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• Chinese and Kiwi students team up for tech innovation

  Twenty six secondary school students from Sichuan Province, China, and 15 students from Avonside Girls’ High School and Shirley Boys’ High School participated in the Canterbury Sichuan Innovation & Technology Youth Summit, held in the city’s Innovation Precinct earlier this month.

  Christchurch Educated partnered with the Ministry of Awesome to deliver the five-day programme that included workshops on teamwork and pitching, visits to central city innovation zones and talks from young, local entrepreneurs. 

  The students worked in teams to develop a tech solution for a problem they identified relating to food, language and culture, transport or city. Solutions included a ‘smart’ rubbish disposal system for dirty cities, an app that uses music to teach new languages, and augmented reality glasses that allow users to interact with people from another country and practise communicating before they visit. 

  On the final day, participants pitched their solution to a panel of experts from the tech industry who awarded prizes for the most innovative solution, best teamwork and best pitch. 

  One of the judges, Helen Shorthouse, Technology Sector Leader, ChristchurchNZ, said by working in teams the students had quickly developed cross-cultural understanding. 

  “It was really impressive the way they took common problems facing both New Zealand and China and developed innovative tech solutions that could be applied in both countries.”

  A number of young entrepreneurs from Christchurch start-ups including ShareaCamper, Smish, FluentIQ, EVNEX and the Christchurch City Council’s ‘Are you Alright?’ campaign shared their experiences and helped participants prepare for their pitches.

  The event comes out of the Canterbury-Sichuan relationship that has been in development since an MoU was signed with the Sichuan Provincial Government in 2013.

  Karen Haigh, ChristchurchNZ Market Project Manager, International Education, said this is the first time the event has been held in Christchurch but there are plans to continue it. 

  “We foresee the programme being run on an annual basis with Chinese partners, and also offered to other markets such as Korea and Viet Nam. 

  “We hope it will attract more students with an interest in IT to Christchurch, while showcasing the innovation and tech opportunities here.”

• NZIEC challenge speaker urges educators to embrace global citizenship

  Scarlett said global citizenship is thinking more widely than just the context of your immediate community, city or country and being a person who understands the rights and responsibilities as a true citizen of the world.

  Last year, Scarlett was funded by the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO to travel to Canada with other young people to write the International Youth White Paper on Global Citizenship and present it at the Third UNESCO Forum for Global Citizenship Education.

  The experience made her think through more complex global issues and work with young people coming from different places and perspectives.

  “I care so much about this because I believe it is the best way to make the world a better place,” Scarlett said.

  While it is not simple for people to become global citizens, as there is no quick fix to complex world problems, students often feel helpless and become disengaged.

  This is where educators can help by being the bridge between students and global citizenship, by teaching students to understand diversity and think critically, she said.

  “Your global citizenship can’t just live through young people, you need to put it into action in your own lives."

  Scarlett said not only do today’s educators need to actively engage young people from a variety of backgrounds and empower and upskill students to be prepared for the world’s complexity, educators also need to hold themselves accountable and take action on global citizenship now, to shape the future for the next generation. 

• Leading an International Education Quest! - Dr Jason Fox

  This was the challenge Dr Jason Fox, a modern day wizard-rogue, author and leadership adviser set NZIEC conference attendees.

  Using self-deprecating humour, and drawing on real life examples, Dr Fox challenged the audience to look at the patterns in their lives, to effect meaningful change.

  Many of us are time-poor, which Dr Fox said causes us to ‘leverage our default thinking’. That is to do what we have always done. The concern is that we use default thinking 98 percent of the time. This is “robbing us of our best thinking.”

  Defaults — established ways of doing things — are an important element of any enterprise. We need them — they save us a heap of time, and make us much more efficient.

  But lo! Dr Fox said most organisations have now become cursed with efficiency and default thinking.

  “We’re all so busy, and so what happens is… more of the same. We seek quick fixes and familiar solutions that tick the right boxes and save us time — but in doing so lead us closer down the path toward irrelevance.

  To stay relevant, we must know when (and how) to disrupt default thinking, so that we may pioneer new strategy (beyond the established path).”

  Conferences give us a rich opportunity to disrupt default thinking. He said new thinking is the most valuable thinking in a world that is undergoing profound social and technological disruption.

  Dr Fox said if you ask workers in an organisation what it is that motivates them best, the most common response was “a clear sense of progress.” This underlines the importance of celebrating small / early wins.

  In closing, Dr Fox talked about the things we do to put off meaningful thinking – procrastination, perfectionism, busyness, disorganisation, physiological sabotage, over-commitment and more.

  To conclude, Dr Fox challenged his audience, saying “we all make choices and our choices make us.”

   

• Students experience a New Zealand classroom in Thailand

  Approximately 600 fair visitors, including students and their parents, were given a glimpse into what life is like for New Zealand students.

  The fair was also attended by the New Zealand Ambassador to Thailand, His Excellency Ben King, who presided over the opening ceremony and welcomed all the participants.

  A popular exhibit was the New Zealand simulated classroom experience, which showcased New Zealand’s interactive and hands-on learning and teaching methods.

  ENZ Marketing and Strategic Relations Manager – Thailand Chortip Pramoolpol, said the simulated classroom experience drew a great response from fair participants and was fully booked for each of the four sessions on offer.

  “The simulated classroom experience targeted students aged 11 to 18 years old".

  “With Facebook Live in one of the classroom sessions, we were able to reach 43,282 people!"

  “The top five locations for people to engage with the Facebook Live stream were Bangkok, Auckland, Wellington, Metro Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.

  “We also launched a new registration and lead management system at the fair, which will enable us and education institutions to continue to engage with potential international students,” Chortip said.

• Mapping emerging trends in education

  ENZ General Manager – Student Marketing, Paul Irwin, said attendees really enjoyed tackling these big issues during the Crowdsource Café session. 

  “Our audience uncovered some really interesting themes and thoughts for us all to reflect on. Ideas included focusing less on competition and more on collaboration, for example the opportunity to build your own degree across New Zealand.

  “We also talked about how everyone is the student of the future.  There will be more opportunities for lifelong learning and there will be a greater need to upskill due to automation,” Paul said.

  ENZ Regional Director – South Asia, South East Asia and Middle East, John Laxon said participants also agreed that the learner of the future will prefer personalised, flexible learning.

  “The modes of delivery will change as we move towards students being able to learn anywhere, anytime. 

  “Another theme that came through was a move towards offering shorter programmes, targeting life-long learners.”

  John said there was great discussion about moving towards diversified, individualised learning programmes that are globally recognised.

  “It’s definitely an exciting time to be involved in international education,” he said.

• Thai study abroad expo a great opportunity

  For the past 15 years, the Thai International Educational Consultants Association (TIECA) has organised the annual fair. TIECA is Thailand’s peak body of educational consultants, with more than 70 members actively working in the education area.

  The 2017 expo will largely focus on the school sector, but will also include language schools, high schools and universities, with participants from educational institutions from around the world.

  Jaruwan Pongjaruwat, ENZ Programme Manager – Thailand, said last year’s fair was very impressive, with more than 900 visitors attending. 

  “Last year, 12 New Zealand providers joined the fair, and it would be great to have even more this year. It’s a great opportunity for providers to interact with Thai students and agents face-to-face.”

  At the fair, institutions have the chance to meet TIECA agent members during a networking event and discuss possibilities of collaborating together in future. There will also be education system seminars throughout the expo to raise awareness of institutions and increase student enrolment.

  New Zealand institutions interested in joining in the event must download and complete an application form from Booth Booking Form and submit to manager@tieca.com

• New enrolment guide for students

  Enrolment information has been the second-most requested content on SiNZ social media channels, so ENZ has created an enrolment guide to sit on the SiNZ website.

  The guide has two sections: how to apply to study at a primary, secondary or English language school, and how to apply to study at a tertiary institution.

  Lucia Alarcon, ENZ International Digital Project Manager, says the guide provides step by step information on the enrolment process for each of these levels of study.

  “We’ve included brief information about application procedures, including required documents, application fees, interviews and English language assessments. 

  “We make it clear that the information is a general guide only, with procedures varying between institutions.”

  The enrolment guide is part of ENZ’s new 5 Steps to Studying in New Zealand process, which breaks up the study abroad journey to help students understand how to get started.

  The 5 Steps encourage students to check out the practical content we’ve added to SiNZ in recent months. Along with the enrolment guide, the new content includes our Cost of Living and Explore NZ pages.

• New Zealand is world-leading in preparing students for the future

  The first report, The Worldwide Educating for the Future Index, was released by The Economist Intelligence Unit, and ranked New Zealand first out of 35 economies for instilling future skills.

  The report looked at how well each country was preparing students in a time of rapid change, where there is a greater need for students to know how to learn, rather than reiterate knowledge.

  New Zealand’s ranking was attributed to university-industry collaboration, a future-skills focused curriculum framework and the high quality of our teacher education.

  The second report, The World Economic Forum’s Global Human Capital Report 2017, ranked New Zealand seventh out of 130 countries for preparing people for the future of work.

  The report states that how nations develop their human capital can be a more important determinant of their long-term success than virtually any other factor.

  The report is a tool to assess progress within countries and point to opportunities for cross-country learning and exchange.

  “Both of these reports are fantastic international endorsements for New Zealand’s education system,” said ENZ’s General Manager, Stakeholders and Communications, John Goulter.

• SIT students journey to Japan

  The students are Bachelor of Information Technology or Master of Information Technology students at SIT. Thanks to the scholarship, they are participating in an eight-week Cybersecurity and Internet of Things Knowledge Transfer and Cultural Programme at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST).

  Accompanying the students is Dr John Ayoade, the academic leader of the Master of Information Technology programme at SIT. Having previously worked at Tokyo’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Dr Ayoade took the group to visit NICT to attend presentations and hands-on workshops by its cybersecurity experts and researchers.

  “The PMSA programme will help the students to build connections, networks and friendships, and develop a deeper understanding of the Japanese language and culture,” said Dr Ayoade.

  “They’ll also gain an international perspective that will stand them in good stead for their future careers, and in the short-term, contribute to ideas for their postgraduate and master’s projects at SIT.”

  Staying in Kichijoji, a vibrant suburb in Tokyo, the students have also had some down time to explore Shinjuku, Akihabara, Shibuya, Harajuku and SkyTree and visit the local shops, cafes and restaurants.

  Having just concluded their first week, they are excited and looking forward to learning from the talented professors at NAIST.

• From Whangaparaoa to Colombia

  As a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Latin America (PMSLA), Eve Bain, 23, is undertaking a two-semester exchange in Colombia to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree.

  After finishing her LLB (Hons) at Victoria University of Wellington, Eve headed to Medellín, Colombia in January to study Political Science at Universidad EAFIT.

  “I really wanted to immerse myself in a completely different culture and become fluent in Spanish,” she said.

  “EAFIT is an extremely modern and impressive university and a lovely place to study. It’s been fascinating to study political science during the peace process in Colombia, and to talk to Colombians about their perspectives on the process too.”

  Eve says some of the biggest differences in education between the two countries are the structure of classes at the university.

  “Here there are no lectures. It’s more like college, with classes of 25 to 30 students. There are a lot of group projects and small quizzes, whereas at university in New Zealand you have two or three big independent assignments.”

  Eve recently obtained the EAFIT Language Centre’s ‘scholarship to share culture and language,’ which will enable her to take Spanish-language classes while teaching English to children each week, using New Zealand culture and history as a platform.

  “People often don’t know a lot about New Zealand but they know Lord of the Rings was filmed there and that our country is beautiful.

  “I plan to bake Anzac cookies with them, and teach them some Kiwi slang, rugby and kapa haka!”

  Eve describes the Colombian culture as vibrant and rich, and says the people are some of the friendliest she has met.

  “It’s also been great to connect with Kiwis here through the scholarship – I even had dinner with New Zealand’s Ambassador to Chile and New Zealand’s Trade Commissioner for South America last month.”

  

  Eve in San Agustin, where she “had the trip of a lifetime” doing a 6-day horse trek through the rain forest (despite no previous horse riding experience).

  Eve is about to start her second semester of study before returning to New Zealand in December. She said so far she’s had nothing but positive experiences.

  “I am really proud of my progress so far – I have improved my Spanish so much now that I am fairly fluent, and I have learned a lot about the history and culture of Colombia, and the region more generally.”

  “I am also gaining skills that will be valuable for New Zealand in the future, particularly for my future goals of diplomacy and international dispute settlement.”

  “My experience here would not have been possible without the PMSLA.”