Rate My Professor Maioha Watson

Maioha Watson, of Waikato Tainui, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Manawa, Te Āti Awa, and Te Arawa descent, serves as Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa in the Office of Māori Development at the University of Otago. Raised in Hamilton and immersed in te ao Māori from an early age, he attended Te Kōhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori, and Wharekura. Watson graduated from Te Tumu, the School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, with a Bachelor of Arts in Māori Studies and a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Māori Health in 2022. He completed a BA (Hons) in Māori Studies in 2024 and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Māori Studies, with graduation anticipated at the end of 2026. As a teaching fellow at Te Tumu, he taught the third-year Māori performing arts course MAOR308. In his professional role, Watson leads and supports the delivery of mihi whakatau and whakawātea ceremonies on campus, serves as the University's kaikōrero representative during off-campus visits, and champions the use of te reo Māori across the institution. He participated in a six-week indigenous programme delegation to Taiwan in 2025, funded by the Prime Minister’s Scholarship, where he shared knowledge on mahinga kai, traditional arts, waiata, and performed haka, while researching te reo Māori's contributions to well-being outcomes.