Rate My Professor Jeremy Tipene

Jeremy Tipene, professionally known as Jeremy Wara and affiliated with Waikato/Tainui and Te Arawa iwi, serves as the Tūraka Hou and Kā Rikarika o Tāne Co-ordinator at Te Huka Mātauraka, the Māori Centre at the University of Otago. Located within Student Services at 519 Castle Street North, Dunedin, the centre acts as a home away from home for tauira Māori, delivering essential services such as academic tutoring and coordination, registered counselling, chaplaincy, community liaison, and peer mentoring programmes to support their educational success and cultural wellbeing across all university divisions.

In his role, Wara oversees the longstanding Kā Rikarika o Tāne – Hands of Tāne – mentoring programme, which has operated for over 21 years and now involves more than 150 participants annually. Grounded in the Māori narrative of Tāne retrieving the kete of knowledge with companionship, it embodies whanaungatanga, manākitanga, ako, and rangatiratanga. First-year teina are matched with senior tuakana mentors according to shared academic divisions, iwi affiliations, te reo Māori proficiency, and college residences, forming eight whānau groups named after native trees like Kahikatea, Pūriri, and Kauri. These groups compete for the best whānau accolade through structured events including a February pōwhiri, March wānanga and workshops, April's Te Kete Tuatea, May's Te Kete Tuauri, August's Te Kete Aronui, and an October end-of-year dinner. Mentor pairs meet at least three times in the first semester, with additional whānau catch-ups encouraged. The programme features progressive leadership stages: teina, tuakana, mātāmua (whānau weavers), and ahi kā (assistant coordinators). Drawing on his rugby coaching experience, Wara facilitates these connections, emphasising inclusivity for all whakapapa Māori students. Tūraka Hou supports this through Māori orientation initiatives. Collectively, these efforts reduce transition stress, build robust support networks, enhance confidence and leadership, and improve academic and social outcomes for Māori tāne.