He Pito Mata – awakening the potential

Abstract

Hosted by the Early Career Researcher Forum of Royal Society Te Apārangi in mid-2021, He Pito Mata was an ambitious event that brought over 300 early career researchers together for two days. During their time in Whanganui-a-tara these researchers explored the nature of Aotearoa New Zealand’s research landscape, the issues and concerns they collectively experienced, and their hopes for the future. This was no regular academic conference. Explicitly framed as an opportunity to wānanga, with an emphasis on creating shared opportunities to learn, this was an extraordinary event that united early career researchers from Universities, Crown Research Institutes (CRIs), Wānanga and private research organisations. Invited guests included CEOs, Government Science Advisors, senior academics, journalists, poets, and experts in mātauranga Māori. The aim was to connect, share and amplify the kōrero of early career researchers in Aotearoa, and in doing so re-envision a future for Aotearoa New Zealand’s research sector. It was a hugely stimulating event that had a profound impact on those who took part. One of the legacy projects from He Pito Mata is this Supplement which profiles the contributions of some of these early career researchers to their respective intellectual fields. All 300 He Pito Mata participants were invited to contribute, and we received 48 submissions which (with great difficulty) were whittled down to the twelve articles that you find here. Our selections were based on two criteria; first, the submissions needed to be self-evidently excellent; and second, they needed to be targeted towards a generalist audience. In this regard, the final twelve articles do not capture the full diversity of research conducted by early career researchers, much of which is focused at much more specialist audiences. Also, as is always the case in such collections, some of our contributors fell by the wayside due to the challenges of juggling multiple commitments. Finally we wish to acknowledge Dr Tara McAllister who was part of the initial selection process: vinaka vaka levu e hoa for all that you do to bring strengthen our research system; solesolevake sa itakele ni duavata. We are very proud of the content of the resulting Supplement. First, we are excited by who is here. Given the changing demography of New Zealand’s research sector, and the widely acknowledged need for more inclusive research organisations, it is heartening that the supplement profiles so many Māori and Pasifika scholars and their scholarship. This suggests that selecting for self-evident excellence can, in and of itself, enhance diversity and inclusion in our sector. It is also notable how many of the articles are based on research projects that centre collaboration and relationality. We see clear evidence of whanaungatanga: senior researchers mentoring junior researchers; participants who are also collaborators and co-authors; new models of researching and research that are models for how others aspire to this nationally and globally. More