Banner text "Hōkai for research ethics" with a pic of a waka in the harbour

Nau mai, haere mai. This course is designed to help you use our new platform for research ethics applications, named Hōkai.

The Human Ethics and Animal Ethics application process moved from ResearchMaster to Hōkai in July 2024. This course hosts Hōkai training resources for researchers, supervisors, and all those involved in the application process. These pages should help you quickly access the bit of information or support you need.

Our Ethics webpage is still the best place to check ethics deadlines.

This page is managed by staff in the Research Office and Faculty of Science: Anna Rogers, Tatjana Schaefer, and Adrian Bibby. Our Research Ethics teams are using this course as an active and evolving platform to support researchers and research ethics practices at the University.

Naming Hōkai

Our new ethics platform was gifted the name Hōkai by the Office of the DVC Māori. A hōkai is a staying brace of a waka. Its purpose is to strengthen the structure of the waka, thereby ensuring its journey is successful. This speaks to the important role this system plays in maintaining and strengthening the high standards of our research practices. Hōkai also references how we balance our desire to push research boundaries with making sure we remain accountable and responsible to our communities. This name also connects with the University’s te reo Māori name, Te Herenga Waka, meaning the mooring place of canoes.