This free to attend workshop is designed for New Zealand researchers who are in the early-stages of developing new medical technologies and health innovations and also anyone wanting to apply to host a Te Tītoki Mataora-funded Māori & Pacific summer student for summer 2026/2027.

The workshop will explore the following topics:

• Pacific worldviews - This session will introduce attendees to the landscape of Pacific peoples, Pacific worldviews, Pacific values and Pacific frameworks.

• Culturally safe engagement with pacific peoples: This session explores unconscious bias, racism, and intersectionality, essential for understanding perceptions of Pacific communities. Using a strengths-based approach, it guides researchers on culturally safe engagement with Pacific families, emphasising Pacific frameworks and practices to nurture the Vā.

• Navigating the Digital Vā - This session will introduce attendees to the relationship Pacific communities have with digital technologies and its considerations when developing future technologies.

• Pacific Data Sovereignty - This session will introduce attendees to Pacific Data Sovereignty and the unified voice, collective guardianship and advocacy of data and information about Pacific peoples living in New Zealand.

• Considerations for supervising Pacific students