Search

Showing 10 of 536 results for group registration

Diversity and inclusion in North America
“Partnering with marginalised communities around us to confront harm in our past is something we all have to practise,” says course co-ordinator David Wick, Associate Professor, Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
"What was striking was that, from the first in-person meetings, everyone was willing to make personal connections to the content, share their own learning and vulnerabilities, and very curious as to how they can learn from one another to create better learning environments.”
Diversity Abroad, based in US, is the largest organisation focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in international education. ENZ works with Diversity Abroad on a range of initiatives, such as the annual Global Inclusion Conference, as well as partnering to deliver the specially designed course.
Attended by 18 people from NZ universities and ENZ, the three-month certificate course was fully online. Workshops, group discussion, videos, articles and assignments kept the participants highly engaged, and feedback on the course was very positive.

Dr. Anna Foster, Study Abroad and Exchange Manager at the University of Canterbury, says the programme provided a comprehensive exploration of Access, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (AIDE) in relation to student mobility.
“The programme was really valuable in gaining a deeper understanding of AIDE as it relates to Education Abroad, particularly due to the focus on considering every aspect of the student mobility journey in an end-to-end approach from the perspective of diverse cohorts,” Anna says.
“This has certainly influenced our team approach on an ongoing basis - it has shaped many of the continuing conversations we have around our outreach and processes, and has also helped us consider how we can further partner with both external and internal partners to better support our students.
“I think all of the group also found the programme to be impactful from a self-reflection perspective, prompting some really useful reflection on the backgrounds, biases and perspectives that shape each of us and how we can use this awareness as leaders and in our work with students.”
Anna also appreciated the practical focus of the course, and says her team is now considering some of the barriers to outbound mobility for diverse and under-represented cohorts, and working on strategies to address these.
Sarah Sung, Study Abroad Manager at the University of Auckland, also found the programme very beneficial.
“The programme has given me opportunities to delve into every single aspect of our team’s work through AIDE lenses as well as reflect on our past initiatives relating to diversity and inclusion. I learned that to make diversity work, AIDE should not be seen as a stand-alone project or matter but be embedded in our everyday life and all work,” Sarah says.
Sarah says AIDE conversations will be part of regular team meetings, as well as being integrated into team members’ KPIs and performance reviews, and she is working on a plan to increase participation from under-represented students.
“This includes extensive work in identifying opportunities to collaborate with partners for diversity and inclusion goals, reviewing our scholarship, communications and co-curricular programming for diverse students and developing a system for data collection.”
Lewis Gibson, ENZ’s Field Director North America, also took part in the course and says feedback from the cohort participants demonstrates the need for further AIDE learning in the New Zealand international education sector.
“Hearing from colleagues about the personal and professional measures they are actively putting in place to support under-served inbound and outbound students, as a direct result of this programme, is inspirational,” he said.
For more information about the International Education Diversity & Inclusion Certificate, contact Lewis Gibson at Lewis.Gibson@enz.govt.nz
Teaching the teachers
The School Influencers Workshop series focuses on new ideas in Early Childhood Education, English Language teaching and educational management and leadership. Originally planned to be delivered in-person, this is the first time the course will be held online.
Members of the UC College of Education, Health and Human Development will deliver the online courses to more than 100 education practitioners and administrators alongside in-market organisations Teach for Indonesia and Teach for the Philippines.
UC Associate Dean (International), Dr Stuart Wise, said “The College of Education, Health and Development at the University of Canterbury is delighted to support this initiative sponsored by Education New Zealand. We are very keen to support our colleagues at Teach for Indonesia and Teach for Philippines are looking forward to the opportunity to engage with course participants and share some of our expertise with them.”
The professional development of teachers has been a key part of ENZ’s South East Asia engagement strategy since 2016.
“The School Influencers Workshop series gives teachers and administrators a taste of New Zealand’s top-quality education by offering an insight into our hands-on teaching methodologies and contact with top academics,” ENZ Market Manager Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, Desiree Lee, said.
“Teachers, counsellors and school leaders remain a key group of influencers in a student’s study journey. They are an important group which ENZ will continue to engage as the international education sector recovers from COVID-19.”
Read the UC story on the Schools Influencers Workshop series
Indonesia's school influencer training
Some 250 participants were trained across two days in Jakarta, with another 100 participants trained in Surabaya. They included counsellors and principals from high schools, vocational schools and madrassah schools.
Karmela Christy, ENZ’s Market Manager for Indonesia, said school counsellors and principals are crucial to the development of their students. With this in mind, ENZ held training sessions delivered by the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic.
“This year’s programme was aimed at empowering counsellors and principals to support and prepare students for working lives that would need to adapt to rapid technological and social change,” said Karmela.
Matthew Carter (Otago Polytechnic) trains school principals in Surabaya Four Pillar Leadership.

“The sessions emphasised that the role of the counsellor is not merely about subject choices but also about character and the development of the right soft skills."
The annual programme, which was first delivered in 2016, is a partnership with Fortrust Education which supports the coordination of all activities with schools in Jakarta and Surabaya.
This year, ENZ also partnered with Jakarta Capital City Government. Jakarta Vice Governor, Sandiaga Uno, as well as New Zealand Ambassador to Indonesia, Trevor Matheson, were also involved.
ENZ representatives, school counsellors and the Fortrust Education team together.
Prime Minister's Scholarships for study in Asia and Latin America for 2023-24 announced
Prime Minister’s Scholarships for study in Asia and Latin America for 2023-24 announced

114 New Zealanders receive scholarships to Asia and Latin America

New Zealand’s connections with Asia and Latin America are set to receive a boost with the announcement of 114 individual recipients of the Prime Minister’s scholarships for Asia and Latin America over the next year, Acting Chief Executive for Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ), Linda Sissons announced today.  
The latest round will see scholarship recipients heading to destinations including Japan, Korea, Malaysia, China, India, Viet Nam, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Chile for study and internship programmes. The individual scholarships follow the group scholarships awards of earlier this year which saw 14 groups of New Zealanders travelling to study in Asia and Latin America.   
Scholarships have been awarded to recipients from a wide range of regions from around New Zealand, including Rotorua, Taupo, Gisborne, Hastings, Feilding, Tauranga, Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Dunedin, Riwaka and Oamaru.   
“The Prime Minister’s Scholarships offer a fantastic opportunity for New Zealanders to foster lifelong connections as they learn and grow their understanding of cultures and business practices across Asia and Latin America”, Acting Chief Executive for Education New Zealand, Linda Sissons said.  
“The scholarships are awarded to enable recipients to undertake a range of global study opportunities, from language learning and exchange study to internships. 
“Over the next year, recipients will embark on semester exchanges, medical electives, language immersion and indigenous integration programmes, internships, and research projects in areas such as architecture and healthcare engineering.  
“The scholarships continue to enable a rich exchange of knowledge, ideas and culture for New Zealanders through reciprocal study opportunities and increase global understanding of the strength and quality of our education system”.  
A full list of recipients of this individual round can be found here.  

Additional information 
Read how the Prime Minister’s Scholarships have enabled these past recipients to study abroad and have enriching, life-changing experiences:  
Laetitia Laubscher 
Te Maiora Rurehe 
 
About the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia and Latin America  
The Prime Minister’s Scholarship programme aims to strengthen New Zealand’s ability to engage with Asian and Latin American trading partners, improve the internationalisation of New Zealand tertiary institutions, showcase the strength and quality of New Zealand's education system and grow inter-cultural awareness and connections between New Zealand and other countries.    
The scholarships offer flexible funding to support both short- and long-term programmes, including study abroad or exchange, internships, postgraduate study, and language programmes.   
The Prime Minister’s Scholarships are funded by the New Zealand Government and administered by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao.   
The Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) were launched in 2013 and extended to Latin America (PMSLA) in 2016. To date, 4,155 scholarships have been awarded under the programme.  
There are two scholarship rounds each year, and applications for the next scholarship round will be open to group applicants in March 2024. Many scholarship recipients are enrolled in tertiary institutions across New Zealand, but this is not a requirement for the scholarship. Any New Zealand citizen or permanent resident over 18 years old can apply for a scholarship.    
For more information on the scholarships and the application process, visit https://scholarships.enz.govt.nz/.  

For further information:
Justin Barnett | Director of Communications, Education New Zealand
justin.barnett@enz.govt.nz
+64 21 875 132

Eve Abernethy | Communications Advisor, Education New Zealand
eve.abernethy@enz.govt.nz
+64 04 887 5215
ATEED launches new Auckland strategy to guide visitor economy
ATEED General Manager Destination, Steve Armitage, says while more visitors are good news economically, the growth comes with challenges.
“People travel to Auckland to experience the many things our region has to offer. For some, it’s the world-class food and wine; for others, it’s the sporting, cultural and business events; or international students, who come from around the world to study at our learning institutions,” said Steve.
“It’s important that we continue to attract visitors to support and create jobs and amenities that benefit locals and visitors…so that Auckland is better off not just economically, but also socially and environmentally.”
The strategy outlines six strategic imperatives and key focus areas, and a comprehensive list of actions to deliver these, with two directly relating to international education:
- A Captivating Place: A region that entices visitors to stay longer and that locals love more than ever. Actions include developing an international student visitor plan.
- A Skilled Place: A region where more young men and women are choosing globally relevant careers in the visitor economy. Actions include developing a visitor sector training and employment strategy for youth and enhancing standards across the service sector.
Destination AKL 2025 was guided by an industry leadership group, and involved extensive consultation including interviews, workshops and discussions, as well as international benchmarking and surveys.
ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson, who was part of the industry leadership group, says that ATEED is showing real leadership in the way it is looking at its visitor plan.
He said this is evident in the way the strategy is based around destination management and not just attraction. This should ensure visitors are acknowledged as an asset to the Auckland region – a perspective that will reflect positively on the experience visitors go on to have in Auckland.
“International students are an important part of the visitor community and we are delighted that the strategy reflects this through the inclusion of an international student visitor plan.”
"The strategy has involved significant cross-industry collaboration to get to this point, and the plan is to keep this going. We are very optimistic about the direction Auckland is heading in and are looking forward to working with Auckland to bring it to life.”
Click here to read or download Destination AKL 2025.
Kiwi students become ambassadors in Beijing

The students represented three cohorts from Massey University and the University Canterbury. Two of the groups were based at Peking University, while the other had been studying in Hangzhou.

This marks the second year in a row that PMSA groups have come together at a function at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing.

New Zealand Ambassador to China, Clare Fearnley, welcomed the visitors and provided an update on the China-New Zealand relationship. Other Embassy staff, representing a range of government agencies from the Ministry of Primary Industries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade were present to talk to students about their roles and areas of interest.

ENZ Regional Director North Asia, Adele Bryant, said it provided a great opportunity to encourage the students to be ambassadors for New Zealand education during their stay in China.

“These students are ideally placed to help raise the profile of New Zealand education, as they are great examples of the kind of students we produce – independent thinkers, and creative, innovative and skilled young people.”

Massey University’s Head of the School of Humanities, Kerry Taylor, also believes in the value of the programmes to students, both now and in their future.

“The PMSA provides an opportunity for our high academic achievers to experience first-hand the dynamism and relevance of China to New Zealand,” said Kerry.

“Many will come back to do more study in China or develop business links with China that will contribute to New Zealand’s prosperity.”

A PMSA group from Massey University at the New Zealand Centre, Peking University. The Massey students studied an intensive Chinese Language programme at PKU.
New approach for Korean middle schools
The Korean government wants to improve levels of student happiness, and move on from students validating their success and self-worth only in terms of academic performance. A priority is to support students to pursue “non-core learning areas” (such as music, arts, physical education, career exploration, club-oriented activities, etc). Each school will now designate a semester that is exam- and test-free to allow students to experience a wide range of these activities.
This approach represents a big change in the Korean education environment. To date these students have relied heavily on simple memorisation and rote learning instead of thinking creatively or critically. The government now expects students to freely discover their competencies and capability, free from the stress associated with exams. Korean President Park Geun-hye describes this initiative as a “key task to fundamentally change Korea’s education system”.
Under this new initiative, schools will teach students using diverse and engaging methods such as discussion, experiments, outdoor activities and team projects. Opportunities for students to engage with activities that may inform their thinking about future career options and/or future subject choices is also encouraged.
The initiative began as a pilot in September 2013 with 42 Korean middle schools (1 percent of all Korean middle schools). It was expanded in 2014 to around 800 schools (25 percent), and to 1,500 schools in 2015 (nearly 50 percent). This year, all 3,204 middle schools – and their 1.5 million students – will implement this approach.
Opportunities for NZ schools
This new way of working not only requires a significant paradigm change in thinking for educators and parents, it also requires Korea to develop new infrastructure outside the classroom. It may therefore take some time to fully develop.
This new initiative presents an opportunity for New Zealand schools; two groups of Korean parents may be interested in sending their children to study abroad during the exam-free semester:
1. Families that wish to take advantage of the New Zealand curriculum, teaching expertise and existing infrastructure in terms of these broader subject areas (especially opportunities to learn outside of the classroom that are available at New Zealand’s intermediate schools); or
2. Families that have a more traditional Korean academic education preference and wish to provide their children with an intensive learning experience (such as significantly develop their English language skills).
New Zealand schools may therefore wish to reframe their marketing collateral for parents to demonstrate the strengths of their school’s programmes to deliver quality educational outcomes for Korean middle school students during these exam-free semesters.
FAQs
What age and year level are Korean middle school students?
Students in Korea start school at age seven, rather than five, the usual age in New Zealand. Korean middle school students are in years seven and eight and aged 13-14 years. The table below compares the age and year of the two school systems.
What are the Korean school semester dates?
Korean school year is divided into two semesters, running from 1 March to mid-July, and from mid/late August to February.
Who decides which semester will be exam-free? Will it be the same semester for all schools in a region, for example?
Individual principals, in consultation with their school staff decide which semester will be selected as the ‘exam-free’ semester. This could be any semester between the first semester in the first year and the first semester of the second year.
Would this be an opportunity for students to spend the whole semester away from Korea, or are we talking about short (say 2-3 week or 4-5 week) programmes for groups?
This will likely be predominately an opportunity for individual students to study for a full semester in New Zealand.
That said, it is possible that schools with MoUs with Korean schools could promote an exchange or short course study abroad programme, but New Zealand schools who are interested in this should carefully canvas existing sister schools first to confirm whether this approach would meet the requirements.
What does experiential learning mean in Korea?
The following four types of activities have been recommended by the Korean Ministry of Education:
- Topic of interest: students choose topic(s) of interest and participate in a programme of activities around the topic, such as: entrepreneurship, design, animation, film, barista skills, smartphone app development, robotics, cooking, science etc.
- Arts and physical education: students undertake activities that are not part of their regular school curriculum such as: participating in a musical or in a band, curating, industrial design, or physical education activities such as sports leisure industry experience or exploring career options around soccer, dancing etc.
- Club activities: student clubs can be organised by students around topics of interest. These could be linked to other activities such as sports, career or volunteering such as a hospital volunteering group of 20 students who go to local hospitals to help out.
- Career: students discover what employment options await; giving a chance for them to begin thinking about the sort of work they would like to do in the future and to gather information that will help them make good decisions about the courses they will undertake when they enter secondary school. This could include going into workplaces to experience, observe etc. and could also include a career counselling component.
The New Zealand curriculum, teaching techniques and education outside of the classroom experience and infrastructure appears to be a good fit with this initiative.
Student Voice 2013 a ‘great opportunity’
Twenty five current and former international students gathered to share their education experiences and to network with other international students.
Activities kicked off with a scavenger hunt where the teams were given a list of clues and tasks to complete at different locations around the city. The scavenger hunt included a creative photo competition to create content for our social media channels. Photos from the scavenger hunt can be found on our Facebook page.
During day two of Student Voice, workshops were held to learn more about the pathways students took to study in New Zealand, their education experiences, and their views on what can be done to improve the student experience.
Participants also fed back on the new, New Zealand Education Story brand, creating their own execution of the brand posters.
ENZ selected three current international students and one alumnus from the Student Voice group to make up the panel members for the Student Voice 2013 session at the New Zealand International Education Conference. The panel members will share their education pathway experiences and the findings from Student Voice 2013.
We are very excited to have such outstanding representatives of New Zealand education joining us.
eT4e - Ed Tech for Export conference
The conference is organised by Grow Wellington with the support of Education New Zealand.
This year's conference features four international speakers from business and academia - Lee Wilson, CEO of Filament Games in Wisconsin; Dr Erkki Sutinen, head of the edTech Research Group from the University of Eastern Finland; Jennifer Carolan, head of the NewSchools Seed Fund in California; and Hapara founder Jan Zawadzki.
They will be joined by national speakers including Noelene Anderson, Pixelhouse; David Ellis, NZCER; Adrian Sallis, Vital English; David Cameron, LearnKo and Maru Nihoniho, Metia Interactive.
Globally, education technology is one of the fastest growing sectors in education. Growth is being driven by increased student and teacher demand for engaging and effective learning solutions, the need to develop digital skills and digital citizenship in modern economies, and the entry of major technology corporates and investment entities into the business of education. Global expenditure is forecast to reach US$220b by 2017.
“Asia- Pacific is expected to be one of the leading regions for growth of edtech. Education New Zealand is keen to work with those companies with smart content and technology to capitalise on that demand,” says Clive Jones, General Manager of Business Development at Education New Zealand.
Education technology converts traditional education systems into automated virtual learning environments through web-based courses, assessment materials, online tutoring, professional development, and data management systems.
Visit www.edtechforexport.co.nz for more information, to check out the programme and to register
Hong Kong student wins Wellington award for unstinting community service

The Year 12 student from Wellington Girls’ College has been named a winner at the annual Wellington International Student Excellence Awards for her contribution to the city’s international student community and her tireless community service.

She was among a group of 24 high-achieving secondary and tertiary international students recognised at the event for excelling academically, in the arts, sport, community, or online.

As the only child of a teacher and a primary school assistant, Jasmine came to New Zealand in November 2019 to complete her education. Leaving behind a competitive school environment, and a tense and complex political environment, she arrived in Wellington ready to embrace the open and culturally diverse environment she found herself in.

Jasmine says that she had always wanted to get involved in community activities, but until arriving in New Zealand she lacked both the confidence and the opportunities.

“As an international student here, I have been given so many opportunities. I want to treasure all of them and get involved.”

Jasmine quickly understood the value of participation and leadership.

“Arriving in a new country where you don’t know anyone can be a lonely experience, and it’s easy to just hang out with people from your own country, but I have made great friends, both from New Zealand and around the world, and gained support through the organisations I’m involved with.”

From helping to reinvigorate the International Club at school, Jasmine went on to be a key player in the establishment of the Wellington International Students’ Association, which not only connects international students across city schools, but also seeks to build relationships between domestic and international students.

Domestic and international students learn from each other

She believes there is much that domestic students stand to learn from international students.

“They get to see a perspective from another part of the world. Coming here to study has allowed me to immerse myself in New Zealand's culture and learn far more about the country than I would if I was a tourist.

“I’m sure the same applies to New Zealand students who haven’t had the opportunity for exchanges or travel. Through encouraging domestic students to get involved in our events we have built stronger connections.”

But Jasmine hasn’t stopped there. From Mary Potter Hospice to Conservation Volunteers New Zealand to the Student Volunteer Army (SVA), she has put in the mahi. She recently earned her SVA Silver Service Award pin for clocking up more than 250 volunteer hours working to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Taking her community service to the next level, Jasmine has been selected to represent Wellington Girls’ College in the National Ambassador programme. She will join other like-minded students from around the country working to connect, support, and empower international students.

All of this while juggling studies, sport, mentoring, and music. However, she insists that she has gained more from her community service than she has given.

Volunteering builds skills and network

“Volunteering gave me the opportunity to get out there and build a strong network with experienced people. I’ve gained important inter-personal skills like customer service and communications, and I’ve also learned a lot about New Zealand culture.”

Jasmine says being an international student in New Zealand has also allowed her to appreciate some of the important issues which other communities, such as the LGBTQIA, face.

“I appreciate the inclusiveness towards gender minorities here. In Asia, people are much more reserved about their beliefs and opinions but here we can have open discussions and everyone can be passionate about sharing their thoughts. It has had a powerful influence on me.”

Global citizen skills important

The global citizen skills acquired through international education are so important for the current generation of students heading off to Uni or into the workforce, Jasmine says.

“It’s important to know people from other parts of the world, understand some of the issues they face, and appreciate their culture and beliefs. Building relationships in-person is so much more valuable than learning from the internet.”

“The diversity of ethnicity and cultures, religious and political opinions here in New Zealand has really enhanced my worldview.”

Jasmine is delighted to have been recognised for her contribution to the community, and says her parents were thrilled when her name was announced at the awards ceremony. “Not only are they proud of my own achievements, but they feel that I am representing Hong Kong well in New Zealand.”

Jasmine’s parents were among 214 friends and family of recipients who joined the livestream of the awards ceremony from around the world.

As for the future, Jasmine is looking forward to completing Year 13 and being a member of the student executive next year, striving for the SVA Gold Award for volunteering, being a National Student Ambassador, and ultimately heading to the US to study Computer Science.