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International students learn about sustainability
As part of the English Language School’s commitment to sustainability, New Horizon students are taking part in regular tree-planting days, with the planted trees then being named after individual students.
Through a connection with Fresh Air Forests, a sub-group of Habitat Biodiversity and Pest Management Limited, students now not only plant trees but also receive certificates with the coordinates of their exact tree, so they can track its growth and progress in real time once they return home.
Student Issaree Homjun is a big fan of the initiative saying she enjoyed the combination of being outside and “doing something good for the planet.”
Lindsey Scott at New Horizon College said that while the experience itself is enjoyable, it’s the drive to keep New Zealand’s environment healthy and beautiful that is the biggest motivator.
“It spreads the message of environmental responsibility, which is one of New Horizon’s core values,” Lindsey said.
“Students are not only improving their English language skills but are making a tangible contribution to the wider Hawke’s Bay community.”
New Horizon’s plans to promote sustainability don’t end here.
“We’re starting a ‘bags not’ movement, aimed at significantly reducing single-use plastic bags. This sits alongside opportunities for our students to participate in local community projects organised by the Regional Council and Forest and Bird.”
A focus on the environment is also being woven into the teaching programme at New Horizon College.
“We’re launching a new course called English and the Environment. Environmental concerns are of course of significant international interest. We’ll focus both on what we’re doing well but also on identifying areas for improvement, and how we might share ideas with other countries.”
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Around the world in five
GLOBAL
‘Country brand’ driving international students’ decisions
A country's brand is becoming an important driver when considering study destinations abroad, a survey of 20,000 students has found.
VIET NAM
From recipient to partner in international education
Viet Nam's Strategy for Education Development is placing an increased emphasis on the internationalisation of higher education in order to lift the global ranking of its universities and overhaul its outdated curriculum.
INDIA
High percentage of parents want their children to study abroad
As many as 44 percent of parents in India want to send their children to study abroad, including to destinations such as the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand.
JAPAN
Japan woos new faces from the outside
An aging population and shrinking domestic workforce in Japan are forcing the Asian nation to liberalise its immigration laws and has seen the number of foreign students double in the past five years to 260,000.
AFRICA
Demand for business education rises in Africa
Business schools from outside Africa have been keen to capitalise on the interest as demand for business education rises in the region but the hurdles of cost and regional relevance remain.
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Kiwi publisher partners with US
The partnership will see the development of a new Global Ed series, JillE Literacy, a reading package containing more than 320 books, written by international education consultant and author, Jill Eggleton.
The series will support HMH’s new reading programme, Into Reading, and will be available for classroom use from June 2019.
Jill Eggleton, and Global Ed Director Tracy Strudley, have been working with HMH for 12 months and are delighted with the new partnership.
“Their access into classrooms in the US is second-to-none. Our goal is to teach reading and HMH can sell these books across US, Canada, South America and the Middle East,” said Tracy.
“The partnership was made possible thanks in part to ENZ’s funding to the Publishers Association New Zealand, which allowed us to travel into the market twice. Without that support, this deal would have taken significantly longer to conclude.”
As part of the partnership, Jill will travel to the US twice a year to train teachers on how to teach reading. Global Ed has worked with New Zealand-based company Essential Resources to build supporting teacher material for JillE Literacy.
“We need more engaged students. Therefore, we need books that excite them – books that spark emotion, imagination, critical thinking, curiosity and creativity,” said Jill.
ENZ Industry Development Manager Annabel Robertson says the partnership shows that education technology (EdTech) has great potential to internationalise New Zealand.
“Global Ed’s new partnership is sharing New Zealand teaching styles and providing teachers around the world with literacy tools to help students. This is great international publicity for our education system.”
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New Zealand-Viet Nam education ties deepen
This is the first New Zealand Government scholarship programme offered exclusively to Vietnamese secondary school students.
“A total of 36 New Zealand schools from nine regions are taking part in the scholarship initiative,” said ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson.
“We expect the programme will build partnerships and profile for New Zealand education across Viet Nam.
“The way we’ve tailored the scholarships to involve multiple regions across New Zealand also reflects a government commitment to ensuring the benefits of international education are shared widely.”
Among the 36 scholarships are 11 He Tohu Awhero (Ambition) scholarships supporting 30% of the tuition fees for the first year of study, and 25 He Tohu Hiranga (Excellence) scholarships supporting 50% of the tuition fees for the first year of study. One outstanding student recipient of the He Tohu Hiranga scholarship will be offered 100% of tuition fees for the first year of study.
Later this month, 35 of the New Zealand schools taking part in the initiative will visit schools in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to promote the scholarship and explore further collaborations.
Entries for the scholarships opened 1 March and the Vietnamese students will begin their study in Term 3, starting 22 July 2019.
Alongside the scholarship initiative, ENZ has also signed a Collaboration Arrangement with Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the aim of which is to deepen the education relationship between New Zealand and Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Viet Nam with 13 million people in the metropolitan area.
“As part of this MoU, we will be exploring a range of partnership opportunities which includes the opportunity for New Zealand teachers and students to have an international education experience in Viet Nam,” said Grant.
“New Zealanders have a lot to gain from exposure to other cultures – language learning, for example. These experiences also expose our students and teachers to new possibilities.”
The Collaborative Arrangement and scholarship programme are part of a broader work programme being driven by ENZ.
Vietnamese school students studying in New Zealand contribute an estimated NZD $21m to our economy (2017 figures released in 2018).
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ENZ farewells Charles Finny
Charles was appointed in 2011 when ENZ was first established and has led the organisation through a period of extraordinary change and growth.
Under Charles’ watch, ENZ reached the international education sector’s then target of $5 billion value seven years early. He chaired ENZ through three ministers, three Prime Ministers, two governments, and three Secretaries of Education. He approved 28 Quarterly Reports and seven Annual Reports, appeared at five Select Committee hearings and governed with 14 Board members.
“Charles has led both ENZ and the wider community through a considerable change in attitude and understanding of the broader value of international education,” said ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson, who added that he had met with Charles “pretty much every week for 7 years.”
“For many leaders the aim is to leave an organisation in better shape than when they arrived. I'd say, ‘Job very well done’.”
Charles was presented with a Māripi, a traditional, elaborately carved Māori cutting instrument made of wood, as an acknowledgement of ENZ’s respect, appreciation and gratitude.
Steve Maharey took up the role of ENZ Chair on 1 March. His appointment is for three years.
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Interning in Shenzhen, China
I’ve spent most of my life living in Auckland, so travelling to China for an internship was quite the experience. I saw an advert from Career Development and Employability Services (CDES) at the University of Auckland on Facebook, applied straight away, and was stoked to make it in.
I was fortunate enough to secure an internship at a blockchain start-up in the city of Shenzhen, often referred to as the “Silicon Valley” of China, located in Mainland China right on the border with Hong Kong (which you can see across the harbour). My role saw me coding websites, giving presentations on video games to developers, designing, marketing and even being the face of the company at technology conferences. I learnt a lot about international business and Chinese culture – which is vastly different to New Zealand.
Jack (centre) being interviewed by a journalist in Chicago, US.
During my internship I was sent to the USA. The company had plans to expand into the Western world, so being a Kiwi who was comfortable with public speaking, my employers thought it would be advantageous to showcase just how international our business was by having me as the face of the company in America!
I spent two weeks travelling in Las Vegas and Chicago. While in Las Vegas, I went to two blockchain conferences – one where I was given the opportunity to speak on stage on the topic of “Why should we decentralize the gaming industry?”, which is the main goal of our company. It was an incredible experience, sharing the stage with notable influencers in the industry including Gary Vaynerchuk (American-Belarusian entrepreneur) and Steve Wozniak (American philanthropist and tech entrepreneur who co-founded Apple).
After Vegas, I flew to Chicago – one of the most impressive cities in the States. The amazing river cruise that runs through the city provides views of the great architectural history, not to mention the delicious deep-dish pizza Chicago is famous for! My company sponsored a blockchain conference, where my role was to introduce the company to potential partners as well as getting involved in the Chicago blockchain community, meeting some great people.
"Experiencing other countries gives a wider perspective of business, as well as skills to approach tasks in a different way you might not have thought of. Moving to a foreign country is something I feel more people should do."
The PMSA gave me the opportunity to express my independence and confidence by travelling overseas to work and furthering my knowledge and experience from what I’d learnt at university. Not to mention seeing some amazing sights throughout China! I was lucky enough to get out of the city every other weekend, from exploring the Li River in Guilin by bamboo raft to looking over the picturesque West Lake in Hangzhou. Each place has its own unique culture and flavour. Southern China is truly beautiful, with cloudless blue skies and some amazing beach days in 30-degree weather (or hotter).
CDES were extremely helpful throughout the whole process of planning for and heading off on my overseas internship. They made sure all the interns were comfortable travelling to China before the internship, and Catherine Stephens, the CDES manager, was always on hand to answer all my questions. Even now, they continue to help me with cover letters and CVs for job applications.
My advice to students looking at internships is to look at overseas opportunities. Experiencing other countries gives a wider perspective of business, as well as skills to approach tasks in a different way you might not have thought of. Moving to a foreign country, especially one where you don’t speak the language and that has a vastly different culture to your own, is something I feel more people should do. At first it can feel daunting but when you embrace it you will absolutely love it!
I’m so grateful for this opportunity and am now filled with a thirst to continue to learn about other cultures, as well as to keep up my Mandarin. And I’d like to go back to China again to visit the friends I made while I was there.
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Letter from the CE: Living the brand
I would like to offer a very big thank you to education providers up and down the country for the genuine support and compassion you gave to your students and families after the terrorist attacks in Christchurch. You embodied New Zealand’s brand values.
I would especially like to acknowledge the work that went into ensuring accurate, appropriate messages were given to students, parents and other key parties, and the ongoing efforts to visit, and speak and comfort, affected people personally.
Because of this amazing level of support, international students are continuing to have positive experiences in New Zealand. We have heard of very few cases of international students returning home, and in some cases, the warmth in our response has only reaffirmed their decision to study here.
Here at ENZ, we are continuing to respond in a market-specific way to ensure New Zealand remains a sought-after study destination.
These progressive and inclusive values Kiwis have demonstrated in recent weeks will be reflected in the ‘Think New’ brand refresh currently underway. It strengthens New Zealand’s identity as a welcoming study destination for all students, with strong cultural values and a future-focussed teaching style and learning environment where students can prepare for the future.
We look forward to sharing it with you later in the year.
Grant McPherson
ENZ Chief Executive
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Around the world in five
VIET NAM
Comparison platform Talk Study launched
Talk Study is a new service allowing prospective international students in Viet Nam to compare study abroad options based on over 20,000 student and alumni reviews on institutions across Australia, UK, US, Canada and New Zealand.
US
Ethical agents should support direct student admissions
According to a survey, only 38.5% of US institutions reported using agents in 2017. This means 61.5% – a solid majority – still didn’t. In addition, nearly 70% of institutions said agents were of limited or no importance to their international recruitment strategy.
FRANCE
France will increase university fees for non-EU students
Foreign students that come to study in France will now have to pay higher fees. Fees for non-European university students will be, at least, ten times higher than for their European counterparts.
JAPAN
English level at Japan's secondary schools falls short of government target
The English-language ability of students at public secondary schools fell short of the government’s target in 2018. A survey shows that final-year students of both junior and senior high schools did not reach the 50 percent goal set for them.
INDIA
Higher education system in India needs more investment, reforms: Govt official
The situation of higher education in India is grim and needs to be reformed, an official has said, while emphasising the need to grow Indian expertise in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
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Tokyo teachers learn from New Zealand
The workshop was hosted by ENZ in collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, and facilitated by Dr Howard Youngs, Director of Auckland University of Technology (AUT) School of Education.
Misa Kitaoka, ENZ’s Senior Market Development Manager – Japan, said the interactive workshop on key values, social competencies and learning areas based on the New Zealand Curriculum, was a valuable experience for participating teachers.
“The most popular exercise among the teachers was the pepeha, where they introduced themselves by speaking in te reo Māori for the first time. The experience helped the teachers relate to and better understand their students who may not be native Japanese speakers.”
The workshop was particularly relevant to today’s Tokyo schools which are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity and language, Misa said. This was particularly the case with the launch of the Tokyo Board of Education’s ‘Diverse Link Tokyo Edu’, a new learning initiative to promote inquiry-based learning with overseas institutions and organisations.
“I look forward to working with New Zealand providers to showcase the Kiwi classroom experience, and the way it highlights the uniqueness of the New Zealand curriculum, to complement our student recruitment work.”
Held in the last week of April, the workshop was also a way to acknowledge Japan’s new Reiwa era, which began on 1 May after Emperor Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum throne.
“Hosting an event around a new imperial era is of enormous significance in Japan, and Reiwa (which means beautiful harmony in Japanese) is said to reset the national mood,” Misa said.
Dr Youngs’ innovative workshop was featured in Japanese media, including Yomiuri Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest national newspapers.
Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education’s Director of International Education, Ms Akiko Mori, said the workshop was a wonderful opportunity for Tokyo teachers to get a taste of the latest pedagogy from a New Zealand university through the board’s partnership with Education New Zealand.
“I have received great feedback from the participants and look forward to promoting more opportunities like this as part of the Diverse Link Tokyo Edu initiative,” she said.
Ms Mori will be speaking at the upcoming NZIEC to introduce new initiatives by the Tokyo Government to promote international education, global talent and leadership in Japan.
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INZ working to improve immigration outcomes for international students
In keeping with New Zealand’s International Education Strategy 2018-2030, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is placing greater emphasis on striking the right balance between facilitating migration and protecting migrants and New Zealand.
Jeannie Melville, Assistant General Manager, Education and Tourism says, “INZ is committed to ensuring the right level of scrutiny is applied to visa applications to ensure the right decisions are made for New Zealand. INZ is processing visa applications as fast as practicable and we generally do a good job; however, processing times will always depend on the complexity of an application.”
Since the start of the peak student visa processing season in November 2018, INZ has seen an increase in applications from students who require a greater level of assessment and verification. These applications take longer to process and, as a result, people have not received visas within the period of time they expected.
In terms of application numbers, there has also been a noticeable increase in the volume of student visa applications. From India alone, there was a 42 per cent increase over the peak period of November 2018-February 2019, compared to the previous year, and applications from China increased by 21 per cent.
INZ has been engaging regularly with education providers, sector peak bodies and Education New Zealand to update them on processing times and the reasons why some student visa applications are taking longer to process than expected.
“INZ is committed to ensuring that education providers have confidence in our systems and processes. We want to support education providers and students to use the immigration system effectively, efficiently and appropriately,” says Jeannie.“We are taking action to address the increased time required to process some applications. INZ’s Mumbai office is the primary hub for first-time student visa applications, and is boosting processing capacity to manage the increase in volume, with additional staff already recruited.”
INZ will continue working with peak bodies to improve guidance for students around the documentation requirements for student visa applications.
