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MyStudy NZ WeChat mini programme gets a refresh
MyStudy NZ is our intelligent matching tool which matches prospective students to courses and institutions in New Zealand based on a set of questions and areas of interest. It can be found on www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz for our western markets.
However, for our China market who predominantly use WeChat, we developed a mini programme for them in November 2018.
The new version of the mini programme continues the original smart matching, but is more user-friendly and personalised, making it easy for students to obtain official information about application.
How is 2.0 better than 1.0? We believe it’s better in eight different ways:
- Social sharing enabled – Prospective students who come across their dream school can now share it to a WeChat friend or group chat immediately. The recipient can open the mini programme and view the details of the school as well.
- One-click authorisation – Students won’t have to fill in all the details to become a member anymore. With one click, prospective students can authorise their WeChat accounts to become registered MyStudy NZ members.
- Clear living costs displayed – Once prospective students get a match, they can expand and view the annual living costs in a pop-up window.
- You can see the latest content with added filter – Without registering, students can view the latest OA articles and filter based on views or posting date.
- UX (user experience) optimisation – Users can now choose paths when entering the mini programme.
- Complete UI (user interface) update – To remain consistent with the refreshed ‘I am New’ brand.
- New notifications – Push notifications will be sent to remind students to register, do course matching, bookmark favourite schools and talk to them.
- Speed optimisation and no more errors – We have done some coding optimisations and upgraded our server so the mini programme will load faster and users shouldn’t receive any more error messages.
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English New Zealand announces new chair
Darren, who is the managing director and co-owner of Languages International, previously served as English New Zealand’s chair from June 2012 to 2015.
English New Zealand chair Darren Conway.
“I was planning for something much more relaxing than stepping back into the chair’s role at English New Zealand,” he said.
“But these are unprecedented times and I’m happy to take up the challenge. I hope that my experience and advocacy can help English New Zealand lead the sector out of the current crisis. We can make a useful contribution to the recovery of the New Zealand economy, but we need both judicious and timely support and clear communication from the government, and that’s where our initial focus will be.”
English New Zealand say they greatly appreciate the contributions that Wayne, also the group principal for ICL Education, has made during his tenure.
“It has been a privilege to represent the 22 members schools and I have appreciated the opportunity to engage with government and non-government stakeholders, raising the awareness of what we do and advocating on members’ behalf,” Wayne said.
“We have long argued that our quality and experience be recognised by government agencies in a meaningful way - in the way the export education levy is determined, in the way our sector is quality assured, and in the way our English language courses are categorised.
“To that end, I was very pleased by the recent cabinet paper proposing legislative changes allowing for recognition of ELT as a separate sub-sector and opening the door to achieving these goals.”
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PTE English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) Provision Fund
The $1.5 million fund is designed to help English language schools impacted by the border closure to international students.
The funding was announced in July by Minister of Education Chris Hipkins as part of the Government’s $51.6 million Recovery Plan for International Education.
The PTE ESOL Fund is part of the first workstream, which seeks to stabilise the sector while borders remain closed. Read more about the Recovery Plan.
The funding aims to help increase demand for English language training, to be met by English Language Schools. It will also help with upskilling and improving the employability of New Zealanders with English language needs, including migrant partners and dependents of New Zealanders.
The fund is being implemented by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).
Eligibility
To be eligible for the PTE ESOL Provision Fund, your organisation must hold a Category 1 External Evaluation and Review (EER) rating from NZQA as at 1 July 2020.
Teaching enabled by this fund may only be provided to Category A and B learners. All learners must be in New Zealand.
Read more details on eligbility
How to apply
Applications for the PTE ESOL Provision Fund are open now and will close at 5pm on Friday, 28 August.
To apply, you need to complete the form on the TEC website and send it through to the TEC Customer Group via email: customerservice@tec.govt.nz
Other considerations
For the full list of terms and conditions, including successful applicants’ reporting and monitoring requirements, refer to the TEC website.
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Updated timeframe for the re-opening of New Zealand's borders
Note: The information in this story was correct at the time of publication, however, some steps in New Zealand's border reopening plan have now been brought forward. Click here to check the current border reopening steps.
“To slow the rapid spread we have seen overseas, we are pushing out the start of non-MIQ travel until the end of February 2022”, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said.
You can read the full announcement from the Government here.
The Government has not yet announced the date from which any specific group of foreign nationals, such as international students, will be able to travel to New Zealand or apply for visas to do so.
Until then, New Zealand’s current border settings will remain in place. Most people outside New Zealand cannot apply for a visa unless they have a border exception. There are limited border exceptions for international students.
New Zealand suspended most offshore visa applications from August 2020 and that suspension currently extends to August 2022. The Government may decide to lift the suspension, in whole or in part, before August 2022 – in line with its decisions on the stages of the border re-opening.
It is Education New Zealand’s view that it is better for international students, education providers and agents to wait for certainty on border entry conditions before making new plans or commitments to students.
At this stage, in most cases, if international students who are now in New Zealand leave, they will not be able to return to the country for the start of the 2022 academic year. They will need to wait to apply for visas and to travel to New Zealand until the dates the Government sets for them to do so.
At Education New Zealand we understand how much international students and education providers have been through during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will keep students and providers up to date with the Government’s decisions as they are announced.
We are looking forward to welcoming international students back to New Zealand.
More information
Find out more about visas from Immigration New Zealand if:
- You want to enter New Zealand
- You want to study in New Zealand
- You are a student visa holder already in New Zealand.
Find out more about New Zealand’s response to COVID-19:
- Official government Covid-19 website
- International travel and transit
- Information for international students on NauMai NZ
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From the CE: Honouring our commitment to international students
The Government has announced today that a new border exception will allow 250 international PhD and postgraduate students to enter New Zealand and continue their studies.
Read Minister of Education Chris Hipkins’ official release.
This is a positive first step on the path to recovery and is consistent with the Recovery Plan for International Education.
It is recognition that international education is important to New Zealand and will play a vital role in the country’s rebuild and recovery from COVID-19. Prior to COVID, international education was New Zealand’s fifth-largest export earner, earning $5 billion a year and supporting around 45,000 jobs.
Moreover, the international students included in this group have had their postgraduate study or research disrupted by COVID-19, and cannot complete it due to the practical nature of their course. They have made a commitment to New Zealand, and that’s something we want to honour.
ENZ’s next step is to work with tertiary providers as they identify and select eligible students, and to continue to work with other government agencies to ensure a safe and considered process is developed for these students to enter the country.
ENZ is looking forward to further border exceptions that will benefit as many providers and students as possible, when it is safe to do so.
We will also have work underway to make sure the students entering New Zealand receive a warm welcome and have the information they need to succeed.
I am very proud of the manaakitanga that New Zealand education providers have been demonstrating throughout the COVID-19 crisis this year.
Please continue to encourage your students to sign up to NauMai NZ, our digital home for students who have chosen to study in New Zealand. Over the COVID-19 crisis, it has continually been updated and expanded with information international students need to know.
In the early hours of Saturday, 2 October, ENZ’s NauMai NZ was awarded a Highly Commended in the Student Support category at The PIEoneer Awards. We are delighted to be recognised for this work alongside such a varied list of international organisations.
You can read more about NauMai NZ in this issue of E-News.
He waka eke noa (we’re all in this together).
Grant McPherson
Chief Executive
Manapou ki te Ao
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New initiatives to keep New Zealand education dream alive in Viet Nam
Earlier this year, ENZ asked study providers how we can support the visibility of New Zealand schools who usually operate in the Vietnamese market.
Two proposals have now been selected.
The first will fund Year 10 students from five Manawatū schools to undertake a customised version of AFS’ Global Competence Certificate (GCC).
AFS is partnering with Massey University to facilitate the programme and each New Zealand school will partner with a Vietnamese school from TTC Education, ENZ’s private school network partner with over 18,000 students.
Students from both countries will join weekly virtual workshops facilitated by Massey University – in the last four weeks of New Zealand’s school year – focused on developing the students’ lifelong global ‘power skills’ and providing them with an opportunity to interact and connect directly with their overseas student counterparts.
CEDA and Palmerston North City Council will offer scholarships for up to 25 Manawatū students to participate in the Vietnam GCC, while ENZ will fund the same number of students to participate in Viet Nam.
The second initiative will support the development and implementation of a digital marketing strategy for 14 New Zealand schools. This initiative, which is being delivered by Lightpath Consulting Group, will include dedicated in-market representation, market advice, agent engagement support and a customised Vietnamese website.
The activities will help build a strong, in-market sector presence while borders are closed. They will enable the schools and ENZ to engage through tailored digital marketing programmes to boost the reputation of New Zealand schools with Vietnamese audiences.
Viet Nam is an important market for New Zealand schools. In 2018, it was one of our only source markets to record student growth on the year before, with 39 percent more Vietnamese students choosing to study here.
“Education New Zealand remains committed to supporting New Zealand schools’ activity in Viet Nam and given the current challenges presented by COVID-19, we believe that supporting in-market representation models will maintain visibility in a market which has demonstrated continued growth for the sector,” ENZ Regional Director – Asia, John Laxon, says.
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The first step towards student re-entry
Work is well underway to put in place a new system to allow this cohort of students to enter New Zealand.
For students, there is no rush to apply for these limited spaces. PhD and postgraduate students who hold or held a visa for 2020 will be selected by education providers and offered a place in this first cohort.
The initial student selection process is being finalised by education providers and government agencies, who are also planning the support students will require on their journey to resume their study in New Zealand. Students are expected to start arriving from November, with most arriving after Christmas.
Eligible students will hold or have held a visa to study in 2020 but have been unable to enter New Zealand due to COVID-19, with priority given first to those who must be in New Zealand to complete practical components of their research and study.
Students will need to comply with New Zealand’s COVID-19 regulations, including a 14-day managed isolation period, and payment of the isolation charges. Their arrival remains subject to the availability of these facilities, to avoid preventing New Zealand citizens and residents from returning home, or essential skilled workers from entering the country.
Education New Zealand has been working with the Ministry of Education and other Government agencies and the education sector in building the student re-entry approach.
In announcing this decision on 12 October, Minister Chris Hipkins emphasised the importance of international education to New Zealand’s recovery and rebuild from the pandemic.
“We have been glad to see this initial announcement has been well-received by both the New Zealand public and the education sector,” ENZ General Manager – Stakeholders & Communications, John Goulter, says. “This group of 250 represents only a fraction of our usual international student intake. By keeping this first cohort of international students small, we can all work to make sure students have a great experience – and that they are welcomed and supported by New Zealanders.”
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ENZ launches Korean Student Reporters Programme
Throughout 2021, this group of student reporters will share everything from their personal experiences to advice for Korean students about to embark on their New Zealand study.
ENZ Senior Market Development Manager – South Korea, Kay Lee, said that the ENZ Korea blog is an invaluable resource for prospective international students there.
“All the student reporters are very keen to help future international students avoid mistakes and make better decisions. Their vivid and inspiring stories will help potential international students from Korea to prepare for their study in New Zealand post-COVID.
“We’re encouraging them to write in an honest and informative way, as their insights as a student are priceless to someone thinking about studying in New Zealand in the future.”
The student reporters consist of 10 tertiary students (from University of Auckland, University of Otago, University of Canterbury, Unitec, WelTec and Up International College) and 10 secondary school students (from Nelson College for girls, Sacred Heart Girls’ Collage, Bethlehem College, St Peter's Cambridge, Takapuna Grammar School, St Margaret College and Auckland International College).
The first batch of stories in January included headlines like ‘My first summer break in New Zealand’, ‘Life in New Zealand during COVID-19’, and ‘University entrance preparation in New Zealand’.
The student reporters programme is the first time ENZ has asked international students from Korea to contribute to our digital content platform in the local language. It is part of ENZ’s Korea team’s efforts to keep the New Zealand education brand alive in-market under the New Zealand Government’s Recovery Plan for International Education.
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What is ‘transforming to a more sustainable future state’?
ENZ has been tasked with a programme of work that focuses on the diversification of education products and services. It forms part of the Government’s International Education Recovery Plan, under the “Transforming to a More Sustainable Future State” workstream.
Its overarching objective is to build sector resilience and diversify our offerings to broaden and enhance the value that international education brings to New Zealand over the longer term. This programme of work complements the Recovery Plan’s other focus areas, including early return of students and strengthening the system.
Although the pandemic has accelerated it, the need for diversification through a greater range of innovative products and services was first recognised in the 2018 New Zealand International Education Strategy (NZIES) under Goal 2, ‘Achieving Sustainable Growth’.
We now find ourselves in an environment that has already changed – we must respond to it, both in the short-term while borders are closed, and longer-term to build resilience against further big shocks.
We have a big opportunity now to identify areas where New Zealand can develop new high-value, high quality offerings that are grounded in the unique strengths of New Zealand and our education providers, and to wrap our education system and offerings around those areas.
Areas of focus
It’s important to note that this programme of work is not just about exploring other modes of delivery or a big digital project headed by the Government. Under the Recovery Plan there are three areas of focus in the Diversifying Products & Services programme:
- Exploration, testing and development of new products and services, as per Goal 2 of the NZIES and the 2020 sector Future Focus Programme funding
- Exploration of online platforms or partnerships, both to deliver online products but also to connect with audiences with a specific interest in online learning and/or online pathways to study in New Zealand
- Offshore pathways that will enable learners to begin their New Zealand journey from their home country and then transfer directly into qualifications offered in New Zealand.
We've already made a good start around our exploration of offshore pathway models with the Global New Zealand Education Pathways partnership with NCUK and New Zealand’s eight universities, launched December 2020.
Our overall goal is to support our established model of in-bound mobility with new and different ways of learning and in the long-term grow the overall value of our industry. Additionally, we want to ensure we maximise international education’s contribution to New Zealand’s wider international connectedness.
As Minister Mahuta said in a recent speech, “I believe that diplomacy is intergenerational in intent, where we put people, planet, peace and prosperity for all at the centre.”
Our international education offerings across in-bound and out-bound mobility, including blended, online and offshore delivery, can all be key enablers of this wider vision for our people and planet.
How are we going to do it?
The project team is currently exploring ideas around both innovative means of connecting with audiences (i.e. technology and channels), but also ideas for the evolution of education products, services and experiences that we might offer to international learners.
As a first step, ENZ ran an envisioning workshop in December with a range of innovation leaders from across different industries. From this, we’ve gained a draft vision of direction for future product and service offerings, and identified a set of emerging strategic themes.
The next step was taking these themes, ideas and concepts from December’s workshop and exploring further with govt agencies, and in a subsequent envisioning workshop with the same group of innovation leaders.
These workshops, and future sessions with members of the sector, learners and other stakeholders will co-design around agreed themes, from which ENZ will develop prototypes to test in association with the sector and potential audiences.
The project team and I are very much looking forward to updating and involving you as we progress in this co-design and prototype process over the next few months. We will make sure to keep you updated and aware of opportunities for engagement through E-News, your Business Development Manager, and your peak body.
Ngā mihi,
Paul Irwin
ENZ General Manager – Partnerships & Marketing
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Viet Nam webinar series boosts interest in New Zealand ITPs and PTEs
The webinar series is part of a work programme to raise the profile of New Zealand’s subsectors in Viet Nam, while strengthening connections between New Zealand providers and Vietnamese education agents.
This initiative is key to ENZ’s ongoing efforts to diversify New Zealand’s international education offerings in Viet Nam, and ensuring prospective students are aware of the practical skills, industry connections, and post-study opportunities they can gain through New Zealand ITPs and PTEs.
The series featured three education agent-focused webinars, and one session for prospective students and their parents co-organised by ENZ and seven local education agencies.
The agent-focused webinars attracted an average of over 120 attendees per session, peaking at 131, demonstrating strong interest from Viet Nam’s agent network.
The student-facing webinar drew around 200 registrations and had 70 prospective students attend.
Participating New Zealand providers included Wintec, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Eastern Institute of Technology, Toi Ohomai, Southern Institute of Technology, WelTec & Whitireia, New Zealand Skills and Education Group, Pacific International Hotel Management School, Le Cordon Bleu, and Up Education (NZTC, NZMA, Yoobee).
This wide sector presence ensured agents and prospective students received timely sector updates and insights first hand.
Immigration New Zealand contributed to the first agent-only session with updated details on in-study and post-study work rights for international students in vocational and degree programmes at ITPs and PTEs. They also shared policy updates, guidance, best practice on pathway visas, and practical tips to help agents prepare and submit strong visa applications for ITP/PTE students.
ENZ Market Manager Van Banh said the feedback was positive.
“New Zealand providers said they really valued the opportunity to connect with the Vietnamese market through these webinars, noting that the format allowed them to share tailored information and highlight the strengths of their programmes,” she said.
“Vietnamese agents also gave positive feedback, and said the sessions equipped them with practical knowledge about New Zealand’s study options with ITPs and PTEs, so they can be even more confident and effective in their conversations with prospective students,” Van added.