Waikato launches Te Koringa management course

MEDIA RELEASE

30 November 2006

University of Waikato launches Te Koringa management course in the Tairāwhiti

A mārae-based management course which blends Māori values and western business best practice is now taking enrolments for its pilot programme in the Tairāwhiti region on the East Coast.

The University of Waikato is offering a two-year part-time Certificate in Management under the Te Koringa (Energy) programme, in collaboration with Tairāwhiti Polytechnic in Gisborne. The first intake starts on 3 February 2007.

The course is aimed mainly at Māori managers who’d like to gain qualifications, and other ‘second-chance’ learners. Graduates of the course will be able to enrol in the NZ Diploma in Business offered at Tairāwhiti Polytechnic and then move into a Bachelor of Management Studies degree.

The Te Koringa programme is the brainchild of Tamati Reedy, Professor of Māori Sustainable Enterprise at Waikato Management School. “Te Koringa blends quality teaching with examples of ‘real’ indigenous businesses,” says Professor Reedy. “It makes for better learning uptake for indigenous peoples and will add value to indigenous businesses.”

The key feature of Te Koringa is that all the papers have been indigenised to reflect Māori experiences and issues. Each of the papers has a Māori component, and they’ll be taught through a mix of weekend wānanga on mārae and evening tutorials.

Papers include management, marketing and international management, accounting, business economics, corporate communication, development studies, and Te Reo Māori and tikanga.

Waikato Management School staff have successfully adapted papers for Māori before, offering a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies at the Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua.

Chris Insley, CEO of Ngati Porou Whanui Forests Ltd, is backing the new initiative by sponsoring a company staff member on Te Koringa. “The programme offers the opportunity for some people on the coast to gain more management capability without having to leave the region,” says Insley, who graduated with an MBA from Waikato Management School.

Professor Tamati Reedy says the Te Koringa programme – which will include research and business incubation components - will roll out in other areas over the next five years. “Our vision is to build capacity in Māori communities to contribute to the economy and inspire the world,” he says.

Te Koringa is supported by Te Rōpu Manukura, the 16 Iwi committee that collaborates on Māori initiatives at the University of Waikato.

ENDS

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