Rate My Professor Kare Tipa

Kare Tipa is a Lecturer in Te Tumu, the School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, within the Humanities Division at the University of Otago. Holding a Master of Māori Studies from the Eastern Institute of Technology, she is a Mātauraka Māori practitioner who has spent more than half her life teaching and practicing in Te Ao Māori. Born in Invercargill and raised in Ōtepoti/Dunedin, Tipa descends from Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, and Ngāti Kahungunu. In her role as Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa Toitū te Reo in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori, she collaborates with a team to develop innovative strategies that grow and foster a deeper Māori research culture, while promoting working and learning in te reo Māori. She applies her expertise in hapū and iwi engagement, consultation, high-level education delivery, communications, and cultural responsiveness.

Tipa has lectured at Te Tumu for the last four years in language, tikanga, and Kāi Tahu society papers, following long-standing teaching contributions to the Kāi Tahu language strategy Kotahi Mano Kāika and Te Pae Karaka o Araiteuru. She has supported research panel seminars highlighting the development of total immersion practitioners in the Otago region, taught at Kura Reo, and supervised postgraduate study, drawing on her career responsibilities at local, regional, and national levels. Tipa facilitates weekly Hui Whakatau full te reo Māori immersion sessions every Monday at 8:30am in Te Tumu's performing arts space, where only te reo is spoken; participants learn environmental mihi, karakia, waiata, and tikanga through games, with refreshments provided accordingly. She leads events such as the Championing te reo Champions wānaka to connect kaimahi, strengthen skills, and celebrate te reo efforts across the university. As a board representative for Te Rūnaka o Moeraki, she provides strategic advice for Kāi Tahu research and development through various committees, amplifying legacies for language, culture, and welfare.