Waikato University gets ready for Kīngitanga Day

Media Release
April 1, 2011

Waikato University gets ready for Kīngitanga Day

Waikato University is preparing for Kīngitanga Day – an annual celebration of the university’s distinctive relationship between the university and the Kīngitanga.

The University of Waikato has had strong connections with the Kīngitanga and Tainui since the university was founded in 1964 and it is this distinctive relationship that the university honours each year through Kīngitanga Day.

Professor Linda Smith, the university’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Māori), says Kīngitanga Day is now into its third year and has become a permanent fixture on the university’s calendar. “Kīngitanga Day is a great opportunity for the university to engage with the wider community through activities that celebrate our distinctive heritage, histories and relationships.

“Our relationship with the Kīngitanga and Waikato-Tainui, but also many other iwi across the country, has always been a fundamental aspect of this university,” she says. Earlier this year the university signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development to help deliver MBA programmes and to further provide strong educational channels for Māori students.

“Kīngitanga Day enhances the university’s distinctive identity and recognises our strengths and interests,” says Professor Smith. “Waikato University was the first university to establish a School of Māori and Pacific Development and we have the highest proportion of Māori students of all universities.”

Waikato University will be holding activities throughout Kīngitanga Day at its Hamilton and Tauranga campuses. Activities include a variety of seminars, panel discussions and presentations from guest speakers and leading academics. Weaving and craft workshops, a tā moko demonstration, Māori merchandise and food stalls and a range of entertainment are also planned.

Also on the day, the university is hosting a University Commercialisation Offices of New Zealand (UCONZ) event which will feature seminars and presentations from a range of speakers including MP Dr Wayne Mapp. The seminars and presentations will focus on Māori business with an emphasis on research and development opportunities.

To wrap up the day the university will hold a banquet at the Academy of Performing Arts for Kīngi Tuheitia, who is due to spend the day on campus, and other invited guests.

Celebrations for Kīngitanga Day kick-off at 9am on Thursday April 14, with activities free and open to the public.

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