MAI Te Kupenga: Supporting Maori and Indigenous doctoral scholars within Higher Education

This article shares insights into the Maori and Indigenous Doctoral support programme, MAI Te Kupenga, as one assertion of Indigenous approaches within the Higher Education sector. Including the views of Maori and Indigenous staff and scholars from a larger project Te Tatua o Kahukura which explored Maori and Indigenous postdoctoral capacity building, this article provides an overview of Maori staff and students reflections on the role of MAI Te Kupenga in supporting Maori and Indigenous scholars throughout their doctoral journey. Key areas of focus for this article are (i) the implications of systemic racism for Maori and Indigenous scholars; (ii) the effectiveness of supervision for Maori and Indigenous scholars and (iii) the role of MAI Te Kupenga in providing positive support mechanisms for Maori and Indigenous scholars studying in mainstream university contexts.