Tuwhera Auckland University of Technology Open Research Repository

History and Founding

Tuwhera is the open research initiative of Auckland University of Technology (AUT), managed by Te Mātāpuna Library and Learning Services. The name tuwhera is a te reo Māori word meaning "open" or "opening up," chosen in collaboration with Māori staff at AUT's Te Ara Poutama to reflect the institution's commitment to open, equitable, and inclusive knowledge sharing. The institutional repository for theses and dissertations has accepted deposits since approximately 2002, with the open research outputs component and broader open publishing services developing over subsequent years. The open publication hosting service was formally set up in 2016. AUT's Open Scholarship Policy, approved in June 2020, made AUT research open by default.

Collections and Holdings

Tuwhera encompasses two main components: Tuwhera Open Access Theses and Dissertations (full-text postgraduate research deposited since 2002) and Tuwhera Open Access Research Outputs (scholarly works by AUT researchers including journal articles, conference papers, and other outputs). The repository also hosts AUT-managed open access journals and conference proceedings through Open Journal Systems (OJS) and Open Conference Systems platforms, free of article processing charges.

Access and Usage

All content is freely accessible online without charge. Theses and dissertations are available globally; AUT students may access additional restricted resources by logging in with their student credentials. Researchers worldwide may submit to Tuwhera-hosted open journals. The repository supports OAI 2.0 compliance, enabling metadata harvesting by international discovery services.

Values and Principles

Tuwhera operates on open-source, non-proprietary platforms and applies Creative Commons licences to facilitate reuse. The initiative centres Māori research alongside global scholarly output, reflecting AUT's obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It participates in the broader international Diamond open access movement, offering publishing pathways that are free for both authors and readers.