On Thursday 2 February 73 Pūhoro STEMM (additional M for mātauranga Māori) interns from across Aotearoa gathered in Palmerston North to celebrate the completion of their summer internships at a Pō Whakanui.

Māori are significantly underrepresented in STEM-related careers making up just 2% of the workforce and the Pūhoro internship programme was established five years ago to change this.

“By creating opportunities for rangatahi Māori to engage in hands-on learning, build industry networks and improve their confidence we hope to bridge the gap between tertiary studies and careers. The programme helps improve the employability of our rangatahi and creates more entry points into the workforce,” said Arohaina Owen – Te Urunga Pae Lead.

“We are committed to helping rangatahi realise their own innate abilities within the sciences, just like their tīpuna, and we will continue to disrupt the narrative around Māori STEM engagement,” she said.

Since the formation of the programme the demand for Māori interns studying in STEMM-related fields has grown rapidly. Thanks to support from our event funders Our Land and Water and High Value Nutrition National Science Challenges, Google, and our partner organisations, Pūhoro has been able to grow the programme from 38 in 2021/22 to 73 in 2022/2023.

“This year our interns were hosted by 35 different organisations across the industry all of whom shared a passion for seeing more Māori in STEMM related careers. Without their commitment and the commitment of our funders our rangatahi wouldn’t have the same opportunities to grow and flourish,” said Arohaina.

A foundation of the internship programme is ensuring partner organisations are well equipped to provide a supportive learning environment and meaningful mahi for rangatahi Māori.

This intake Pūhoro hosted all interns and supervisors at a 3-day noho at Te Wānanga o Raukawa with a focus on Te Tiriti o Waitangi training, whakawhanaungatanga and creating a safe place for a community of future STEMM leaders. A first of its kind, the noho helped ease the transition between full time study and full-time work and allowed the supervisors to build relationships with the interns outside of the work environment.

"The noho was a significant highlight of the internship programme this year. I really enjoyed the opportunity to build whakawhanaungatanga with my supervisors and to connect with the other interns, who are on a similar journey to my own. This is my first internship with Pūhoro, and I feel extremely grateful to be a part of this kaupapa. The opportunity has provided me with new insights and given me more confidence as to where my career path will take me and the value we can add to the STEMM workforce as Māori." said Suraya Goss Pūhoro intern.

Throughout the programme interns are required to put together a scientific and academic poster that summarises their experience and learnings through a mātauranga Māori lens. The posters and awards were presented to 200 whānau members, supervisors, sponsors and partners at the Pō Whakanui.

As the programme continues to expand Pūhoro welcomes expressions of interest from industry organisations for the 2023/2024 summer intake at

‍info@puhoro.org.nzFormal intern and host applications will open mid-year.