ara Poutama, triumphant couple Dean Mahuta and Rachael Ka’ai-Mahuta will now be employees’ of AUT University. After acceptance of the job role, both are now employed in teaching at AUT for 2011. 

Dean’s PhD thesis examined the facets of Waikato identity linked to the Waikato river and how the people and the river are inextricably connected. Rachael focused on Waiata and Haka and its importance in preserving valuable historical, political and cultural knowledge for Māori

The married couple have been appointed to teach within Te Ara Poutama as well as Te Wheke-a-Toi Fellows doing further research. In addition they are working within Te Ipukarea – The National Māori Language Institute on projects developing resources for the revitalisation and retention of Te Reo Māori.

As both are alumni of Te Ara Poutama they were familiar with the staff which made the transition from student to teacher a little easier. “The AUT community is such a welcoming one and there is a strong feeling that you are a part of a big whānau – it makes for a fantastic working environment. Furthermore, the work done at AUT is so innovative, creative and exciting - we both feel very fortunate to be a part of it,” Rachael says.

Dean and Rachael plan on continuing their research in Te Ara Poutama and Te Ipukarea.

MTV followed Lewin Husband, a graduate of the Bachelor of Māori Development – Māori Media major, which he completed at AUT University’s Te Ara Poutama(Faculty of Māori Development). Before coming to AUT Lewin Husband wasn’t sure what he wanted to do exactly but did have a passion for the way that Māori were portrayed in the media. Fast forward to present day and you will now find him as a Producer/Sound Technician for Radio Waatea which is an urban Māori radio station based at Ngā Whare Waatea Marae. He is the producer behind the live show ‘The Hustle Hour’ with Dei Hamo and Peiter T. Check out the MTV story and video of Lewin Husband here. Or meet our graduates here

Victoria Cross at Takrouna: The Haane Manahi Story The latest publication from Author Professor Paul Moon uncovers the life of Haane Manahi who died in 1986 and was a proud member of the Maori Battalion. Paul Moon,  a Professor at AUT University’s Te Ara Poutama Department, goes into great depth in his latest book as he reveals the exceptional bravery of Haane Manahi during the Second World War. He follows the life of Haane Manahi and the courageous lengths he went to during the war. Furthermore, Professor Paul Moon uncovers the events in which Haane Manahi’s medal was mysteriously downgraded to a Distinguished Conduct Medal. This book can be found at The Warehouse or at Huia Publishers.

NSW Maori U17 Rugby League AUT University hosted the NSW Maori U17 Rugby League team during their recent trip to New Zealand to play the Northcote Tigers. Valance Smith, a Te Ara Poutama Lecturer, travelled to Australia in September to teach the NSW team (seniors) the haka. He was delighted to offer AUT’s Nga Wai O Horotiu Marae as accommodation for the U17 team with the hopes of fostering a relationship with the brilliant team. It was an opportunity for AUT to not only host these incredibly talented boys but to also show them the unique opportunities AUT University has to offer. Colleen Leauanea-Takawaenga Maori, believes interacting with these boys on the visit “may inspire them to consider coming back to New Zealand (to study at AUT) as they will see the indigenous support AUT offers”. This kind of support is not yet on offer in Australia, and AUT University works well to accommodate the unique needs of Maori and Pasifika students. The team was treated to a special presentation about studying at AUT from a Maori perspective and were also given a demonstration of Te Whanake, an online facility used to teach Te Reo designed by Professor John Moorfield.

	POSTGRADUATE WĀNANGA SERIES The Māori & Pasifika Postgraduate Students Wānanga is a series of 10 weekends (five each semester) held over the academic year, February to November at Ngā Wai o Horotiu Marae. The Wānanga builds a support culture for Māori and Pasifika postgraduate students and provides a network of collaboration to enhance their higher degree journey. Find out more.
	TAONGA AT THE MUSEUM Students in Te Ara Poutama are producing podcasts for the Auckland Museum of taonga that belong to their tribes currently in the Museum's exhibitions. The production of the podcasts is being done as an assessment for a paper on the Māori Media major of the Bachelor of Māori Development. On completion of the podcasts, the Museum will hold an event at which the podcasts will be exhibited to Museum patrons and staff. It will be an opportunity for the students to speak to their production.
	ON CAMPUS VISITS Learn of the many study opportunities available to you in the areas of Māori and youth development, Māori media, digital technology and Te reo Māori. To book a visit please contact Maxine Graham on maxine.graham@aut.ac.nz or 921 9999 ext 6039.

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