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Meet the team: John Goulter
Could you please outline your own role and the role of the Stakeholders and Communications team?
The Stakeholders and Communications team looks after the part of ENZ’s work that intersects with key external groups – such as other government departments, Ministers, Parliament and, through our various channels, the people of New Zealand.
We try to get all those influences lined up in support of international education. Right now, thanks to COVID-19, there is more external focus on international education than there has been for years. We try to ensure it’s well-informed.
How has COVID-19 impacted your team’s work, and what work do you have ahead of you with the recovery?
Sometimes it seems like we have done nothing else since COVID-19 appeared on the horizon way back in January.
It has brought to the surface some long-running issues about international education. It’s an opportunity for us to show leadership in outlining the future role of the sector, and developing interesting new approaches.

John with ENZ Field Director - North America Lewis Gibson in Washington DC.

Can you tell me a bit about your professional background?
I was a journalist for a long time, mainly reporting politics from the Press Gallery in Parliament.
I loved that at the time but I moved into public affairs roles because after a while in journalism I wanted to be influencing the way things happen, rather than just writing about them.
Journalism is now changing totally, like many sectors are. Some new models are emerging, but it’s a struggle in a country the size of New Zealand.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I like running and travelling and live music. So I’m not having a great year. Most running events have been cancelled or postponed, and so have all the concerts I had booked for.
I listen to some podcasts, mainly about running and politics in the United States. It is hard for us to fathom the depth of the COVID-19 crisis they are going through.
I actually liked a lot about our lockdown. It was good being a little family unit at home. I loved running on nearly empty roads. I took up Zoom yoga classes with my daughter in Christchurch. I wonder about what the new reality is going to look like for us all.
South Canterbury welcomes Thai agent
What was the purpose of Pear’s visit to South Canterbury?
Education South Canterbury is working on developing an MOU with Thai schools introduced to us by Pear. She was in South Canterbury specifically to familiarise herself with our schools and to experience the region as the students do. She visited each of Education South Canterbury’s member schools and met with students at each one.
How did Pear’s visit fit in with Education South Canterbury’s goals?
Thailand is a focus market and an important and valuable partner for Education South Canterbury.
In the Education South Canterbury strategic plan we are working to develop capability and support the government goals for 2025.
As we are developing an MOU with schools in Thailand that Pear works with, we felt that the familiarisation visit would give her a strong understanding of the educational experiences offered by institutions and the student lifestyle here in the region.
Education South Canterbury was delighted to give Pear a first-hand experience of the region, so that she can support and promote the special features of the programmes that we offer.
What did Pear see and experience during her visit?
Pear’s visit started with a welcome dinner with the members of Education South Canterbury and included a lunch hosted by the Mayor.
We wanted to give Pear the opportunity to experience the activities that our students take part in while studying in the region – she went to a country cafe complete with farmyard animals, and mini golf and afternoon tea with Thai students currently studying at a local school and Aoraki Polytechnic.
Pear visited the Te Ana Rock Art Centre and was very impressed with the cultural history of the region
Unfortunately, the planned trip to Tekapo for a jet boat ride had to be cancelled due to gale force winds! So, that gave her first-hand experience of New Zealand’s changeable weather patterns.
Pear stayed in Geraldine and Timaru, getting a taste of both town and country lifestyles, and experiencing both homestay and motel accommodation, further strengthening her insights in to the student and parent experience.
What did Pear enjoy most?
Pear really enjoyed the chance to meet all of the Education South Canterbury members and develop relationships with the International Directors at each of the institutions.
She loved meeting the current students and felt their enthusiasm and honest feedback was really valuable.
In Geraldine Pear loved looking at the stars after we had been out for a meal. With no light pollution she had some great views of the Milky Way – the clear night air almost magnifies the vista. This is something Pear just doesn’t get to see in the large cities of Thailand.
What did you learn about Thailand from Pear?
All Education South Canterbury members are familiar with Thailand and have visited regularly, so we were especially pleased to get specific information about the schools we are dealing with and the expectations around our MOU from the Thai schools’ perspective. We really appreciated Pear’s forthrightness in working through the specifics of the process.
How are you maintaining the relationship now that Pear’s gone home?
We have been in regular email contact with Pear since her return to Thailand, and we are planning an Education South Canterbury group delegation visit in early September to see Pear and visit NZ Study.
What do you see as unique about South Canterbury education and culture?
In South Canterbury we don’t just do international education, we internationalise our education.
South Canterbury offers an authentic small town Kiwi experience, where all students are known in the school and warmly embraced by the wider community. Students get an individual and intimate experience – they are all made to feel special and develop lifelong friendships with Kiwi students and homestay families.
The experience is very much a two-way exchange between the international students and the Kiwi students. The visiting students opened our Kiwi students’ eyes to their lifestyle, culture and life experiences… so becoming the educators of our students!
South Canterbury is “New Zealand at your back door”. We offer beaches, mountains, rivers and diverse landscapes – outdoor excitement with a sense of security. In South Canterbury, you can travel from the Southern Alps to the ocean in two hours or less.
Students in Education South Canterbury schools learn in the environment. Field trips and outdoor pursuits take them out into the real New Zealand and they are immersed in the environment they are learning about.
Students in South Canterbury schools can embrace the arts – music and theatre, orchestras, brass bands and sing in New Zealand award-winning choral groups.
No matter what students want to pursue, South Canterbury offers the opportunity!
L – R: Julie McLean, Pear and Mayor of Timaru, Damon Odey
Thank you to NZIEC KI TUA 2024 Partners

This year’s conference was attended by 449 delegates and saw 31 sessions delivered over two days by 96 speakers, including expert panellists.

It was a pleasure to have India as our Country of Honour and the support of the High Commissioner of India to New Zealand, Her Excellency Ms. Neeta Bhushan and the High Commission of India.

To our NZIEC KI TUA 2024 partners; CANIE: Climate Action Network for International Educators, Edified, Education USA, ETS TOEFL, Flywire, Hiremaster, Host Families NZ, ICEF, IDP Education Ltd and IELTS Official, Immigration New Zealand and NZQA, Pearson, Streamliner Productions, Studentsafe (Allianz Partners New Zealand), The PIE, ByteEd, Chasing Time English, JIX Reality and Pipi Learning, Touchprint, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington - thank you for your support.

ENZ Manager, Global Events and Agents, Janine Huxford says, 'We are so appreciative for the fantastic support from our suppliers and partners who went above and beyond to help us achieve our vision.”

“The conference wouldn't have been possible without you" Janine added.

The High Commission of India provided the entertainment for the gala dinner, with the Natraj Dance Company and Shivam dance company dance groups delivering dazzling performances to delegates.

To highlight the country of honour’s unique culture, henna artist Saburi Kesharwani adorned delegates with henna tattoos in the Experience Garden.

There were many other engaging activations in our Experience Garden, which was a place delegates could do just that – engage, connect, and experience.  

Education USA helped attendees uncover their inner superhero. Teacher Tapahia Heke is New Zealand’s only ‘superhero reader’ and was at the conference to help delegates find their superhero alter-ego – right down to the outfit. Graphic designer and animation professional Pita Mei brought the readings to life, providing delegates with a personalised superhero illustration to take home.

Delicious refreshments were key in the experience garden. Delegates enjoyed locally made ICEF-cream provided by ICEF and barista-made coffee from Student Safe.

Thanks to IDP Education Ltd there was a dedicated breakout space for conference attendees. The IDP IELTS lounge was a space to network, learn about the latest international education insights and catch up on their emails.

Thanks to Touchprint, who created the ‘Touchprint School Yard’, a space for the school sector delegates to connect and share.

The Pearson photography headshots activation was a hit, with just under 100 photos taken by local professional photographer Rebecca McMillan.

Delegates got the opportunity to try out some of the cutting-edge technology that some of our New Zealand EdTech companies offer. Pictured here is Dr Anatole Bogatski, Executive Director of QTI trying out the mixed reality prototype that ENZ is testing as part of its innovation and growth programme. Next to him is JIX Founder Sakthi Ranganathan trying out the tool that he has helped develop. Other New Zealand EdTechs also found in the Experience Garden included Pipi Learning, ByteEd and Chasing Time English.

Much appreciation goes to our partner Flywire as the Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland office now has a new piece of artwork based on insights from attendees for their office wall.

NZIEC KI TUA 2024 was not just about nurturing the relationships within our sector. Thanks to our conference partner Edified, it was about nurturing our whenua (land) too! In our commitment to sustainability; for every delegate registration, Edified planted a native tree, fostering a greener future for generations to come. 

449 native trees were planted over the weekend after conference.

We’re grateful for the local hāpu, iwi and community who got stuck in and helped with the planting. Part of the team was international student Momone Akiyoshi, who’s from Japan and is currently studying at Paraparaumu College. Her host sister Marion Daste (left) and host mum Jo Picot (right) brought her along because they thought it would be nice for Momone to be part of regenerating the land and having the opportunity of planting native trees while in New Zealand.

Thanks to all our 2024 partners in making this year’s conference a great one! 

Check out the photo highlights reel from NZIEC KI TUA here. 
Ask New Anything: The campaign in China
Ask New Anything, ENZ’s latest global, digital campaign, was launched worldwide in early October and a week later in China – after national holiday Golden Week. In China, the campaign leveraged ENZ’s strategic platforms with the help of our digital partner UMS.
So far, nearly 37 million Chinese have engaged with the campaign and ENZ’s following on WeChat has almost doubled as a result.
To celebrate the success of Ask New Anything in China, we’ve broken down four of our key platforms and explained why they are important when it comes to having a presence in this part of the world.
1. Zhihu
ENZ is the first international education agency in the world to have an official account on Zhihu. This puts ENZ in the company of other well-known international brands such as Audi and Airbnb.
Zhihu is the latest platform to be added to ENZ’s Chinese social portfolio. Like Quora and Reddit, Zhihu is known in China as a space for Q&As, making it a great fit for the Ask New Anything campaign.
Visit our Zhihu account to watch a campaign video developed especially for this platform.
2.WeChat
It was a natural choice to promote Ask New Anything on WeChat.
ENZ is one of the first education agencies in the world to utilise a premium format of WeChat Interactive Ads, and has engaged with 24 million users in our target groups since Ask New Anything began.
WeChat is a mobile app that does almost everything in China. It currently has over one billion active monthly users worldwide and is growing. In China, our audiences use WeChat to connect with brands, with each other, to shop, to order taxis, the list goes on.
ENZ has had an account on WeChat since 2014, and currently has more than 58,500 followers – including prospective Chinese students and their parents. Almost half of these began following the channel in 2019 as a result of a more targeted approach to our campaigns. Through this channel, users can explore what interests them most about studying in New Zealand.
3. WeChat mini-programme: My StudyNZ
ENZ added My StudyNZ to our WeChat portfolio in October 2018. This is a bespoke application developed for the platform.
The mini-programme delivers the same course-matching experience as our global My StudyNZ platform to Chinese audiences, via WeChat.
- Read more about My StudyNZ on WeChat
- To visit My StudyNZ on WeChat, scan the QR code below from your WeChat account:
4. .cn website
Earlier this year, ENZ launched a China version of the student-facing Study in New Zealand website with a China domain (.cn).
This new website overcame issues with accessibility, performance and loading speed in China, and is optimised for Baidu (China’s largest search engine).
- Visit the China website at studyinnewzealand.cn
- Read more about the China website
5. Weibo and YouKu
The Ask New Anything campaign also has a presence on Weibo, which remains one of China’s largest social media platforms, and on YouKu, the China equivalent of YouTube.
International Student Barometer results
What can we do differently to meet and exceed students’ expectations?
The 2014 English Language Sector (ELS) and Private Training Establishment (PTE) International Student Barometer (ISB) surveys were commissioned by Education New Zealand to investigate the decision-making, expectations, perceptions and experiences of over 2,000 international students enrolled with New Zealand providers.
The ISB surveys also incorporate a global benchmark to provide an indication of how New Zealand compares to other countries offering English language learning and niche education such as that offered by PTEs.
Overall, students rate their study experience in New Zealand highly – above the global benchmark for both sectors. Students’ inclination to recommend their institution is above the global average 2012 for the ELS, but slightly below the global average for the PTE sector.
Interactive seminars for PTE and ELS providers were held last week as an opportunity for providers to delve a little deeper into the findings and examine best practice activity.
Participants in both seminars were in agreement that the setting and meeting of expectations, and opportunities to meet and interact with New Zealanders were priorities going forward.
Other areas identified by participants for consideration included:
- The need to address the sense of isolation from school and community that some students feel by facilitating involvement in community, cultural and groups and sports clubs.
- Providing timely and accurate information to the student before they arrive in New Zealand, on the programme of study and on the New Zealand lifestyle and Kiwi culture.
- With social networking sites ranking low in importance as an influencer for choice of institution should organisations rethink their marketing activities?
- The provision of tailored pathways advice for students progressing to further study or into employment.
Game On English launched in style
New Zealand has teamed up its expertise in rugby and English language teaching to develop a new edu-sport programme for Japan in the lead up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics.
On Monday 7 July Prime Minister John Key and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched Game On English in Auckland as part of Mr Abe's official visit to New Zealand.
The leaders threw a rugby ball to the programme’s inaugural students – Japan's national sevens female champions from Iwami Chisuikan High School – to kick off a rugby skills training session and officially launch the programme.
The Prime Ministers, current All Black Conrad Smith and Huriana Manuel, captain of the New Zealand women's sevens team and Black Fern, met and shook hands with each of the rugby players before they went through their training paces.
In the lead up to Japan hosting the Rugby World Cup and Summer Olympics Prime Minister Abe has announced a government goal to improve English language skills and increase sporting capacity amongst youth.
"As a country with an envious track record of developing the world’s best rugby players and a top quality education system, New Zealand is well placed to help the Japanese government meet their goal," says Grant McPherson, Chief Executive, Education New Zealand.
The Game On English programme matches English language providers with sports academies to deliver centrally-organised, bespoke courses for young athletes.
"Growing export revenue from international education is a key part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda. Programmes such as Game On English are aligning New Zealand’s educational expertise with demand in the global market."
Japan is now the third largest source of international students to New Zealand.
"Our success as a country will be determined by our level of connectedness with the rest of the world. Education is one of the best ways to build international linkages.
"These students will act as ambassadors for New Zealand education promoting the quality of our education system when they return to Japan," says Mr McPherson.
The Iwami Chisuikan sevens team are studying English at the English Language Centre of Auckland Institute of Studies (AIS) in the morning and training with Auckland Rugby Academy in the afternoon for the month they are in New Zealand.
"New Zealand is very different from Japan, but the people here made it really easy for me to adapt and feel comfortable. I enjoy being able to communicate freely with people from different backgrounds in class, and the support we get from teachers is invaluable," says Iwami Chisuikan player Aoi Kurokawa.
"Kiwis train differently – they emphasise technique and make training fun. I would like to bring what I learned back to Japan."
Ran Aoki is also enjoying her rugby in New Zealand. "The best part of the programme is the training. Auckland Rugby make it fun and give invaluable comments and feedback."
"Kiwis value the quality of training in a given timeframe over accumulated hours which allows us to get the most out of our short stay in New Zealand.
"I learn English all around – in class, whilst training, and at home with my homestay family!"
In two weeks a second group of Game On English students will arrive from Japan.
Eleven secondary school players from Kanto Super League will be based in Dunedin - studying English at the University of Otago Language Centre and receiving rugby training from Otago Rugby Football Union and local Dunedin high schools.
Both groups of students are in New Zealand at the invitation of the New Zealand government to pilot the programme.
"It is our intention that Game on English will be rolled out nationally and New Zealand will support Japan in achieving their English language and sporting ambitions in the next five to six years and beyond," says Mr McPherson.
We will evaluate the pilot programme over the next month and advise the next step in due course.
Southern Institute of Technology cultural education exchange introduces Aotearoa to Kansas

When Covid hit, the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) knew that it was well placed to engage with its students digitally, as it already had a well-established distance learning faculty. The next move was to look at how that capability could be used for international education.

Using distance learning for cultural education internationally

Beyond widening its offering of fees-based online courses, SIT understood the value of establishing cultural exchanges which would engage current learners and potentially generate interest from future learners, says Study Abroad and Partnership Officer Whitney Irwin. She worked in collaboration with the School of Business faculty to set up the cultural exchange between SIT students and those at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in Kansas, USA. “Being able to create buy-in and have a motivated faculty to get partnership projects across the line is the key to success. SIT has a wonderful culture, and we have all worked together to reorientate our international strategy for the greater good of SIT and our wider community.”

Experiencing New Zealand Life from afar

Twenty-five JCCC Economics students asked to be involved out of a class of sixty, reflecting a desire to learn about far-flung New Zealand, meet global peers and to try something new. From SIT, 23 Management students and 28 Communications students took part, with both groups of students using the interactions to produce assessed work.

“Our aim was to allow US students to see New Zealand life and get a taste of who we are, what we do, and how do we do it, with the bonus that it could also lead to the opening of doors for students to visit New Zealand, and vice versa,” says tutor Selena Coburn.

Using Zoom, Snapchat, and Instagram, students interviewed each other to learn about our different cultures, looking at differences in communication, lifestyle, politics, and making economic comparisons. Minimum wage, average house prices, and everyday living costs were compared, what the US and NZ dollar bought, and who was actually better off overall.

They learned about New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, rural life, Māori culture, the filming of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, our outdoors lifestyle, and our connections with Australia. They also explored more personal subjects - relationships, music preferences, religious beliefs, parental expectations, and what they did in their spare time.

“The Kansas students now have a real sense of the kind of people we are,” Ms Coburn says.

Creating opportunities with a cultural education exchange

Digital collaboration also presents an opportunity for students, both in New Zealand and offshore, who could never afford to travel or would be uncomfortable leaving their home country, to still experience the cultural exchange which international education offers,” Ms Irwin says.

“It builds confidence and familiarity with a destination such as New Zealand which may encourage the students to travel here for study later on.”

And this has proved to be the case, with six Kansas students already saying they are keen to come to New Zealand.

“All going well, the intention is to host JCCC students here at SIT in 2023.” Ms Irwin says she expects the changes in the ways education is being delivered will continue well into the post-Covid environment.

“Virtual exchanges are a fantastic collaboration of ideas, which can lead on to the development of other educational products and services.”
Recognising Manaaki and Prime Minister Scholarship Programme milestones

ENZ took over operational management of the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships Programme (MNZSP) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 1 November 2022. The MNZSP is a key pillar of New Zealand’s International Development Cooperation commitments (formerly New Zealand Aid) and is the Government’s single-largest investment in international scholarships. The programme has a 70-year history and approximately 1,100 scholarships are awarded each year, to scholars from 112 developing nations.

Manaaki Scholarships Manager Julia Moore says the first 12 months has had a dual focus on bringing enhancements to the programme and ensuring it has a seamless transition into ENZ for scholars and providers.

“ENZ is working closely with tertiary education providers to understand their needs, build relationships and identify areas for improvement. As part of this mahi, we recently brought together providers for the first ENZ run Tertiary Education Providers workshop. It was a great opportunity for all parties to come together, track progress in the past year and plan for the future” she says.

ENZ is also working jointly with providers to bring the programme forward after disruptions that took place as a result of COVID-19 border closures, including clearing a pipeline of scholars who had been selected pre or during the pandemic and had been unable to start their programmes in New Zealand.

A suite of branded digital collateral and assets has also been developed for partners in the Manaaki Programme with easy-to-use tools and assets for their marketing efforts, which they can find on ENZ’s BrandLab.

Find out more about Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships Programme by visiting the website.

Prime Minister’s Scholarships

In April 2022 ENZ was delighted to award group Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia and Latin America (PMSA/PMSLA) to Māori whānau trusts for the first time in the 10-year history of the scheme. This is part of a wider programme of work to ensure the scholarship programme delivers on our Te Tiriti obligations and is more accessible to all New Zealanders over the age of 18.

The Prime Minister’s Scholarship programme aims to strengthen New Zealand’s ability to engage with key Asian and Latin American trading partners, improving the internationalisation of indigenous communities, New Zealand tertiary institutions, showcasing the strength and quality of New Zealand's education system and enhancing inter-cultural awareness and connections between New Zealand and other countries. The scholarship offers flexible funding to support both short and long-term programmes including study exchange, internships, postgraduate study, and language programmes.

The Erana Kaunga Tuhura Whānau Trust was one of the 2022 group scholarship recipients. The group travelled to Indonesia to learn about sustainable living systems and building techniques, they produced a video to capture their time there.

Director Scholarships Carla Rey Vasquez says she’s humbled to see the video the trust put together.

“It is a great demonstration of how ENZ is effectively partnering with whānau Māori to achieve global citizenship outcomes and transform the way that international education delivers with and for Māori” she says.

ENZ is eager to continue partnering with iwi, marae and whānau groups to raise Māori participation in the Prime Minister’s Scholarship programme. The next round of Prime Minister’s Scholarships will open for group applications at the start of next year.

Find out more about the programme and sign up for updates by visiting the Prime Minister’s Scholarships website.
Creating a China-first digital ecosystem
Western websites and social media platforms have issues with accessibility, performance and loading speed in China, so ENZ has had to create bespoke digital technology to share the New Zealand education story with Chinese students.
ENZ carried out focus groups with Chinese international students to gather insights while designing the website to ensure it met the needs of a Chinese audience.
Its new website has a China domain name (.cn), has been search engine-optimised and is tracked with Baidu analytics (China’s equivalent of Google).
The site has also been integrated with ENZ’s database marketing system, enabling ENZ to follow up leads and capture marketing data. Having a .cn domain name enables ENZ to run a marketing campaign to boost its search rankings in Baidu.
The site works strategically with ENZ’s account on WeChat, China’s most popular social media app with more than one billion users.
ENZ has had an account on WeChat since 2014, and now has more than 53,000 followers.
In October last year, ENZ brought My StudyNZ to WeChat. My StudyNZ provides personalised study matches for international students exploring study in New Zealand.
Three-quarters of people using My StudyNZ on WeChat browse their study matches for almost two minutes, which is a good level of engagement.
Students using My StudyNZ in China are more likely to fund their own studies than students globally (76% compared to 33%) and more likely to have tuition budgets of more than $30,000 (30% compared to 15%). Ten percent are interested in studying at a school, compared to 3% of students globally, which illustrates the high value of this market.
ENZ’s International Social Engagement Specialist, Nicole Baird, said ENZ has a frequent calendar of social media posts to engage with its WeChat audience.
“We are also increasing our capabilities to segment our WeChat audience to direct content specific to each follower’s needs,” Nicole said.
ENZ’s Digital Programme Manager, Lucia Alarcon, said ENZ’s bigger and more robust ecosystem offers useful insights to help inform its marketing strategy.
“We are able to strengthen and increase our data capabilities and gain insights to inform our marketing decisions.”
Visit the China site here. Read more about My StudyNZ on WeChat here, or take a look at it by searching for its official Chinese name on WeChat (新西兰留学规划) or by scanning this QR code:
Felix Loh: kūwaha a symbol of enduring ties to New Zealand

Now chief executive of the stunning and expansive botanical attraction that is Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, Felix is delighted that it was selected as the site for a Māori kūwaha, or carved doorway, which feels personally symbolic to him.

Recently unveiled by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the kūwaha celebrates the long-standing friendship between Aotearoa New Zealand and Singapore. “New Zealand has a special place in my heart, and I am honoured to host this precious Māori artefact. I hope the kūwaha will be a symbol of our friendship for many years to come.”

New Zealand now feels like a second home to Felix, but he shocked his parents and perplexed the scholarship selection committee back in 1988 when he told them he wanted to study horticulture at Massey University.

“I knew that Massey was well-known as an agricultural centre of excellence, and that horticulture was a very popular course,” he says. “But they were puzzled and asked me why I wanted to be a farmer in an urban city state like Singapore.

“My Dad did not speak to me for a few years, because Asians all want their kids to be lawyers, engineers, and doctors, and I chose to be a plant doctor instead. But I never regretted that decision.”

Felix says he felt welcome from the moment he arrived in New Zealand and enjoyed his four years as an international student so much he would have stayed on if he could. But the terms of his scholarship meant he needed to return to Singapore.

The Māori kūwaha recently unveiled at Gardens by the Bay.

No such thing as a stupid question

A less formal approach to education, with an emphasis on inquiry and collaborative learning, proved an initial challenge for Felix but ended up being one of the reasons he rates his New Zealand education experience so highly.

“At my first class we were told that we were expected to ask questions. This was the first time that I heard the phrase ‘there’s no such thing as a stupid question’,” he says. “That shook me, because in Singapore in those days nobody answered a question in class unless they were sure they had the right answer. For the first time, someone was willing to explore an alternative point of view.”

He turned up to English classes thinking it would simply be language tuition but discovered it was all about writing for your audience, with essays to be critiqued by classmates. “I initially questioned why fellow students would judge my work, but I quickly understood the value in taking on board a diversity of views to refine an idea or get a better product.”

And group project work certainly provided a life lesson for Felix, who had been conditioned to individual success based on exam results. “Not only did we have to work in groups, but we couldn’t choose our project partners,” he says.

“I’ll never forget the lecturer telling us that when we get to the workplace, we cannot choose our boss or even our colleagues, so we need to be able to work with different people. I learned that New Zealanders place people at the centre of what they do, and that we need to learn to appreciate the input of others.”

“I learned that New Zealanders place people at the centre of what they do”

Felix says his New Zealand education set him up for life-long learning which has helped to drive his career success. “You’ve got to learn and unlearn throughout your whole lifetime. It’s not so much about the content, but about being curious and knowing where to go for the answers.”

Friendships lead to enduring ties

It is through the people he met that he has forged an enduring relationship with New Zealand. Fellow churchgoers and schoolmates became life-long friends and “a moral and emotional support base” over the years. He has returned to New Zealand many times and stays in touch with former lecturers and teaching staff, some of whom are now plant suppliers for him in his role at Gardens by the Bay.

Felix at Gardens by the Bay.

“When I took on this job, one of my first trips was to go back to New Zealand to source new plants for our temperate Flower Dome. I visited a number of nurseries, just knocking on their doors, and I was made to feel so welcome. It just felt like I was at home.”

The world is a very different place from what it was in the 1990s, but Felix says the value of international education remains as important as ever.

“International education helps us to understand other perspectives better and demystify misconceptions we have about each other.

“In today’s uncertain world it is always good to have friends in other places. You discover that we have more things in common than set us apart.”