2011 Hiwinui Heke Scholarships Awarded

2011 Hiwinui Heke Scholarships Awarded

Four high performing Maori pharmacy students will be awarded the prestigious Hiwinui Heke Māori Pharmacy Student Scholarship 2011 on Saturday 6 August at Te Unga Waka Marae in Epsom.

The four awards will be presented to Jade Wihongi, Otago School of Pharmacy ($5,000 scholarship), Susan Wilson, Auckland School of Pharmacy, ($2,500 scholarship), Courtney Lewis, Otago School of Pharmacy ($1,250 scholarship) and Loren Collett, Otago School of Pharmacy ($1,250 scholarship).

“It was difficult to select winners this year because of the quality of applicants”, said Marama Parore, General Manager Access and Optimal Use/ Maori Health at PHARMAC, “It really came down to the mana of applicants. We are satisfied with the mix of cultural competence and innovation which included the role of pharmacists in rongoa Maori.”

PHARMAC and Nga Kaitiaki o te Puna Rongoa o Aotearoa (Māori Pharmacists Association or MPA) combine to sponsor scholarships for young Māori pharmacy students.

The Hiwinui Heke Scholarships are named after Hiwinui Heke (Te Arawa), who was one of the first Māori to graduate from a New Zealand pharmacy school in 1955. Now semi-retired, Mr Heke continues to work in a Rotorua pharmacy part-time.

The awards are aimed at encouraging Māori in the pharmacy profession. A $2,500 scholarship is available at each School of Pharmacy for a third or fourth year Māori student, this year it is has been divided between two students. A further $5,000 scholarship is awarded for a pharmacy student who has a history working as a Pharmacy Technician/Dispensary Technician or a Dispensary Assistant. The awards are presented each year.

PHARMAC sees the scholarships as a positive initiative to help Māori who have chosen to pursue a career in pharmacy. These scholarships align well with PHARMAC’s Māori Responsiveness Strategy, which aims to improve knowledge about, and use of, medicines by Māori.

ENDS

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