Search

Showing 10 of 1702 results for the cuzzy rolly, latest

• India – Budget update

  India’s economy is struggling under high inflation and the worst slowdown since free-market reforms in early 1990s. The new government is trying to restore the confidence of domestic and foreign investors by bringing more clarity and structure to the taxation system.

  Significant government funding has been allocated to the education sector. The BJP’s manifesto included areas such as girls’ education, e-learning, re-structuring of the University Grants Commission (UGC) into a Higher Education Commission and setting up National Multi-Skill Missions, with more detail about these still to be announced. The Union Government will also create a separate Ministry for promoting entrepreneurship and skills development.

  The budget announced an increased investment in school, vocational and higher education. The government also identified new areas in the higher education sector for further development, such as research in agriculture, life sciences and biotechnology, film and television institutes and sports.

  Some of the key initiatives which might offer opportunities for New Zealand institutions and training providers:

  School education

  • Allocation of NZ$97 million for a teacher training programme to introduce new training tools and motivate teachers under the Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers training programme.

  Vocational education

  • Launch of Skill India, a programme focused on training Indian youth, with an emphasis on employability and entrepreneurship skills.

  • Allocation of NZ$20 million for the Young Leader programme to promote leadership amongst Indian youth.

  Higher education

  • Five new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and five new Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) to be established with an initial allocation of NZ$97 million in the current fiscal year.

  • Five technical research centres will be identified and strengthened.

  • Two new Agricultural Research Institutes of Excellence to be established with an allocation of NZ$20 million.

  • NZ$39 million has been allocated to start two agriculture and two horticulture focused universities.

  • Two new agri-biotechnology clusters to be developed.

  • Two biotechnology clusters planned in Bangalore and Faridabad.

  • Five technical research centres to be strengthened through private public partnerships for nanotechnology.

  • Global partnerships will be developed to transform the Delhi chapter of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) into a world-leader in life sciences and biotechnology.

  • Two film and television institutes will be established.

  • A National Centre for Excellence in Animation, Gaming and Special Effects has been proposed.

  • NZ$20 million has been allocated for the establishment of a sports university in Manipur. An additional investment NZ$20 million is included for training sportsmen and women for upcoming Commonwealth and Asian games.

  Policy/Education loans

  • The government has proposed simplifying procedures to facilitate education loans for higher studies in order to promote higher education amongst youth.

  • The budget announcements present a range of opportunities for New Zealand institutions across different areas.

  • The policy on easing education loans will help boost demand for foreign education.

  • A focus on teacher training presents a range of opportunities for New Zealand institutions in the areas of capability development and delivery.

  • The focus on research in agriculture and biotechnology could attract collaboration with New Zealand institutions that have a high level of expertise in these areas.

  • New Zealand has global expertise in animation, gaming and special effects and the establishment of a National Centre for Excellence could offer opportunities for stronger engagement and collaboration in this field.

  • New Zealand enjoys high level of sporting ties with India at various levels therefore the proposal of new sports university and sports training offers opportunities for New Zealand providers.

  The Education New Zealand team in India has a strong level of engagement at various levels with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and various government stakeholders in India.

  For more information please contact Ziena Jalil, Regional Director – South and South East Asia, india@enz.govt.nz

• New social media launch in China

  “Last year our awareness levels in China grew 17 per cent between April and December,” says Kathryn McCarrison, General Manager Marketing and Channel Development.

  “With year-on-year growth in enrolments and student visa approvals from China, we want to continue building on this momentum in a top priority market for New Zealand.”

  The number of Chinese students studying at a New Zealand institution was up 3 per cent in 2013 on 2012 and this growth looks set to continue, with student visa approvals from January to March this year increasing by 24 per cent. 

  In August new ‘Study New Zealand’ Weibo and WeChat sites will launch, targeting a youth audience with fun, informative and interactive content about studying in New Zealand.

  Weibo is a microblogging platform, similar to both Twitter and Facebook, with more than 129 million monthly active users and more than 61 million average daily active users. Described by Forbes magazines as the world’s most powerful app, WeChat is a similarly popular mobile messaging app used by more than 350 million monthly active users.

  The China team will continue to support the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Embassy’s Weibo account – supplying all-important content about bilateral education and research collaborations which demonstrate the depth of New Zealand’s strong education relationship with China. 

  “We are focused on profiling the dual opportunities New Zealand offers to China, as a high-quality and committed strategic education partner for our education products and services, and as an exceptional study destination,” says Alex Grace, Regional Director – Greater China.

  Whereas social media activity will reach a wide audience, recent campaign activity in China was targeted at those actively considering studying abroad, particularly at university level.  

  The campaign, which remains active until the end of July, matched prospective students to an agent to find out more information about studying in New Zealand.

  To date, over 6,500 prospective students have registered to find out more about New Zealand and these enquiries are being actively followed up by four agencies, who will in turn provide these qualified leads to New Zealand institutions. 

• Investment in international education provides boost

  Over $600,000 of co-funding was awarded in the third round of International Education Growth Fund grants to a mix of projects across the international education sector aimed at growing New Zealand’s international education industry.

  The University of Waikato received co-funding to partner with law schools in China to enable Chinese students to complete their Chinese LLB and undertake a LLM at Waikato, as well as to enable Waikato students to obtain LLM qualifications that are recognised in China.

  Study Applied Sciences – a marketing alliance of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT), Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), Universal College of Learning (UCOL) and Otago Polytechnic (OP) – received co-funding to create print and digital material to raise awareness in Germany of applied science at New Zealand institutes of technology and polytechnics.

  Other successful initiatives include a collaboration of four high schools from Auckland and Tauranga to attract more students from Mexico and a project by Hamilton-based Online Education Ltd to translate its ‘Code Avengers’ online computer programming and web development courses for new markets.

  “A common theme across this round’s participants is collaboration, an imperative for the industry if we are to achieve our goal of increasing the value of international education to New Zealand to $5 billion by 2025,” says Grant McPherson, Chief Executive of Education New Zealand.

  The IEGF offers co-funding to new and innovative projects targeted at international markets. Education New Zealand invests between $10,000 and $50,000 per project to match successful applicants' funding.

  “Over three funding rounds we have invested just over $2 million in 59 growth projects that have helped develop new education products, opened the door to new markets, and facilitated contacts that will lead to new business or investment.

  “International education brings social and cultural benefits to New Zealand, as well as contributing to economic growth, and we welcome opportunities to develop the market offshore for our world-class education programmes, products and services,” says Mr McPherson.

  Applications for round four of the International Growth Fund open on 1 September 2014.

• Think New Kicks Off in Thailand

  Running from 5 August to 31 October, the campaign’s objectives are to generate enquires from prospective students which will then be followed up on by ENZ Recognised Agencies.

  The campaign will promote New Zealand education generally, but advertising will primarily target prospective school and tertiary students in line with current demand.

  The campaign follows recent campaign activity in China, India, Brazil and Japan.

  Thailand is a priority market for Education New Zealand with significant potential for growth.

  The number of Thai students studying in New Zealand increased by 6 per cent in 2013 and along with ENZ’s new structure within the region, the campaign is the start of increased focus on New Zealand’s largest source country of international students in ASEAN.

  Download the campaign overview

  Visit the campaign website.

• Online visa application update

  Immigration ONLINE – Student will allow international students around the world to apply, pay fees and upload supporting documents online. The new service will be available to full fee paying, scholarship, exchange and English language students.

  Student applicants will still need to provide passports. This can be done offshore through Visa Application Centres or, if the applicant is already in New Zealand, through the INZ Palmerston North office.

  Apply on behalf of functionality – for INZ’s third party partners such as immigration advisers, education agents and education providers – is now set to go live in 2015. Later this year INZ will provide more specifics around the delivery timing in 2015.

  While the new system provides international students with a new way to apply for their visas, it does not affect existing services. All current student visa processes remain.

  Education agents can continue to use current methods of applying on behalf of applicants, and information about Immigration ONLINE – Student is being made available to agents so they can continue to give advice about application options to prospective student.

  For further information, please read detailed question and answers on Immigration New Zealand’s website.

• Student voice 2014

  Twenty six current and former international students came together from all around New Zealand to share their personal education experience about their time studying here.

  The first afternoon was all about fun and getting to know each other - a Matariki-themed scavenger hunt around Te Papa followed by a burger-making masterclass on a classic Kiwi BBQ and rounded off with a delicious pavlova decorating competition.

  The second day focused on workshops where students shared their New Zealand education stories. We wanted to find out what went well, and not so well, and where improvements could be made to increase satisfaction of international students experiences while in New Zealand.

  The workshops provided a platform for participants to provide advice to other international students, to hear their take on common statements and beliefs that are associated with education in New Zealand, and to network with international students from across the country.

  “I got to meet new people from all parts of the world and make new friends. I also felt the ENZ values our opinions and reviews by giving us importance. I would like to thank ENZ for giving us this platform,” said one student after Student Voice.

  This year we involved our 160k Facebook followers in Student Voice with followers getting amongst the event by interacting with the students and making comments. You can find photos and comments on our Facebook page or search Facebook for #NZstudentvoice2014.

  “It was a great experience. And I learned a lot from other students’ experience. And now I understand that I wasn’t the only one to experience difficulties initially in New Zealand.”

• Showcasing NZ in cyberspace

  Lisa Futschek, Regional Director – Americas, Japan and Korea, said: “It all stemmed from an industry idea during the Latin American mission in November last year. It was dusk, we were all in a charter coach chugging over the crest of a steep hill and watching the millions of lights of Medellin miraculously materialise below us, when Prof. Al Gillepsie from the University of Waikato, mused about how we should be marketing New Zealand international tertiary education via subject rather than institution. Over a Colombian meal that evening, we sketched out a schematic on what that might look like and the seeds of the virtual fair were sown.”

  International Events Manager Caroline Carruthers said the experience for students was similar to physical fairs. “Students were able to ‘visit’ individual institution’s stands, view videos, pick up brochures and business cards, and ask providers questions.

  “It was interesting to note a change in the way students plan to study overseas. A lot of high school students were planning for their tertiary education overseas. A few years ago, high school students would only ask about high school courses and wouldn’t plan that far ahead.”

  “We are evaluating the feedback we received from the institutes who participated in this pilot and will evaluate if it’s an approach to roll out to other markets and add into our event mix.”

• What’s new in The Brand Lab?

  We received an overwhelmingly helpful response when we asked for ideas for locations and talent for the recent photo shoot – thanks to everyone who made us feel so welcome.

  “It was lovely to get out around the country to get a wide range of new photos, including shots of primary and co-ed schools, unique ITP and PTE courses, Saudi students, technology and education and general life in New Zealand,” says Kaylee Donald, International Brand Manager.

  “We’ve now got over 800 photos for you to choose from when you are putting together your marketing material, or looking for pictures that show what it is like to be a student in this country.”

  “At the moment we are working on a set of exciting ‘Day in the Life of’ videos, following current students as they go through their day including home and study life.”

  “To keep the videos relevant for all sectors, the specific institution the student is at will not be shown and each video will focus briefly on their studies and then capture what they do outside of study.”

  “We will be including things that might seem ordinary, like catching a bus to school, but we know that prospective students want to be able to get a feel for what actual life in New Zealand will be like.”

  “I can’t think of anyone better to tell our stories than the students that are here experiencing everything this country has to offer,” says Kaylee.

  The new photos are available now in The Brand Lab and the videos are expected to be available in November.

• Immigration ONLINE-Student goes live

  The new service is available to full fee paying, scholarship, exchange and English language students. Students will find the login box here: 

  Student applicants will still need to provide passports, either through Visa Application Centres offshore or, if the applicant is already in New Zealand, through the INZ Palmerston North office.

  Once label-less visas (e-visas) become widely available in 2015, most applicants will no longer need to send in their passports along with their applications.  

  Next year, INZ’s third party partners such as immigration advisers, education agents and education providers will be able to apply for visas on behalf of their student clients.

  Until then, all current application methods will remain available. Advisers and providers can help students complete the form, but for now, the student must submit it until ‘apply on behalf ‘becomes available.

  Further information about INZ’s Immigration ONLINE project can be found here.

• International Students Support Framework

  I-graduate surveys show that we do a good job with supporting international students, exceeding the international benchmark in many areas.

  But we also know that international students are at times overloaded with information which can be inconsistent and are looking for a more coordinated, thorough, and targeted approach to the information they receive.

  The Ministry of Education is leading a cross-government agency initiative to develop an International Students Support Framework to ensure that government information and support for international students is well coordinated with the support which providers deliver.

  Government agencies provide a wide range of information to international students and services where necessary, helping communities, sectors and other relevant bodies to create a good support network for international students in New Zealand.

  A variety of organisations including education agents, education providers, community bodies and local government also provide support and we need to work together to ensure we are meeting international students’ information needs.

  Once government agencies have shaped what the Framework may entail in terms of government initiatives, wide consultation is planned with sector bodies, education providers, international students, student bodies, local governments, community organisations, and other stakeholders.

  Consultation will seek feedback on:

  • government roles and responsibilities, including proposed initiatives

  • current practice outside of government departments

  • developing a directory of information and support services for international students throughout New Zealand

  • what is missing or could be done better.

   A process and timeline for feedback on the draft framework will be advised in the coming months.