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• NZIEC 2018 showcases global citizenship

  Two Ministers attended: Minister of Immigration, Hon Iain Lees-Galloway, spoke about the Government’s changes to post-study work rights for international students, and Education Minister, Hon Chris Hipkins announced the International Education Strategy 2018-2030. Both Ministers spoke of the Government’s confidence in the bright future of New Zealand’s international education future.

  Master of ceremonies, award-winning journalist Miriama Kamo, kept conference moving with humour and poise. She interviewed three international students on their experiences living and studying in New Zealand.

  

  Yuki Sugito from Japan came to New Zealand after being interested in the All Blacks at the 2015 World Cup. Ada Wang from Nanchang, China, who is studying a Master’s degree at Victoria University, told us about the case she took to the Tenancy Tribunal and won. Angelique Viola talked about leaving behind a business and career in her native Philippines to study accounting at WelTec. All three are enjoying their lives and studies in New Zealand – and Kiwi food featured strongly, most especially their love for fish’n’chips.

  

   

  

  We learned from Shanton Chang about the digital journeys of international students. And we became one of New Zealand’s top trending topics on Twitter.

  Delegates enjoyed a taste of Brazil at the NZIEC Carnival on Thursday night. 

  

  NZIEC Country of Honour host, Brazilian Ambassador HE Paulo Camargo, spoke movingly of the connections between Brazil and New Zealand. 

  

  Surprise poet Karlo Mila delighted guests by pulling together two days of intense discussions in a poem specially commissioned for NZIEC 2018.

  The largest number of industry presenters inspired, debated and informed delegates across six breakout streams providing new insights for improving the student experience, making a mark online, collaborating to win – and more.

  And delegates took up the plentiful networking opportunities with gusto – many a korero was observed in the conference environs!

  ENZ gratefully acknowledges all our conference partners and exhibitors, including Lead Partner BPO Intelligence, Premium Partners Vodafone New Zealand and OKNZ and Southern Cross Travel Insurance, Partners IDP IELTS Australia, QS and Western Union, Media Partner The PIE News, Programme Partner AFS New Zealand, Espresso Partner StuMagz and Country of Honour host, the Embassy of Brazil in New Zealand. Thank you one and all.

  If you missed the opportunity to connect with our partners or exhibitors at conference, you can do so through the NZIEC website. 

  Conference delegates can provide feedback on conference through the conference app. If you have any suggestions for next year, please don’t hesitate to email nziec@verve.co.nz. 

  NZIEC 2019 will be held at the SkyCity Convention Centre on 7-8 August 2019. The theme will be ‘Navigating Our Changing World’.

  We look forward to seeing you in Auckland for NZIEC 2019!

• ENZ refreshes Recognised Agency programme

  Following extensive review, ENZ has made key changes to its Recognised Agency programme.

  On a yearly basis, educations agencies will need to meet core requirements to gain or retain Recognised Agency status, including meeting a points target and minimum visa approval rate.

  “This aims to give confidence to stakeholders that Recognised Agencies are successfully, and consistently placing international students with New Zealand education providers,” said Dan.

  “Furthermore, the annual renewal process will ensure that the Recognised Agency information listed on the Study in New Zealand website is up-to-date and providers useful information  to students, parents and education providers who are seeking to engage with an education agent.”

  The changes to ENZRA broadly align with the objectives of the International Education Strategy, and contribute to the attraction of high-value students through ongoing support of quality education agencies.

  “Education agencies play an important role in assisting international students. By engaging more closely with high-quality agencies, we hope to help enrich the student experience by ensuring they are provided with comprehensive, accurate and factual advice regarding studying and living in New Zealand.

  The new ENZRA programme will be live from 1 November 2018.

  Further information can be found here.

• From the CE: New Zealand education promotion continues at pace

  I can assure you I have never seen as much interest in New Zealand as an education destination. Despite the challenges we’re all aware of and the activities of our competitor countries, the New Zealand education offering remains attractive. We all must continue to tell the New Zealand education story.

  On Friday 17 March, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti announced new appointments to our Board. I want to acknowledge outgoing Board Chair, Steve Maharey, and welcome Tracey Bridges to the role. Steve has been a stalwart and tireless advocate for international education, both in the community and the corridors of power for over 30 years. In his time as our Chair, he has seen and contributed to enormous change within the sector and ENZ. Personally, I have appreciated his deep understanding, straight talking and clear direction.

  Tracey Bridges has knowledge of regional economic development, expertise in strategy, risk and reputation management, and in social marketing. She is Chair of the Wellington Economic Development Agency Limited (WellingtonNZ), co-founder of The Good Registry and sits on the Boards of Sky Stadium, Whānau Āwhina Plunket, the Wellfed NZ Trust and the Digital Media Trust.

  Tracey is joined by Dr Therese Arseneau. Dr Arseneau also has knowledge of economic development including international education’s contribution to regional economic development, and governance experience in the tertiary sector at the Ara Institute and the Open Polytechnic. She previously chaired Regenerate Christchurch and Enterprise North Canterbury.

  We all know that the contribution of international education is far broader than just the direct and immediate economic impact of the students that come to New Zealand. For the first time, ENZ along with EY have sought to quantify the extent and the value of these wider benefits.

  Research commissioned by ENZ that will be released before the end of March found that international education is not only a significant contributor to the New Zealand economy but also that international students living and working in the country bring in a raft of social, cultural, and international benefits. It goes on to explore the extent of the indirect longer-term contribution to New Zealand’s GDP from the small proportion of international students that remain in New Zealand on completion of their studies. The research also quantifies the impact of the pandemic.

  Look out for the formal release and when it is available I urge you to download the report from Intellilab.

  To complete your international education-related reading list, our Briefing to the Incoming Minister, Minister Tinetti is now available here on the ENZ website. The BIM, as it is known, is prepared when new Ministers are appointed to portfolios.

  He maurea kai whiria! – Ignore small matters and direct effort toward important projects!

  Ngā mihi nui, 

  Grant McPherson  

• Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins to address NZIEC 2019

  For the second time in his role as Minister of Education, Minister Hipkins will address the conference delegates of NZIEC 2019.

  On the morning of 7 August, Minister Hipkins will give a ministerial address followed by a brief question and answer session, where delegates will get to put their questions to the Minister through the Conference app.

  Minister Hipkins will reflect on the past year in international education, and address the opportunities and challenges the sector will face in the coming 12 months. 

  Delegates interested in hearing more on the Strategy can head to the panel session on the Wednesday afternoon. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and ENZ, the ‘New Zealand Internation Education Strategy: One Year On’ session will discuss how the cross-agency action plan has affected positive change and collaboration. Additional to the Ministry of Education and ENZ, there will be representatives from all agencies involved including MFAT, MBIE, Immigration NZ and NZQA.

  To be held over 7 and 8 August, the 28th annual NZIEC will focus on the theme of ‘Navigating our changing world’. You can view the full programme here.

  The conference will host more than 600 delegates and a wide range of industry presenters. There are still a handful of tickets left, so register now on the NZIEC website if you don’t want to miss out.

• Changes to the Funds Transfer Scheme

  As of 1 October 2018, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited (ANZ) have implemented changes to the Funds Transfer Scheme (FTS) process to make it easier for students to transfer their maintenance funds to New Zealand.

  While the FTS itself does not guarantee that a student visa application will be approved, it provides international students an option to safely transfer their maintenance funds to a New Zealand bank account before they get here to help ensure access to these funds once they are in New Zealand.

  It is currently available for students from China, India, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

  Following feedback, INZ and ANZ have been working together to streamline the FTS, with the following changes being implemented on 1 October 2018:

  • Students will only need to complete one FTS application form instead of two separate forms
  • Minimum funds requirements will be the same for all FTS students (NZ $15,000)
  • FTS accounts will be set up for the first year of study only (12 months)
  • Students will be able to choose the local bank to use for the transfer of funds into their FTS account in New Zealand
  • There will be a more efficient funds confirmation process.

  Celia Coombes, INZ’s Sector Relationship Manager (Education), says the changes will not negatively impact students.

  “INZ and ANZ have worked very hard to review the FTS scheme and make it easier for students to use as an option to transfer money to cover their living costs to New Zealand. We are confident that the changes will make the FTS a more streamlined and flexible service.”

  Visit the INZ website for more information on the FTS.

  A factsheet with more information can be found here.

  It is also available in Chinese here.

• Refresh of ENZ Recognised Agency programme

  The ENZ Recognised Agency is a programme focused on identifying and engaging with proven, committed and ethical education agencies. It was re-launched in late 2018.

  ENZ is dedicated to increasing engagement with quality education agencies that have demonstrated a long-term commitment to promoting New Zealand as an international study destination and are successfully placing students at New Zealand education providers. 

  The Recognised Agency programme intends to allow ENZ to better, and more regularly, interact with high-quality education agents. While it is not a regulatory programme, it is anticipated that education providers and prospective students will have a higher level of confidence in the quality, expertise and commitment of a Recognised Agency.

  Recognised Agencies are able to display the above logo.

  Go to our StudyinNewZealand website to view the refreshed list. For queries regarding education agents, please email: agenthelp@enz.govt.nz.

• Mortal Engines offers ENZ opportunity to showcase education strengths in creative arts to prospective students

  The New Zealand premiere of Mortal Engines took place in Auckland last night and the film is released to New Zealand audiences from today.

  ENZ and the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) have partnered with Universal Pictures, MRC and Hungry City Limited on the film as part of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant 5% uplift.

  ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson says this partnership is a great opportunity to build awareness of New Zealand’s world-leading education system – particularly in the creative industries.

  “Mortal Engines marks a real shift in the New Zealand story we want to tell the world,” Mr McPherson says.

  “This film was made in New Zealand not because of the beauty of our landscapes but because of the depth of talent and level of technical sophistication available here.

  “The partnership allows us to showcase New Zealand’s education strengths in the creative arts. It supports our brand positioning of New Zealand as a modern, dynamic and innovative country with a lot to offer in the highly competitive international education market.”

  The last few years have already seen growing numbers of international students studying creative arts in New Zealand – 5,139 in 2017, up 24% on 2012.

  Principal photography took place in Wellington in early 2017, and involved more than 1000 New Zealanders including crew, cast and craftspeople. The film was shot at Stone Street and Avalon Studios and at a few small local exterior locations. Post production was completed by Park Road Post Production with visual effects work realised by Academy-Award winning company Weta Digital.

  Crew members included recent graduates (including several former international students): an assistant props designer who studied Industrial Design at Victoria University of Wellington, an apprentice editor who studied at South Seas Film School in Auckland, a film editor with a Bachelor of Digital Design from Auckland University of Technology, and a visual special effects capture booth photographer who studied animation at Yoobee School.

  Grant says the partnership has provided an opportunity for ENZ to tell graduates’ stories to other prospective international students through an integrated promotional campaign, including PR, digital marketing and social media activity across our channels which have more than one million followers.

  The campaign will begin in January 2019. There will be a Mortal Engines page on the Study in New Zealand website which will encourage prospective students to sign up to ENZ’s database. A series of emails will follow to this qualified audience providing information about a variety of design disciplines and courses related to filmmaking.

  “Our goal is to generate awareness of New Zealand’s specialised courses and hands-on learning style in the creative industries through sharing videos and profiles celebrating our graduates who worked on the film,” says Grant.

  “We look forward to getting the marketing campaign underway next month, and attracting more high-quality, creative international students to study in our institutions.”

  You can read the full media release here.

• New Export Education Levy rates released

  The levy rate for PTEs will increase from 0.45% to 0.89% of international student tuition fees, and from 0.45% to 0.50% for universities, ITPs and private schools (the levy paid by state- and state-integrated schools remains unchanged for 2019).

  The new rates take effect from 1 January 2019. Payments for trimester one 2019 will be at the new rates while payments made in January or February 2019 for trimester three 2018 will be at the old rate.

  The levy is collected from providers to fund a broad range of activities including marketing and promotion. It also funds reimbursements for international students caught out by Private Training Establishment (PTE) programme and provider closures.

  The levy fund almost ran out this year due to pay-outs resulting from closures at PTEs.

  Consultation on proposed changes to raise the EEL rate took place from 18 September to 15 October 2018.

  “We have listened to feedback from the sector and have decided on a balanced approach to address some of the key concerns raised during consultation, including the financial impacts on the sector, while continuing to address the immediate financial pressures on the EELs,” said Education Minister Chris Hipkins.

  “This is the first increase to the EEL in its 15 years. The Ministry of Education is doing its bit by reducing annual expenditure commitments against the levy by $300,000.”

  Further work is being done to investigate ways to address other sector concerns, including recognising quality in the PTE sector. Any changes would be the subject of consultation with the sector.

  For further information, see Mr Hipkins’ announcement on the Beehive website.

• Empowering early career scientists through New Zealand-Germany research collaboration

  The third funding round of the New Zealand-German academic exchange programme, known as the Programmes for Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP programme), has enabled five New Zealand research projects to undertake research with academic partners from Germany.

  The following universities have formed partnerships:

  • University of Auckland and University of Paderborn
    Topic: Preparing students for a data science future using innovative teaching  
    
    
  • University of Auckland and the Technical University of Dortmund
    Topic: The development of contextual visual processing in the Ebbinghaus: illusion in children and its underlying neuronal basis (EBBI-KIDS) 
    
    
  • University of Auckland and University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf
    Topic: Perspectives of equitable medical education: a comparison between Aotearoa New Zealand and Germany
    
    
  • University of Canterbury and Westcoast University of Applied Sciences
    Topic: Younger generations as reflexive agents of change: Motivating Generation (Gen) Z to participate in the voluntary sector
    
    
  • University of Otago and Helmholtz Munich
    Topic: Modulation of central GIPR signalling to increase health during ageing

  The programme invited researchers to think of a project that would particularly benefit from working with German academic counterparts. Research projects will run from 2025 to 2026, with work taking place in both New Zealand and Germany. 

  Acting Regional Director, Americas & Europe, Natalie Lulia, said the programme aims to strengthen the relationships between New Zealand and German academics and institutions.   

  “It opens up New Zealand researchers to a global network of academics.  

  “Since the programme’s beginning, we’ve seen awardees think forward and explore possibilities of further collaboration with their research partners” she said. 

  The PPP programme was established in 2021, when ENZ and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding.   

  The bilateral agreement between ENZ and the DAAD enables young academics to further their careers and expand their international research links. ENZ contributes funding to support New Zealand researchers, while the DAAD supports German researchers to travel to New Zealand.  

  Find out more about the PPP programme by visiting the dedicated page on our website. 

  You can also contact Olga Elli, Associate Director of Engagement, Europe at europe@enz.govt.nz. 

• Student visa processing update

  A very large number of applications have been submitted to INZ in January for courses beginning within four weeks of the application submission date.  

  Jeannie Melville, INZ’s Assistant General Manager, Visa Services reminds applicants to apply for their student visa at least eight weeks before their course start date. 

  “For those with an application in progress, we ask that they first check the recent student visa processing times published on the INZ website before contacting INZ to seek an update on their application. Those who submitted their visa application online should also check their online account regularly to ensure they haven’t missed any communications from INZ. If INZ needs more information to decide an application, it will take longer to assess.” 

  During this peak student visa application period, INZ is processing applications in some additional sites in an effort to ensure applications are decided as quickly as possible.  

  To ensure the sector is well informed, INZ is developing improved reporting on application processing, including the volume of work in progress and expected processing times. INZ will provide this information in regular email updates to education peak bodies.

  ENZ is working closely with INZ on student visa processing matters, to help providers, students and agents understand the current situation.  While INZ continues to experience high volumes of student visa applications, ENZ continues to monitor market reactions and engage constructively with INZ. 

  Current fee paying student visa application volumes (as at 27 January 2019)

  Status	Application volumes
  Assessment ongoing	7430
  Approved in principle	1109
  Total on hand	8539

   

  Recent processing timeframes (calculated based on fee paying student visa applications decided 28 Oct 2018-28 Jan 2019) 

  Provider Type	80% decided within:	90% decided within:
  Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics	38 days	50 days
  Private Training Establishments	36 days	47 days
  Schools	15 days	25 days
  Universities	21 days	31 days