By Jacob (Hākopa) Ashdown Why I applied for a Harkness Fellowship: Legacy, service, and going all-in I was motivated to apply for the Harkness Fellowship because of the inspiring 100-year legacy built by many esteemed leaders who have set out…
HARKNESS
FELLOWSHIPS TRUST
ABOUT
The New Zealand Harkness Fellowships enable outstanding mid-career professionals to undertake immersive learning in the United States and apply that learning to leadership and public service in New Zealand. The Fellowships strengthen New Zealand–United States relationships by supporting the exchange…
APPLICATIONS
The New Zealand Harkness Fellowships are for high-potential senior leaders in any field of study or vocation (excluding health care policy and practice) to study or research in the US for between 3-6 months. Applications open 2 February and close…
2025 FELLOW
The Harkness Fellowships Trust (NZ) is proud to announce the selection of Hākopa Ashdown as the 2025 New Zealand Harkness Fellow. Hākopa Ashdown, (Te Aupōuri, Ngai Takoto, Ngāti Kahu), currently Private Secretary to the Minister for Māori Development at Te…
Latest Articles
Harkness@100: From Treasury to Harvard – setting the stage for growth
By Ross Tanner I was awarded a Fellowship in 1980, for 21 months tenure in the US commencing August 1981. At university, I had majored in English literature and language, and then was employed in The Treasury as a policy…
Harkness@100: Fellowship reignited my passion for journalism
By Peter Griffin Watching Obama’s second inauguration from the Mall in Washington D.C., sitting in on editorial meetings with the team at the Center for Public integrity, or visiting the fusion reactor at MIT in Boston. It’s hard to pick…
The Harkness Fellowship journey begins well before departing for the US
By Jacob (Hākopa) Ashdown Why I applied for a Harkness Fellowship: Legacy, service, and going all-in I was motivated to apply for the Harkness Fellowship because of the inspiring 100-year legacy built by many esteemed leaders who have set out…
Harkness@100: Culture shock and curiosity – A Harkness Fellow’s journey across America
By Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy (former Professor of Linguistics at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch) I was awarded a Harkness Fellowship by the UK Harkness Committee in 1969. This funded me for 21 months as a PhD student in linguistics at the…
Championing innovation in Māori economic development: Jacob (Hākopa) Ashdown named 2025 Harkness Fellow
The Harkness Fellowships Trust (NZ) is proud to announce the selection of Hākopa Ashdown as the 2025 New Zealand Harkness Fellow. Hākopa Ashdown, (Te Aupōuri, Ngai Takoto, Ngāti Kahu), currently Private Secretary to the Minister for Māori Development at Te…
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