In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Saul Roberts, Fleur Palmer, and Patricia Te Whatu.

Together, they delve into the steps taken to blend Māori knowledge systems and tikanga to represent modern construction practices through the lens of the Endeavour Funded Construction 4.0 project, Ngākopa. They discuss the integration of Māori perspectives into contemporary construction methodologies, highlighting the significance of a specially composed karakia by Saul which forms the genesis story of the branding for this project.

This episode also touches on the importance of embedding Māori cultural practices to create a more inclusive and diverse learning environmentand the transformative impacts of acknowledging Māori values in sustainable construction, and digital platforms to leave a lasting legacy for the future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s built environment. 

Connect with Fleur - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fleur-palmer-04042b3/ 

Connect with Saul - https://toa.net.nz/people/saul-roberts/ 

Connect with Patricia - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-te-whatu-56a85118a/

Find out more about the Endeavour Fund research project

News release: https://www.hera.org.nz/research-endeavour-fund/ 

Mātauranga Māori: https://www.hera.org.nz/construction40-matauranga-maori/ 

Register to attend our launch ceremony ‘Ka rongo te pō! Ka rongo te ao!

When: 18 June 2024 from 10am. 

Where: HERA House, 17-19 Gladding Place, Manukau 

We anticipate this will be a very exciting event with attendance by a large cross-section of the education and research sectors, construction, engineering and manufacturing sectors, iwi and tauira (students).  

Our two kaupapa we will be launching are:

Ngākopa Construction 4.0 hub – as discussed in our podcast, our Endeavour supported research on Construction 4.0 “Developing a Construction 4.0 transformation of the Aotearoa New Zealand construction sector” has a dedicated focus on incorporating mātauranga Māori. As part of this mahi, the Ngākopa karakia and a branding entity developed from it has been gifted to represent our Construction 4.0 digital hub which will share research from across Aotearoa with links to this kaupapa. We are excited to publicly launch the Ngākopa branding and the digital hub as part of this ceremony.  

HERA partnered with Maui Studio’s to deliver this mahi based on the whakaaro and guidance of the Mātauranga Māori roopu. 

The Tohu App – this is a career pathway app for rangatahi. Statistics show there is a slow uptake of Māori into STEMM careers but tracking forward they will make up around 20% of our future workforce, so we have particularly targeted this app toward Māori students as we are keen to stimulate interest in and understanding of the possibilities in our sectors amongst younger generations through channels that they connect with.  

HERA partnered with Auraki Group to develop the app which consists of interactive questionnaires that allow students to discover their alignment to ngā atua, identify their strengths, skills, and interests, and match these core values to STEMM-related jobs that align with kaupapa Māori values.