Pito Mata Potential Grant

Having some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most innovative minds is a wonderful thing. Connecting them to collaborate on ground-breaking research and translate ideas into real-world impact takes innovation to the next level.

Pito Mata is te reo for “new beginnings” which is an ideal way to describe this AUT Innovation Fund initiative that fosters collaboration between AUT researchers and postgraduate students. Pito Mata grants provide researchers with a bespoke solution tailored to their project needs while giving postgrad students a practical applied business challenge with real-world impact.

Pito Mata grants create mutual benefits; researchers gain critical commercial insights, while postgrad students apply their skills in a high-impact setting.

HOW IT WORKSME PĒHEA TE MAHI

The researcher applies to AUT Ventures for support to complete their business case.

• AUT researcher reaches out to AUT Ventures because their project needs assistance from outside their area of expertise.
• AUT Ventures collaborates with the relevant postgraduate programme coordinator to promote the research project to available postgrad students.
• Interested postgrad students apply to work on a specific project and receive a Pito Mata Grant of up to $1,000.
• AUT Ventures matches a postgrad student with the researcher to collaborate and create a relevant solution.
• The researcher achieves a significant milestone in their pathway to impact.
• The postgraduate student completes their applied business project on a real-world problem.