He is a community researcher and also works at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Waiu o Ngati Porou as a teaching assistant.
“His commitment to the community was the reason we decided on rewarding him with the scholarship,” Rua Bioscience kaiarahi community engagement coordinator Darylene Rogers said
“We need to have highly-skilled people like him to build a sustainable economy,” she said.
Ms Rogers said in awarding the one-off post-graduate scholarship to Mr Papuni-Iles the company recognised the need to support those committed to study at a higher level.
“We are looking to introduce a postgraduate scholarship next year as well but the details of it are yet to be decided.”
As a researcher, Mr Papuni-Iles has been part of the Whakapapakāinga project since last year, looking at low carbon enterprise solutions to climate, economy and environment issues in the wider Waiapu Valley.
“My job was to establish a relationship between the project and the community,” he said.
He has a Bachelor of Science majoring in sport and exercise and completed the first year of a master’s degree in public health at the University of Auckland before deciding the return to Tairawhiti.He wanted to learn more about system dynamics (a holistic perspective of health) that opened his eyes to a more holistic view of how he could contribute to this region.
He completed a Masters in Indigenous Studies through University of Otago this year.
Mr Papuni-Iles, who has a newborn son, Raiona Nukutere, returned to his former kura this year as a kaiawhina (teaching assistant).
He found teaching to be “quite enjoyable” and another part of “the system’s holistic process”.
“It’s now a mahi and a passion that I’m keen to pursue.”
He will complete a postgraduate diploma in teaching next year at Massey University while continuing his community research work.
Rua Bioscience also awarded He Ara Atawhai undergraduate scholarships to 11 rangatahi.
Rua Bioscience chief executive Rob Mitchell, said encouraging the potential of local rangatahi was a key priority.
“We are very excited to be able to expand our scholarship opportunities and we’ve found another outstanding group of young people who have demonstrated a commitment to making transformational change in their own way, in their own communities. We’re really proud to play a small part in their journey,” he said.
These scholarships, funded in part by Trust Tairawhiti, are a key component of the Rua Bioscience Community Capability Development Programme to reward rangatahi committed to making transformational change in their communities and seeking higher education.
