Tika Māori and Pacific Internship

By Dayton Henry, Kea Churchill, Joshua Siaki, Lincoln Henry
The origin story of the TMAP logo: “With the Pacific community flag being blue and the Māori flag being red, I thought that mixing them together to create a purple colour in the logo would be good. Purple also represents power, creativity, wisdom, and more. The island represents the Pacific Islands and, as the island is isolated in the logo, it represents how the Māori and Pacific population is the minority in our current society as mentioned in the article.”
Tika Māori and Pacific (TMAP) internships and scholarships were founded by Te Pūnaha Matatini in 2021. The inaugural internship programme ran in 2022 and offers Maori and Pacific students the opportunity to bring their skill sets into the real world, venturing out and discovering what engineering has to offer. This included events such as venturing through bushy areas, discovering factors influencing animals’ living in particular environments, using programming to make designated maps and charts for pest traps, and last but not least, our personal favourite, pizza lunches!!
As we first journeyed into the TMAP internship, we felt very comfortable with the mentors that lead us as well as our peers around us. The similarities between all of us made us feel connected in many ways and allowed us to be confident with ourselves around our peers and mentors. With our bonds improving every time we ventured through this internship, it created pathways of learning and fun that we are thankful we did not miss. The energy between us was always great and as we progressed on, we were able to laugh more and get along better which made this experience extremely enjoyable and memorable.
Our first activity involved exploring a range of traps and trackers that were aimed toward pests around Te Atatū Peninsula. Learning about the purpose of these traps and the advancements that were made to better them over the years allowed us to gain an understanding of the capabilities that engineers have in our society. With our Māori and Pacific population being the minority within engineering and science, it was welcoming to see that our input was wanted to improve the society and environment around us.
Our following sessions involved exploring the results that these traps and trackers revealed and finding ways that we can improve them. Luckily we got to undertake physical research by going out to native areas and exploring the conditions that affected the traps. From the results we gathered in terms of conditions in relation to the success of the traps, we were able to give our feedback on the reasoning behind these results and how we can further develop them. Unfortunately, we were not prepared for this. Most of us ended up going through the bush with shorts and a t-shirt, not knowing that behind the bush was cutty grass and all types of thorns. Long story short, we had a hell of a shower that night, but we definitely learned our lesson. But thankfully, there was pizza at the end of the journey to make up for it 🙂
Nearing the end, we were given the opportunity to write an article and create a poster about this awesome opportunity, and of course, we didn’t need any convincing. So here we are…
As we come to the end of the TMAP experience, we feel as if we were able to see the environment as well as engineering in a different light. Exploring a range of theory and practical activities allowed us to have a motivated mindset throughout the internship, further developing our social skills, dedication to our school work, and our self-importance. With our mentors guiding us in the right direction along with them having cheerful and jokester-like personalities, we were able to feel as if we were a family: learning from one another. Their positive attitudes along with excessive respect and care for us students allowed us to realize the enjoyment that you are able to get out of work that you enjoy and feel comfortable doing. If you are interested in learning more about engineering, we highly recommend that you take up this amazing opportunity to earn some money and explore what engineering offers for Māori and Pacific students.
Also a special thank you to those who were involved in our internship who were all able to provide input and support to guide us in the right direction throughout the entirety of the internship.

This includes:

  • Chris
  • Bron
  • Janette
  • Dion
  • Dave
  • Fa’avesi Talamaivao

Thank you!