Rate My Professor Brigham Riwai-Couch

Brigham Riwai-Couch serves as the Māori Communications Adviser at the University of Otago, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. In this capacity, he contributes kōrero to a wide range of university newsroom articles spotlighting Māori student and staff accomplishments. These include new initiatives supporting Māori student leadership development, PhD students driving change in education through Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Fulbright scholars advancing Māori-centred health research, alumni pursuing opportunities at Harvard, historic milestones achieved by DBA candidates, participation in national conferences by Māori tauira from the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, EP releases celebrating Te Rōpū Māori, and the whakapapa of Mana Pounamu.

Brigham Riwai-Couch is affiliated with the iwi Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne ki Wairau, Ngāti Kuia, and Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō. He received the 2022/2023 Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship for one year of tertiary study. Earlier, as a communications student at the University of Canterbury, he participated in the Asia New Zealand Foundation internships programme, interning with the CJ Cultural Foundation in South Korea. In 2019, he appeared in the video “10 ways to teach me,” offering his perspective on effective strategies for Māori educational success as a recent Christchurch Boys High School graduate. He also plays for the Otago University Rugby Football Club.