A group of OHS students attended a Wānanga at the AUT southern campus yesterday, as part of the Pūhoro STEM Academy.

The Pūhoro STEM Academy, is a mentoring and support programme for Māori high school students to support pathways to science, technology, engineering or mathematics careers. Puhoro helps rangatahi see the connection between mātauranga Māori in STEMM; improves their academic achievement and looks to provide pathways into high value careers. 

The students who went thoroughly enjoyed the day. They had access to university laboratories and teaching. A variety of topics were covered, including coding a robotic car, identifying plants, finding out about Med Tech and the role of medical technology in health care and learning what a Geospatial specialist does and importantly for some, how much they can earn!

Students were excited to learn how accessible and varied the opportunities for further study and career opportunities are.

In a spontaneous gesture of thanks for the organisers of the day, two OHS boys started a haka. The whole lecture theatre joined in and tears were shed.