EIT's three research professors are to join a group of influential academics assessing research projects to determine funding for tertiary educators nationwide.

The Tertiary Education Commission has appointed Professors Roger Maaka, Bob Marshall and Kay Morris Matthews to expert peer review panels for the upcoming Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) round.

EIT chief executive Chris Collins says the appointments show EIT is punching well above its weight in the field of academic research.

"Out of 269 panel members, only eight are from institutes of technology, polytechnics or wananga. Of those eight, EIT has three panel members - more than any other ITP or wananga.

"Our research professors are at the top of their game and underscore EIT's commitment to developing research and research leadership."

The PBRF was set up to encourage and reward excellent research in the tertiary education sector. The Government determines the size of the funding pool on an annual basis.

Appointees to the 12 panels auditing the research performance of staff at eligible tertiary education organisations are chosen for their expertise in specific fields of knowledge.

Dean of Te Manga Maori at EIT and a former member of the Waitangi Tribunal, Professor Maaka has been appointed to the Maori knowledge and development panel.

Professor Marshall, whose own research speciality is biomechanics, will serve on the PBRF health panel.

Professor Morris Matthews, a specialist in educational history and policy, has been selected for the education panel.

Appointments are not made on the basis of links to any particular tertiary institute or university. However, the appointments of EIT staff to the peer review panels is a measure of the institute's growing research focus.

Over recent years, EIT has created the positions for research professors and it actively encourages and supports the research efforts of its academics.

EIT staff members will be submitting their own research work for the latest PBRF assessment, which will be carried out from August to December next year. The projects will encompass the institute's full range of academic subjects across its ten degrees.