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Saying it with socks
Back in May, we reported that Lincoln University had committed to providing international students with a parcel of hand-knitted woolly socks, pineapple lumps and a personal letter ahead of their arrival.
These photos show that those socks have been a big hit!
Lincoln’s International and Student Engagement Director Dee Coleman says that the university receives international students from over 60 countries each year, with some coming unprepared for a New Zealand winter down South. To help them stay warm, Lincoln started the project to provide students with handmade woolly socks.
“When we looked at our source countries, we realised that a lot of our students hail from warm climates and although intrigued by a Kiwi winter, can often come unprepared.”
“Our aim is to keep them warm with some good, old-fashioned Kiwi hospitality, and what better way than with some homespun and hand-knitted South Island woolly socks.”
The socks are hand-knitted by a group of Darfield spinning and knitting enthusiasts, headed up by neighbours Pip Anderson and Ruth Buttle. They have committed to producing up to 40 pairs of hand-knitted socks a year for the university, destined for locations all around the world.
Retired from a life of farming in the district, Ruth still spins her own wool despite no longer having a dedicated flock of black sheep for the purpose. She buys wool, cards it and spins it into double ply wool. It takes a minimum of two hours to spin one ball of wool.
Pip says they are aiming to keep the colours neutral, with splashes of colour so that they look natural and hand made.
Ruth says spinning and knitting are still popular pastimes for rural New Zealand women and that projects like this are an excellent opportunity to get together.
Agent Activity Fund in Colombia takes off
The event was organised by Colombian agency Go Study, Work and Travel and supported by ENZ’s Colombia team, via their Agent Activity Fund. In this inaugural round of the Fund, Colombian agencies were invited to “let their imaginations fly” in proposing ways to promote New Zealand and increase Colombian student numbers to New Zealand.
Five agencies were awarded NZ$2,000 each, with Go Study, Work and Travel's information session being the first cab off the rank.
As an incentive, all participants at the information session went into the draw to receive two 12-week, English-language scholarships donated by EDENZ and New Zealand Language Centres.
The lucky scholarship winners were announced at the event.
A guest speaker at the session was Colombian blogger Maggi Mora who studied English in New Zealand last summer via an English New Zealand International Education Growth Fund project, and raved about her experiences here.
“This was a clear example of the benefits of different agencies working together,” says Lisa Futschek, ENZ Regional Director Americas and Europe.
“An offshore agent, NZ institutions, a former student and ENZ all working together to promote New Zealand is a powerful thing.”
Javiera Visedo, ENZ Market Development Manager in Colombia, says upcoming projects funded by the Agent Activity Fund will focus on promotional activities using social media.
“It was great to see so many agents interested in partnering with us and submitting projects for consideration.
We would like to increase the fund next year because running it for the first time in 2016 has resulted in great exposure for New Zealand.”

Note: If you’re interested in promoting your region to Colombian agents, then check out the ‘Networking starts at home’ story for an opportunity to meet with Colombian (and other) agents in Wellington on Friday 27 May.
Scholarships open for students from Europe
A new scholarship programme designed to increase awareness of New Zealand as a study destination to students in Europe is open.
The “Dream NEW” scholarships target confident, adventurous European university students who are competent enough in English to undertake study at a New Zealand university. The scholarships will appeal to students who like to travel and experience different cultures, while improving their English language skills.
Jointly funded by Education New Zealand and Universities New Zealand, “Dream NEW” offers eight scholarship places – one at each New Zealand university.
The scholarships are valued at up to NZD$ 12,500 (approx. 7,500 €) and will cover tuition fees for eight students undertaking a Study Abroad programme in Semester One, in February and March 2017.
More information on the scholarships can be found on the Study in New Zealand site here.
Information and application details are available in English, French, Italian, Spanish and German.
Learn more about global edtech opportunities
Are you interested in making connections or forming partnerships with education publishers, game developers, ICT companies and educationalists?
Do you want to showcase your edtech tool and learn about how and why teachers and their students are using technology in the classroom?
If the answer is yes, then register now for the Education Technology Summit on 5-6 July at Massey University’s innovation hub in Albany, Auckland.
For those of you from edtech companies outside of Auckland we have 20 heavily discounted tickets to give away. The money you save will get you to Auckland!
Just tell us how much you think educational exports ($ million) contribute to GDP by 31 May. The closest answers will get you a ticket to the two day summit for just $100 – a prize valued at $295. Send your answer to adele.bryant@enz.govt.nz.
Following feedback from previous annual Edtech for Export (et4e) conferences, this year ENZ is supporting the New Zealand Technology Industry Association in bringing educators and edtech businesses together at the same event.
This year’s more collaborative approach – bringing creators and users together – will provide a platform for the growth and development of sustainable and relevant edtech tools for the domestic and export markets.
The Education Technology Summit programme offers separate Edtech for Export and Tech and Pedagogy streams, and plenty of opportunity for interaction between the two.
The programme includes export capability building sessions as well as the chance to hear from local and international speakers on global edtech trends and tips for exporting.
Presenters include:
- Betsy Corcoran, CEO of EdSurge, an award-winning US news and information source on edtech, will speak on “Mind sets and the future of educational technology”.
- Dan Milward of Gamefroot, a provider of online game creation software that teaches programming code in a fun and interactive way
- Graeme Cosslett, CEO of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER)
And, if you’re still wondering whether or not to make the Summit a ‘must attend’ event in your calendar, here’s a success story that had its beginnings in the et4e conference in 2013:
Gamefroot and NZCER are a great example of the power of deep collaboration between educational researchers and game makers. Gamefroot’s Dan Milward and Rachel Bolstad of NZCER worked in the same Wellington building but did not realise they shared a common interest in educational games until they met at et4e 2013. Since then, they have worked together to develop and launch a unique online game for teachers and policy makers called Curriculum for the Future: the Digital Game.
If you have any queries about the Education Technology Summit, contact Business Development Manager, Adele Bryant at adele.bryant@enz.govt.nz.
Otherwise, see you in Auckland in July!
US students experience tikanga Māori on the high seas
Staff and students from the University of Auckland and the Auckland University of Technology enjoyed a day out with local Māori tourism operators Waka Quest Tours and Te Haerenga, which included sailing on the waka Haunui to Motutapu Island where they tasted a delicious hāngī and did some exploring.
ATEED’s International Product Development Manager, Keri Edmonds, says, “This sort of activity is designed to enhance the international student experience. A key focus for our team is to raise the awareness of our cultural offering to international students, and provide greater opportunity for them to connect with Auckland’s people and landscapes.”
“While it’s still early days for this pilot project, it was great to have the opportunity to test out some ideas, which was made possible by funding support from Education New Zealand’s Regional Partnership Programme.”
ATEED’s Māori Tourism Development Manager, Koro Carmen joined Keri on the day and commented, “It was an incredible day of engaging with locals, taking part in tikanga Māori activities and exploring some of Auckland’s iconic landscapes. This is a great example of Māori operators connecting and collaborating with our colleagues to enhance the visitor experience. We were even lucky enough to see several of the endangered takahē wandering around the island!”
Symposium on offshore delivery, Wellington, Thursday 9 June
Do you deliver education products and services offshore? Are you considering venturing in to this aspect of international education and want to know more? Then come along to a one-day symposium in Wellington on Thursday 9 June to explore the opportunities, challenges and value offshore delivery presents.
Jointly hosted by Education New Zealand and Victoria University of Wellington, the symposium will be an opportunity to learn from local and international presenters about their experiences, and engage and share with colleagues in this specialised field. The programme will cover critical success factors, sustainable and collaborative models, quality assurance, explore markets and partners, and consider an online future.
Offshore delivery is a broad church, and includes the delivery of education through offshore campuses or partners, or via online courses.
Global opportunities for offshore education delivery abound, and a good number of New Zealand institutions and businesses are committed to developing their offshore ventures, especially in markets and niches where New Zealand is well-regarded.
In spite of this, it is estimated that only 3 percent of international students enrolled at New Zealand institutions are offshore, compared to 30 percent for Australia and over 50 percent for the UK.
If you are interested in coming along to the symposium please contact Business Development Manager Adele Bryant for a programme and registration details at: adele.bryant@enz.govt.nz or phone (04) 830 0810.
Market insights from Saudi Arabia
The most notable changes have included restrictions to the Saudi scholarships programme, and a renewed focus on increasing the provision of private education to meet future growth in demand. As a result, opportunities ahead will be found in in-country education provision, while changes to the scholarship programme provide an opportunity to position New Zealand well for favoured specialist disciplines.
Saudi Arabia is a ‘promote’ market for Education New Zealand. In 2014, 3,246 Saudi students enrolled with New Zealand providers. Saudi students often progress through English language, foundation courses, bachelor degrees and postgraduate qualifications here. Many New Zealand organisations also offer education services in-market.
Scholarships changes
Saudi Arabia has implemented the largest study-abroad scholarship programme in the world, with up to 180,000 Saudi students being sponsored at any one time.
Students have traditionally entered the scholarship programme either by undertaking three to four months privately funded English language study and then receiving a scholarship from the in-country Cultural Mission (the private-entry pathway), or by receiving a full scholarship in Saudi Arabia (the Saudi-entry pathway).
- Private entry pathway changes: In February the Saudi Government announced restrictions on the private entry pathway, which had accounted for the majority of scholarship students globally. This restriction requires students to attend a top-100 university (Shanghai JiaoTong rankings) before being admitted. This route had been paused since 2015 – a factor reflected in New Zealand’s first time student visa statistics, which show a reduction in first-time student numbers from March 2015 onwards (brown versus blue line below).
- Saudi pathway changes: The Ministry has also reformed the Saudi pathway in 2015 by establishing 'your job your scholarship' which links the scholarships to future employment. The timeframes for this scholarship allocation process has been extended to provide for the central management of scholarships by the Ministry of Education (which merged with the Ministry of Higher Education in 2015).
In sum these changes will increase the entry criteria for the scholarships and therefore the overall calibre of Saudi scholarship students, and position New Zealand well for specialist disciplines that are in-demand in the Saudi labour market.
Increasing international and private education within the Kingdom
The recently appointed Minister of Education, Mohammed Al-Isa, has signalled that the Ministry is to review a long-standing ban on foreign universities. The Minister has also signalled in Arabic media that ‘private education will drive growth in the education sector’.
These signals may see growth in the number of private international operators established in the Kingdom. There will also be increasing opportunities for New Zealand providers to meet in-market demand for high quality education provision. Reflecting the importance that the Saudi authorities are placing on international investment, the theme of the April 2016 Ta’leem Exhibition, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, is ‘Investment in Education’.
Education New Zealand’s activities in Saudi Arabia in 2016 include a three-pronged approach to these changing market dynamics:
- Targeting promotions towards private students, e.g. through the English-language promotional campaign which will focus on students studying abroad over the extended Saudi summer
- Working directly with the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Cultural Mission in New Zealand, and sponsor agencies to offer places through the ‘your job your scholarship’ programme, and
- Supporting New Zealand education organisations to increase the delivery of education services in Kingdom, as the Government tilts its investment towards more ‘in-market’ education solutions and delivery.
For further information, please get in touch with your key ENZ contact.
New Zealand and Korea: new opportunities
When the Korea New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (KNZFTA) came into force on 20 December it included three education and training-related programmes of interest to New Zealand’s international education industry.
The agreement included three education and training related programmes:
1. The Korea New Zealand Agricultural Cooperation Scholarships (KNZACS) – six postgraduate scholarships, two each in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
2. A schools visit programme – 150 short-term high school scholarships each year for three years.
3. Primary Sector Training Visas (PSTV) - 50 visas allocated each year.
The first two opportunities are scholarship programmes jointly funded by the New Zealand and Korean governments and a Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between ENZ and the Korean Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) to implement the arrangements.
Agricultural cooperation scholarships
This postgraduate scholarships programme will provide for six scholarships to be awarded to Korean students to study in New Zealand. Four PhD scholarships will be awarded in 2016 in the fields of forestry and agriculture. Two further scholarships in fisheries will be awarded in 2017 and are open to both PhD and Master’s programmes.
An independent expert panel has been established to select applicants for the first round of the scholarship, with advertising of the scheme to commence in Korea in April. Applications will close on 8 July.
For further information on the scholarships, please contact Christine Roberts at ENZ.
Schools visits programme
The schools visits programme will see 150 high school students from rural regions of South Korea selected to come to a rural or semi-rural areas of New Zealand for an eight week period from July this year.
Canterbury, Waikato and Nelson-Marlborough have been chosen to participate in this programme. Ten schools in each region will host five students each.
The Schools International Education Business Association (SIEBA) will operationalise the programme on behalf of ENZ. If you are a school in the above regions, a Code signatory, a member of SIEBA, and wish to be involved in this initiative we encourage you to contact SIEBA.
Primary sector training visa (PSTV)
The New Zealand government has established an annual quota of 50 primary sector training visas which allow the Korean government to place students with New Zealand training providers in the areas of agriculture and fisheries.
The training programme will involve three months’ English language and vocational training in relevant courses, followed by up to nine months’ paid internship placement in a New Zealand work place.
ENZ is not involved in the implementation of this programme, however we are able to introduce interested and experienced providers to EPIS for programme development and implementation.
The Korean Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) is currently seeking interested providers for the fisheries programme. Eight students are allocated for this stream. If your institution is able to offer a three month English and fisheries training programme, and have established relationship with fisheries workplaces for a minimum of six months’ paid internship placement, please get in touch with Cecily Lin who can connect you with EPIS.
Preliminary information is provided below:
1. What are the academic backgrounds of these students?
The students will be either current students in fisheries high schools or universities, or recent graduates from these institutions within the last two years. The students’ majors will be directly relevant to fishery studies.
All students will be aged 18 or over.
2. What are their levels of English proficiency?
The applicants will be required to demonstrate an appropriate level of English to communicate with their local employer and teacher. EPIS will grant scholarships to students via international certified English tests e.g. TOEIC, TOEIC SPEAKING, OPIC.
3. What is the intended outcome of the three months’ training programme?
To achieve an appropriate level of job performance skills in their work and improved English language skills.
4. What is the intended length and level of internship?
At least six months immediately after the training.
5. What is the expected level of payment to the students during the internship?
The payment must be at the New Zealand minimum wage or above.
6. What are the requirements for participating education providers?
Providers must be Category One.
Above: The EPIS and ENZ teams.
New code for student care established
You are invited to contribute to the development of guidelines that will accompany the new Code.
Launched by Minister Joyce on 10 March, the new Code better reflects the outcomes expected by students and their families, and the high standards of student support that our industry seeks to maintain.
Find out more about the Code and the new contract disputes resolution scheme on the Ministry of Education’s website here.
As the administrator of the Code, NZQA is inviting our industry to contribute to the development of guidelines to help providers understand, in practical terms, what being a Code signatory involves and offer best-practice examples of pastoral care of international students.
Ensure your voice is heard as NZQA drafts these guidelines. As an industry we want to have a high bar of expected practice when it comes to the pastoral care of students. The guidelines should demonstrate examples of what good practice looks like and what, as an industry, you see as the minimum that should be expected.
The Ministry of Education, along with NZQA and Education New Zealand would like to acknowledge the important contribution many of you made to the development of the new Code by sharing your ideas and suggestions throughout the consultation process. It is through this sort of industry participation and commitment that New Zealand continues to be at the forefront of best practice in international student care.
We encourage you to take part in developing the guidelines.
Around the World in Five
USA
Recognising the need for Americans to improve their international awareness, this article views study abroad as a “solution” to American foreign policy isolation. The article discusses the imbalance between the number of international students who study in the US (975,000) and the number of US students who study overseas (304,000), the Generation Study Abroad initiative that aims to double the number of US students who study abroad (and which ENZ is a signatory to), current US government support of study abroad and ideas around potential policy changes to further support study abroad.
Read more

China
During the National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) annual sessions in March 2016 (called the “Lianghui”, or “Two Meetings”), it was identified that skills in the high-end manufacturing industry, the science and technology service industry, IT, the cultural products and creative industries and the finance industry will likely become the most sought-after over the “13th Five-Year Plan” period (2016 – 2020).
Read more

Taiwan
The number of Taiwanese people with a college, university or other type of higher education degree has increased to 5 million (42.68 of the population) in 2015, according to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on Saturday. This is higher than the OECD average.
Read more

Brazil
Jose Celso Freire, head of the international office of Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) and also president of the international education association of Brazil, FAUBAI, is optimistic about the future of the Science without Borders scholarship programme. Mr Freire said, “I don’t believe they will just cut the programme, but there’s a huge push that scholarships will be more focused on postgraduate studies.”
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Vietnam
Transnational education, study abroad and opportunities for collaboration were all on the agenda at an international education conference on integration in education jointly held last week by the Association of Vietnam Universities and Colleges (AVUC) and the Vietnam International Education Consultants Association (VIECA). Held at the Government Guest House Hanoi, the one-day conference welcomed international education experts from both provider and agent sides of the industry and was attended by more than 200 AVUC members, foreign embassy officials and representatives from several government ministries.
Read more