Supporting Māori and Pacific Island students on a pathway to a career in creativity and innovation.
The future we want to create is diverse and inclusive. That’s why in 2023, we introduced our first scholarship package to support Māori and Pacific students studying at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), helping pave the way to a fulfilling career in creativity and innovation.Inspired by the example and action of Special Group, we’re proud to offer this scholarship covering fees for a Māori or Pacific student in Years 2 and 3 of a design or innovation-focused bachelor's degree program at AUT. Alongside financial assistance, recipients will receive mentoring and practical experience working part-time with PU during semester breaks.Led by two wāhine in our team, Creative Strategist Phoebe Smith and Previously Partner and Head of Design, Phoebe Devine (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), the initiative hopes to encourage other industry players to help bridge the gap and create a more diverse and inclusive industry.
“As a Pacific woman, I’ve always been so grateful for the support and opportunities I’ve had to progress my career. It can be difficult for young Māori and Pacific students to navigate their way into industry or even know what amazing creative careers are out there. We hope efforts like this can help remove some of those barriers.”
“Scholarships have the ability to give someone permission to lean into and explore what they want to do with their lives. The hope is that this opportunity can inspire Māori and Pacific students to truly live out their potential — to have the means to use university to experiment wider and discover deeper,”
We’re excited to announce Lee Makatoa as our 2023 PU x AUT Creativity and Innovation Scholarship recipient. Lee is of Niuean-German descent and currently studying a Bachelor of Communication Design at AUT.
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