Вайкато университеті және Маори Корольдігі: Тарих пен ынтымақтастық

Public university in Hamilton, New Zealand

The University of Waikato , established in 1964, is a public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in numerous disciplines such as education, social sciences, and management and is an innovator in environmental science, marine and freshwater ecology, engineering and computer science. It offers degrees in health, engineering, computer science, management, Māori and Indigenous Studies, the arts, psychology, social sciences and education.

Born in the 1840s and 1850s, the establishment of the Kīngitanga was a united national response of Māori chiefs to the effects of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, and the establishment of the settler Government. From its inception, the Kīngitanga has had the role of leading, governing and representing Māori, as the rafters on one side of the house of Aotearoa, with the Queen and her subjects as the rafters on the other. In relation to the university, the Kīngitanga has played a pivotal role, with King Koroki giving his personal support to the establishment of a university in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton, which led to the project gaining the support of Waikato iwi. This is notable as, when the University of Waikato was set up in 1964, it was on a site that had been part of lands confiscated from Waikato Tainui by the Crown in 1865, only returned later, in 1995. The university and the Kīngitanga have had an active relationship over the course of the university's history, including the establishment of the new campus in Tauranga, and the awarding of honorary doctorates to a number of tribal members. Most recently, doctoral honours were awarded to Kīngi Tūheitia in 2016.

In October 2016, Waikato University and the Waikato District Health Board made a joint bid to the New Zealand Government to establish a third medical school in Hamilton. While the bid was opposed by the University of Auckland and the University of Otago (which host New Zealand's two medical schools), it was supported by Hamilton East Member of Parliament (MP) David Bennett of the National Party. On 10 April 2017, several local and regional territorial councils voiced support for the proposed Waikato medical school at a meeting of the Waikato Mayoral Forum in Hamilton. In November 2017, the Waikato District Health Board reiterated its support for the third medical school and outlined its proposal. The Waikato proposal envisioned a four year graduate entry program focusing on clinical training and supporting local clinical services. In late June 2018, Waikato District Health Board interim chief executive Derek Wright confirmed there was no update on the third medical school apart from an indication that the Government would not make a decision on the proposal until 2019. Wright stated that district health board would continue lobbying for the Waikato medical school proposal. In 2019, the Labour led coalition government rejected the idea of establishing a third medical school and instead supported Health Minister David Clark's proposal for multi disciplinary training hubs in rural areas. In November 2019, the National Party released a discussion document on education supporting the Waikato proposal during the lead up to the 2020 New Zealand general election. National's proposal was supported by Waikato University Vice Chancellor Neil Quigley, the Waikato District Health Board, and the New Zealand General Practice Network. In May 2021, the university School of Health's leadership Dean Sarah Strasser and rural health Professor Roger Strasser revived the medical school proposal and proposed partnering with Māori, Pasifika and the rural community to improve local access to health services. This announcement came in light of the Labour Government's plans to reform the 20 district health boards into a Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) and Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority). The Health Minister Andrew Little did not rule out the Waikato medical school proposal during a rural health conference in Taupō but stated that work was needed. The National Party's health spokesperson Shane Reti supported the revived Waikato proposal, stating it was an opportunity to train rural doctors and partner with Māori communities. In early July 2023, the National Party made campaign pledge to build the Waikato medical school during the leadup to the 2023 New Zealand general election. In September 2023, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported that Vice Chancellor Quigley had worked with several National Party figures including health spokesperson Reti, former National cabinet minister Steven Joyce and his lobbying firm Joyce Advisory to develop National's Waikato medical school policy. Waikato University then hired Joyce's former press secretary and political advisor Anna Lillis to promote the school. In response, Tertiary Education Union's Waikato University organiser Shane Vugler criticised the university leadership for compromising its political independence. According RNZ, Quigley had told a senior National MP that the Waikato Medical School could be a "gift" for a future National government. In June 2023, RNZ had also reported that Waikato University had paid nearly NZ$1 million in consultancy fees to Joyce Advisory. In response to media coverage, Luxon defended Waikato University's process for establishing a third medical school, and emphasised that National and Waikato had supported the proposal for several years.

The University of Waikato operates from two campuses, Hamilton, and Tauranga. Undergraduate degrees are also offered through a joint institute on a satellite campus at Zhejiang University City College in Hangzhou.

The main Hamilton campus is spread over 64 hectares of landscaped gardens and lakes, and includes extensive sporting and recreational areas. Originally farmland, the campus was designed by architect John Blake Kelly in 1964. The open space landscaping contains extensive native plantings, including a fernery, centred around three lakes. The Student Centre officially opened in 2011 by Waikato alumnus Governor General Jerry Mateparae.

In the latest 2021 QS rankings, The University of Waikato is ranked at 373 out of the world's top 1,000 universities. Additionally, the university has been ranked between 501 and 600 for the Times Higher (THE) World University Rankings and between 101 and 200 in the THE Impact Rankings.