Waikato PRINZ Matariki Scholarship 2025

Ka whaangaia, ka tipu, ka puaawai

That which is nurtured, grows and blossoms

The Waikato committee of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) is committed to supporting rangatahi (Māori youth) who are interested in developing their career in communications in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Apply now!

We are delighted to launch the Waikato PRINZ Matariki scholarship for 2025.
We invite applications for this year’s scholarship to be submitted now via the online form below. Applications are open from May 5 2025 to June 5 2025. Please send completed applications to the PRINZ office at office@prinz.org.nz

Download the application form here. 

Scholarship criteria

• The Matariki scholarship is open to rangatahi Maaori aged between 18-25 years. Nominees must live, study or work in the Waikato region.
• Nominations must demonstrate the applicant is either studying towards, or on a pathway to, a career in communications.
  The decision on the scholarship recipient will be a joint one between Waikato PRINZ committee representatives and Waikato-Tainui represenatives. All decisions are final.

Scholarship and mentoring
The successful scholarship recipient will be announced at a Waikato PRINZ/Waikato-Tainui partnership event planned for July or August 2025. The scholarship recipient will receive one year’s free PRINZ membership, donated by PRINZ, and a bespoke mentorship programme administrated by current and former Waikato PRINZ committee members (Kate Monahan and Maree McNulty) in partnership with the Waikato-Tainui communications team. They will also be invited to join the Waikato PRINZ committee as a rangatahi member for the (one-year) period of the scholarship.

Background
The Waikato PRINZ Matariki scholarship was established as a result of several years of research and kōrero by current and former members of the Waikato committee to understand why there were few Māori practitioners engaged with PRINZ Waikato events.

Based on discussions over a period of several years with Māori communications practitioners in our rohe and Waikato-Tainui, it was decided to establish this scholarship as a way of supporting young Māori into the public relations industry, and develop a mentorship pathway for them into middle and senior leadership roles in the communications sector.
The scholarship honours our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, diversity, and creating space on our committee for Māori voices (who previously may have not seen themselves reflected there).

The scholarship also affirms the close relationship between Waikato PRINZ and Waikato-Tainui’s communication team, and the mutual aspirations we have to support rangatahi in the communications industry in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The scholarship recipient is invited to take an active role in the 2025 PRINZ Waikato/Waikato-Tainui partnered event near the end of their scholarship period. This builds on the past three years of events organised around the time of Matariki, which is a period of learning, reflection and renewal.

Additional measurable requirements or outcomes for the scholarship will be determined on an annual basis, with the flexibility for each award to be customised to the recipient and respond to current trends or areas of need in the Waikato communications community.

While the Matariki Scholarship is unique to the Waikato region, we hope it can be a model for other regions to follow, depending on the capacity and goals of each committee and its relationship with their local iwi.