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Te Kakau a Māui scholarship

14 July 2023

We celebrated 150 years of Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury by offering 300 scholarships over 2023 and 2024 to students that are committed to making a positive change in the world. Find out more.

HOW TO APPLY

We celebrated 150 years of Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury by offering 150 scholarships to students committed to making a positive change in the world. As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, UC offered 300 Te Kakau a Māui scholarships for 2023 and 2024. The scholarships cover full fees for one undergraduate degree and are available to students from decile 1-7 Te Waipounamu South Island schools.

Scholarships were awarded to students who were committed to making a positive impact in our communities, locally or globally. This included cultural, economic, environmental, political, and/or social change.

Successful applicants had access to a range of support to ensure they thrive and succeed during their time at UC. 

What our scholarship recipients have said:

Receiving this scholarship has eliminated a HUGE amount of stress in my life. It has and will greatly benefit my whole life. I have enjoyed meeting and making connections with other people who are part of the programme. Big thumbs up!” − Caoimhe, Haeata Community Campus.

“I always feel support along the way. Once a fortnight, my Homebase Leader and I meet and have a coffee. She asks me how I am doing and supports me very kindly and happily in many ways” − Simin, Hagley Community College.

“It has provided priceless help and support during my transition into tertiary education and guided me on my path into my engineering degree. I have enjoyed creating connections and friendships through workshops and sharing ideas and stories with like-minded Te Kakau a Māui scholarship rangitahi” − Kahu, Kaiapoi High School.

Narrative

For our 150th anniversary scholarships, we wanted a name that both honoured the stories and traditions of te ao Māori and spoke to the immense potential of our target applicants.

Te Kakau a Māui does just that, inspired by the many feats of demi-god Māui, and the unique tool he used to accomplish them. In many of the stories about Māui and his deeds, he was said to possess a kakau, a crafted wooden handle to which he could lash different adze heads. He could change these at will and would select the appropriate head to suit the particular task or challenge immediately in front of him.

Much like Māui’s kakau, these scholarships will provide students with the foundation they need to set out on their tertiary journey. However, it will be up to them to shape what that journey looks like according to their own circumstances and aspirations – to craft it to their own design and use it wisely to create their own success.

Māui was not born into greatness, and instead earned his notoriety through his own grit and determination. He faced many challenges throughout his life, including mistakenly being cast aside by his parents at birth who thought he was stillborn.

He overcame each of these obstacles, and with each challenge he learned, and he grew. He earned a reputation for doing the unthinkable, inspiring him to continue challenging the status quo throughout his life.

He became known as something of a troublemaker, but today we think of him as one of our greatest changemakers. His deeds were devoted to making the world a better place, and stories of his life continue to be told across Te Moana Nui a Kiwa.

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