SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Leading NZ law education provider commited to biculturalism

Working with Police on evidential basis led decision making

Maximised impact through community & decision maker links

A few things we are especially proud of

Justice

Te Puna Haumara - the New Zealand Institute for Crime Science, which aims to reduce crime and increase security through multi-disciplinary, evidence-based research.

Over the last 30 years, our law school has helped over 4000 law students to graduate and enter the legal profession with the knowledge needed to address the unique challenges facing New Zealand.

Road Safety

Our Transport Research group working with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency on a range of projects related to road safety.

Te Rōpū Manukura which is made up of members from over 20 different iwi (tribes) and is an established committee of the University Council.

Freshwater Policy

Professor Ian Hawes who sits on the Science and Technical Advisory Group for the Ministry for the Environment, overseeing scientific evidence for freshwater policy development

Our pioneering Faculty of Law

Te Piringa Faculty of Law was founded in 1991 with a firm commitment to biculturalism and was the first in the country to introduce Māori perspectives into its mainstream legal programmes. Its name, Te Piringa, translates as the coming together of peoples and cultures. Over the past three decades, it has become known as one of New Zealand’s leading law schools with a reputation as a pioneer in dispute resolution. With Professor Alpana Roy as Dean, the Faculty is now leading not only in Māori and Indigenous law, but in environmental law, international law, public law, and law and technology.

Honoring the student voice

The Waikato Students' Union (WSU) is the voice of our student body and is governed by a group of 12 democratically elected students who listen, speak and act passionately on behalf of students. The WSU President also sits on the University Council where they represent all students at the University. The University Council is responsible for governance of the University, providing strategic direction and major decision-making.

Pictured is WSU President in 2020 and 2021, Kyla Campbell-Kamariera.

Supporting NZ Police through evidence-based research

We work closely with NZ Police through the Evidence-Based Policing Centre, a joint partnership that is dedicated to multi-disciplinary research about crime. The Centre was the first of its type in the world when it first launched in 2017, targeting problems, testing solutions in live environments and tracking results to ensure the best outcomes for our communities.

Transforming data ecosystems to benefit indigenous peoples

A team of University of Waikato researchers is leading groundbreaking research focused on optimising data ecosystems for the benefit of Indigenous societies. The research will move beyond current efforts to reduce bias in algorithms, and explore what it means to ‘decolonise’ algorithms that adversely affect Māori communities. Associate Professor Māui Hudson, Associate Professor Te Taka Keegan and Professor Tahu Kukutai (pictured) are leading the four-year research programme titled Tikanga in Technology: Indigenous Approaches to Transforming Data Ecosystems.

The research is supported by $6 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Endeavour Fund. They will work with researchers from many other universities across New Zealand and globally to develop tools and processes that can help IT workers understand and incorporate Indigenous perspectives when working on data sets, not only in terms of storage and data processing, but also in the creation of algorithms that have the potential for bias. Situated at the interface of mātauranga Māori and data science, this interdisciplinary programme has strong support from key data stakeholders across Te Ao Māori and Government.