Te Mata Punenga o Te Kotahi: Te Kotahi Research Institute (TKRI)
The Institute is named for Sir Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta the founding Director of the Centre of Māori Studies research at the University of Waikato in 1972. Te Kotahi Research Institute works with iwi, drawing on mātauranga Māori and multi-disciplines, to create new knowledge and innovations that will inspire our people and communities and lead to the well-being of our whānau, and society.
Te Kotahi is an inter-disciplinary research institute that offers research, consultancy and capacity building services, including post-graduate supervision. The Institute collaborates with researchers from within the University of Waikato, other universities, Crown Research Institutes, Whare Wānanga and Māori organisations.
The Institute aims to:
- Undertake research that will accelerate development and lead to social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being
- Apply mātauranga Māori, and diverse Māori perspectives, to disciplinary knowledge in order to develop innovative research approaches
- Build strong iwi-university research collaborations drawing especially on the iwi of Te Ropu Manukura
- Work with the Waikato-Tainui Endowed College to enhance research collaborations with Waikato-Tainui and the Kīngitanga
- Build a vibrant research community that attracts postgraduate students, international scholars, university researchers and community leaders
- Grow new research leaders who can work across disciplines and with communities
- Translate knowledge into iwi, regional and national policy and practice outcomes