Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation Announces Postgraduate Scholarship and Travel and Learning Award Recipients
The Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Scholarship and Travel and Learning Awards round. A total of nine exceptional individuals have been selected to receive support through the Foundation’s postgraduate scholarships and Travel and Learning Awards.
Borrin Foundation – Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Postgraduate Scholarship
In partnership with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence, the Borrin Foundation – Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Postgraduate Scholarship supports Māori law graduates to undertake postgraduate study.
This year, Kelly Mitchell (Ngāti Māhanga) has been selected to receive $64,702 to pursue a PhD in law at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. Her research will explore how Māori legal theory can inform the constitutional role of the judiciary within a Tiriti-consistent legal landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Kelly is an Assistant Lecturer in Law at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington and an emerging scholar in Māori jurisprudence and constitutional law. Her work builds on her Master of Laws research and contributes to the growing field of Māori-led constitutional and legal theory.
Te Pae Tawhiti Postgraduate Scholarship
The Te Pae Tawhiti Postgraduate Scholarship supports outstanding law graduates who face financial or personal barriers to postgraduate study.
This year, three recipients have been selected to receive the scholarship:
Dave Burnside has been selected to receive $50,000 to support his PhD in law at the University of Auckland, exploring how lived experience can initiate and support journeys of criminal desistance and recovery. Drawing on his own experiences and professional work in the addiction and recovery sector, Dave’s research aims to strengthen understanding of lived experience within the justice system. His work centres the value of lived experience as a tool for systemic change and improved justice outcomes.
Jessica Kirton-Luxford (right) has been selected to receive $50,000 to pursue a Master of Laws in the United Kingdom or Canada. Her research will examine novel legal tools and frameworks to address climate change, with a focus on the practical implications of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion in an Aotearoa New Zealand context. She is particularly interested in how international legal developments can be translated into meaningful domestic action.
Nera Tautau (Malaemalu, Moata’a) has been selected to receive $59,147 to pursue a Master of Human Rights Law at the University of Melbourne. Her study focuses on advancing human rights for Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a particular emphasis on ensuring human rights frameworks reflect Pacific values and lived experiences. Nera is a Senior Human Rights Advisor at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata New Zealand Human Rights Commission, where she works on race relations and the rights of Pacific peoples, contributing to national and international human rights initiatives. She aims to strengthen Pacific human rights scholarship and support communities to engage with human rights as a practical tool for advocacy and change.
Travel and Learning Awards
Borrin Foundation Travel and Learning Awards support legal professionals to broaden their expertise, build international connections, and bring new insights back to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Five Travel and Learning Awards have been granted in this round:
Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) has been selected to receive $10,000 to travel to Sápmi to study Sámi governance institutions and assess their relevance to Indigenous constitutional arrangements in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mary Haggie has been selected to receive $10,000 to travel to the United Kingdom to investigate strategies to address the underrepresentation of women as adjudicators in construction disputes and assess their relevance to New Zealand.
Ria Holmes (Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Pākehā) has been selected to receive $10,000 to travel to Canada to attend an Indigenous Law Research Methodologies intensive, strengthening her work in tikanga Māori and Indigenous legal research approaches.
Joanna Mossop has been selected to receive $8,855 to travel to New York to attend PrepCom3, supporting her ongoing work on the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Joanna is a Professor at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington and a leading expert in the international law of the sea.
Shay Schlaepfer has been selected to receive $10,000 to travel to Australia to investigate innovative biodiversity laws and engage with key agencies, practitioners, and First Nations communities.
Applications for the Borrin Foundation postgraduate scholarships are invited annually in August. Applications for the Travel and Learning Awards are invited twice a year in March and August.
Current Individual Funding Opportunities
The current round of applications for Borrin Foundation Fellowships and Travel and Learning Awards is now open and will close at 12pm on 7 April 2026.
This round includes:
• Borrin Foundation Justice Fellowship
• Borrin Foundation Women Leaders in Law Fellowship
• Borrin Foundation Community Law Fellowship
• Travel and Learning Awards
Information on eligibility criteria and how to apply can be found here: https://www.borrinfoundation.nz/fellowshipsawards/
