Pūhoro STEM Academy
Our Land and Water is a primary sponsor of the Pūhoro STEM Academy, a mentoring and support programme for Māori high school students.
What We Are Doing
Our Land and Water is a primary sponsor of the Pūhoro STEM Academy, a mentoring and support programme for Māori high school students to support pathways to science, technology, engineering or mathematics careers. There were 800 Pūhoro students in the 2019 academic year, affiliated to 85 iwi, across 27 high schools and 7 universities.
The Pūhoro STEM Academy is hosted by Massey University. It starts at Year 11 and provides sustained support for Māori pupils, through their NCEA levels onto university and ultimately into the workforce.
The students get an hour of mentoring a week and attend a full-day wānanga (seminar) each term, gaining access to university laboratories and teaching. The programme’s curriculum results have exceeded the national averages at the NCEA level.
Students that have completed high school in the programme have been accepted to many New Zealand universities. Tertiary students in the programme tutor the high school students.
In 2019, ESR commissioned an analysis of the Pūhoro programme. This report focused on the potential economic value from increased tertiary education at a bachelor’s degree level. Based on the increase in enrolments and accounting for the average pass rates, the net potential economic benefits for one cohort of the Pūhoro programme (at its most conservative level) are $13,380,000.
The Academy welcomes contact from potential partners, sponsors, and organisations wishing to host a summer intership or work experience opportunity.
In The Media
Stuff, 29 Septebmer 2020
VIEW ARTICLE →Stuff, 26 December 2018
VIEW ARTICLE →Māori Television, 13 April 2018
VIEW ARTICLE →Pūhoro Updates
Pūhoro STEM Academy Summer Intern Hosting Opportunity (2021–22)
Summer Intern Hosting Opportunity, with the Pūhoro STEM Academy
Pūhoro Student Internships: Growing Capability for Future Land and Water Scientists
Pūhoro Student Internships: In Their Own Words
School Holiday Sampling: A Case Study of Community Engagement in Research
Participant Spotlight
Heeni Blakey
Tuwharetoa
Auckland Grammar Girls School
“There aren't many Māori kids in science and there are less girls, and I think this has opened a pathway for me to get into science.”
Meschka Seifritz
Ngāti Kauwhata
Feilding High School
Meschka graduated high school in 2018, winning Pūhoro's major prize, full undergraduate tuition plus a $6000 grant to attend Massey University. "Rangatahi make up 25 percent of our population, but 100 percent of our future. If we teach every age group to respect their land, to give back to Mother Nature, if they taught us these things they would become instilled in our culture.”
Luke August
Ngāti Hauiti, Muaupoko, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi
Palmerston North Boys’ High School
Luke wanted to explore further his passion for engineering. He found great value in meeting regularly with engineering academics and learning more concepts of engineering through the project-based learning opportunities that Pūhoro gave him.