MAI Te Kupenga: Supporting Māori and Indigenous doctoral scholars within Higher Education

Abstract

This article shares insights into the Māori and Indigenous Doctoral support programme, MAI Te Kupenga, as one assertion of Indigenous approaches within the Higher Education sector. Including the views of Māori and Indigenous staff and scholars from a larger project “Te Tātua o Kahukura” which explored Māori and Indigenous postdoctoral capacity building, this article provides an overview of Māori staff and students reflections on the role of MAI Te Kupenga in supporting Māori and Indigenous scholars throughout their doctoral journey. Key areas of focus for this article are (i) the implications of systemic racism for Māori and Indigenous scholars; (ii) the effectiveness of supervision for Māori and Indigenous scholars and (iii) the role of MAI Te Kupenga in providing positive support mechanisms for Māori and Indigenous scholars studying in mainstream university contexts.