The Pūhoro STEM academy is an initiative funded through Massey University to promote the STEM fields within Maori communities, as well as tutor and support Maori academic achievement in STEM subjects. On a school-focused level, this means that Pūhoro holds tutoring and development sessions every Wednesday Morning from 8:30-9:30am as well as term wānanga where students are invited to the Massey Campus to learn and develop skills through the practical application of STEM fields. Furthermore, whānau and study huis are offered throughout the year to support the participants and their whānau through NCEA exams and the 3 year programme.

In Year 11 (2017), I joined the Year 12 Cohort (the first year 12 cohort) of this programme due to my accelerated NCEA. I spent Year 11 being tutored and developed in the STEM fields relating to my current study.

In Year 12 (2018), I continued on with this programme as a part of the Year 13 Engineering group that focuses on practical and context engineering development. The programme seeks to imbue young engineers in the skills that they need to make change through engineering in their communities.