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Scholarships for rangatahi Māori

Maori Scholarships

WM Aotearoa is very proud to be encouraging rangatahi Māori into engineering and technology careers with the launch of new scholarships at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

WM Aotearoa Managing Director Evan Maehl (Raukawa, Ngāti Huri) says the scholarships are an investment into the future Māori workforce to encourage diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields.

“We want more Māori to consider a career within engineering or technology at WM New Zealand, and this is a way to encourage that. Haere mai.”

There are four scholarships available:

The scholarships offer students $10,000 per year for up to three years for technology and four years for engineering.

WM’s Tumu Tikanga (Cultural Advisor) Te Teira Rawiri (Tainui) says the scholarships are a good fit within the company’s strategy, Porohita – To be Circular, which includes commitments to care for our community and encourage a diverse workforce at WM Aotearoa.

Te Teira says the engineering scholarship has been named after Whatumoana Paki QSO, the father of the current Māori King, Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII (Tūheitia Paki), who loved all things engineering.

Dean of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering, Associate Professor Richard Clarke, says the scholarships have been made possible through the generosity and far-sightedness of WM Aotearoa.

“They offer a significant opportunity for Māori students to pursue their passions in engineering and could not be more important at a time when the Faculty is working hard to increase the diversity of its graduates entering into the profession.

About WM Aotearoa

WM is Aotearoa’s largest waste and resource recovery provider, collecting over a million tonnes of waste each year, recovering as much as possible for reuse or recycling, and then creating energy from the waste that remains – enough to power 25,000 homes each year.