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Inbound expertise – host an intern from South and Southeast Asia
ENZ recently announced a competition to drive greater awareness of New Zealand in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The competition, which is now open, invites students currently enrolled in undergraduate programmes in business, marketing or related disciplines at selected institutions, to submit a marketing strategy.
The strategy must promote New Zealand as an education destination in the student’s own country over a 12 month period. The students must illustrate how it will form part of an overarching three-year strategy with an indicative budget and clear details around return on investment. We will be looking for creative, critical and innovative strategies which demonstrate new thinking and fresh ideas in line with ENZ’s ‘Think New’ brand values.
ENZ welcomes expressions of interest from providers who are looking to grow their engagement with any or all of the five markets and who are keen to host one or more interns for up to four weeks in July or August this year. ENZ is fully-funding the programme and is looking to partner with providers who can ideally manage the internship process from start to finish. We are also very interested in having providers participate in the selection of the competition winners noting the competition closes 6 June for India and 8 June for South East Asia. Winners will be announced 19 June.
If you are interested in taking up this opportunity to benefit from new perspectives and understanding market nuances from a fresh angle, please send through an email by 10am Tuesday 2 June to Francesca.Hilbron@enz.govt.nz with a summary of your market interests and preferred country or countries, activity or projects that could engage an intern, and confirmation that you are likely to be able to host during the July/August period.
Eighteen million views and counting
Yichen is a cartoonist with five million followers on Weibo. (Weibo is one of the most popular social media platforms in China. A mix of Twitter and Facebook, it’s used by more than 30% of Chinese internet users.)
Yichen was accompanied by a team from Sina.Com. A multimedia outlet, Sina.Com owns Sina Weibo (which hosts Yichen’s account). Its education outlet, Sina Education, was the first professional education-focused online media platform in China. An interactive campaign involving Sina Education; Yichen’s dedicated visit Weibo account and her own personal account, and ENZ’s Weibo account, ensured maximum profiling of this visit on these channels.
The group visited eight institutions in Dunedin, Otago and Queenstown to raise the profile of the South Island as a study destination.
“Yichen’s followed by millions in China for her quirky and positive cartoons and posts about life. She began sharing her work on Weibo when a student at Tianjin Normal University, and has gone from strength to strength since then. Her work is clever, creative and innovative – all qualities that speak to the way that we seek to position and profile New Zealand education,” says Regional Director – Greater China Alex Grace.
“What better way to grow awareness and build preference for New Zealand than inviting Ding Yichen and Sina.com here to truly experience studying in the South.”
From the trip, Yichen produced posts illustrating her New Zealand experiences, which have been viewed 18 million times to date, and Sina.com are publishing content about New Zealand on a specific mini site.
Alex says giving the group a taste of New Zealand’s course content by doing – rather than just showing or telling – made all the difference.
Yichen took part in an animation taster class, took a cooking class, delved into winemaking, and drew with our students.”
“I encourage providers hosting international guests to think about how they can make their visits stand out by ‘doing’, as well as telling and showing. Kiwi students learn by doing, and our guests are here to understand us and our education system better. Let’s make it memorable!” says Alex.
The trip was part of Education New Zealand’s visiting media programme, which brings international media to New Zealand from targeted print, online and broadcast organisations.
INAKL ambassadors welcome
It is an exciting milestone for the INAKL programme, which is a key project for Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development – which drives the growth of the international education through its specialist team Study Auckland.
The ambassadors will regularly blog about their experiences as an international student in Auckland on a new site which went live this week.
Ketaki Khare was among the ambassadors who were formally announced by Auckland Mayor Len Brown at an international student function held at Auckland Zoo last month.
As well as being a student ambassador, Ketaki is among 10 Indian students awarded the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sports Scholarships for 2015. She is a member of the Indian women’s rugby team, is India’s first female rugby referee and the first Indian woman to pursue a professional career in rugby.
Ketaki Khare says: “Being an INAKL International Student Ambassador is an amazing opportunity to view this magical city in all its glory and it gives me immense pleasure to be able to write about all my experiences.”
Birgit Hermann, Project Manager – International Student Experience, says: “The ambassadors’ role is to experience everything Auckland has to offer and talk about them to international students who are here or may come here.”
The event at Auckland Zoo was the second in a series of INAKL events organised by Study Auckland for the region’s international student community. Some international students also enjoyed an INAKL group attendance at an Auckland Blues rugby game last month, and a recent Immigration New Zealand seminar about how they could potentially make Auckland their permanent home.
The programme kicked off with the resoundingly successful International Student Welcome held at The Cloud in March, which attracted about 2,400 students.
“The recent immigration seminar was fully subscribed within 10 hours and the INAKL Facebook site reached more than 2000 likes this week. The programme is achieving great results, but we would like to see it continue to grow and benefit students,” says Birgit.
For further information please visit aucklandnz.com/inakl or contact inakl@aucklandnz.com.
You’re invited: Minister’s Latin America insights
There will be an opportunity for asking questions and networking.
Read more
Apply on Behalf explained
The service, which goes live early next week, will allow third parties to lodge visa applications on behalf of students.
Different versions of the flyer have been produced for education agents applying offshore, and for education providers.
Education agents are legally allowed to provide immigration advice to offshore student visa applicants only. Education providers can help students complete and upload the forms online, but they are not allowed to provide immigration advice.
To use Apply on Behalf, education agents and providers need to create their own Immigration ONLINE account on the Immigration New Zealand website.
The account shows a summary list of applications and PDF versions of application forms and supporting documents that third parties submit to Immigration ONLINE on behalf of students.
A third version of the information flyer, for students, updates the one produced when online applications became available for students last August.
Later this year, eVisas – passport-free and label-less visas – will be available to students from visa-waiver countries (these are countries whose citizens do not need a visa to travel to New Zealand).
Also later in 2015, education providers will be able to view their students’ visa status through Immigration New Zealand’s VisaView service.
Download the online application flyers:
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
Learning on the land – Semillero Rural students arrive
Semillero Rural, the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture's scholarship scheme for vocational students from the regions of Chile, enables students from agricultural schools to learn new skills, develop their English language capabilities and apply their new knowledge by working on a New Zealand dairy farm or in fruit production.
Students then return to apply their new skills at home.
This year 18 students are enrolled in programmes at the National Trade Academy (NTA) and 14 students are studying at Otago Polytechnic in Cromwell.
“The 18 students enrolled with NTA are participating in an English plus Agriculture Programme,” says Craig. “The programme consists of six weeks of learning English, including agriculture terminology, and developing knowledge of health and safety, milk production, fencing, animal husbandry, pasture management and more.
“The students enjoy visiting local farms, learning to ride motorbikes and quad bikes, and learning new fencing skills. The biggest difference between farms in Chile and here in Canterbury is the scale of farming. In spite of New Zealand being a much smaller country, our farms are much bigger in terms of land area, the number of cows milked and the use of technology to improve production.”
During trips to recruit students and build the programme, Craig’s learnt to build relationships first and to be flexible.
“You can’t just take a programme over to Chile and say this is it. We need to be flexible and ask what would work for them,” he advises.
“The other point is to be patient. Nothing happens overnight as there is a process that has to occur. However, once you get final approval it will happen quickly so, as a business, you have to be ready to act. Feedback is also important and you will need to visit the market more than once to build relationships and trust.”
“In my view it is better to look for partner organisations, such as institutions with similar courses, who can promote NZ study opportunities to their graduates, who can then follow up with agents as to enrolments. Chilean parents are fully involved with the whole process and they like to be able to know who they are dealing with,” he adds.
In 2008, NTA contracted a person in Chile to act as their representative, a move that has expanded their network of contacts and proved highly successful.
“The support of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the early years was critical, as is the more recent support of ENZ as they understand the market and can assist with introductions that we likely couldn’t make ourselves.”
The ‘Semillero Rural’ scholarship was the pilot for the Primary Sector Training Visa recently approved in New Zealand for Chile.
Bound for Asia
In September Lauren will move to Shanghai to begin her exchange at East China Normal University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China to study the Global Curriculum programme as part of Victoria University's Study Abroad and student exchange programme.
“I expect my Chinese language skills to improve as well as my knowledge of Chinese consumers through living amongst them. Longer term I view this as an amazing opportunity to form networks with new friends, future colleagues and business partners.
“The university is also close to Fonterra’s headquarters in China. I will be interning there one day per week. This will give me a chance to link what I am learning in the classroom with actual business cases. The tangible benefits of learning the language are already becoming clear. I recently wrote my first email in Chinese,” says Lauren.
Increasing Kiwi students’ cultural awareness and understanding of our Asia-Pacific neighbours will strengthen their global connectedness and deepen New Zealand’s links in the Asia-Pacific region.
Through their Asian study experience students will gain confidence in operating in an international context and obtain knowledge and skills that will help them in their future careers.
Not only will some students make lifelong connections through these study experiences, all of them will be great ambassadors for the quality and strength of New Zealand’s education system.
With one of New Zealand’s greatest challenges being to overcome the lack of awareness of our education offerings, having some of our best and brightest participate in study in Asian markets is another way of raising our profile.
More about the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia, including full list of recipients, can be found here.
Read Minister Joyce’s press release announcing the awardees here.
Doing the business
Included in that count were representatives from all eight New Zealand universities, four ITPs, and ENZ Chief Executive Grant MacPherson along with Lisa Futschek (Regional Director for the Americas, Japan and Korea) and Amy Rutherford (International Market Manager for China and the US). Whilst there is a full conference programme at NAFSA each year, the real focus is on the exhibitions’ hall which has been described as a ‘massive speed dating event'. Resembling any large international trade fair, hundreds of upmarket booths house service providers, national umbrella organisations, individual education institutions and agents looking to do deals with one another in the Study Abroad market.
New Zealand institutions had full agendas throughout the week, exploring new business opportunities with partner institutions from the US and around the world and maintaining and developing existing relationships.
ENZ met with a range of organisations keen to work with us in promoting New Zealand as a study abroad destination, including the US Department of State, Education USA, Institute of International Education, STA travel, GoOverseas and a number of third party providers (akin to agents).
The New Zealand networking function was once again a highlight on the NAFSA agenda, with more than 200 of our closest partners enjoying an evening rich with New Zealand wine, food and culture, including an impressive haka performed by Laken Whitecliff, a young New Zealand artist based in New York, who was displaying his work at the venue. It was an evening to be proud of and an excellent way to thank our many partners in the US and globally.
The US Study Abroad market is buoyant, with much untapped opportunity for New Zealand. A range of government agencies have substantial budgets to assist US students on Study Abroad experiences in support of a government goal of doubling to 600,000 the number of US undergraduates studying abroad by the end of the decade. New Zealand has a very positive image in the US, although our profile as a high quality study destination remains comparatively low. But US students choose us rather for lifestyle reasons, our outdoor adventure, incredible landscapes, lord of the rings legacy and being a ‘bit different’ and off the beaten track.
On the back of profile-raising campaigns ENZ led in conjunction with IIE and GoOverseas in the latter half of 2014, there has been considerable growth in the number of US students seeking visas. The first quarter of 2015 is 25% up (221 visas) on the first quarter of 2014. A great start to the year!
If you’d like more information about the US market, please email Lisa.Futscheck@enz.govt.nz or Amy.Rutherford@enz.govt.nz
A media education
In late May I had the great pleasure of taking five journalists from South East Asia on a tour of New Zealand. The journalists – two from Thailand, two from Viet Nam and one from the Philippines – all have a special interest in education, and were part of a bigger group who were hosted by NZ Inc as part of a range of events to mark the 40th anniversary of the relationship between New Zealand and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
While the other journalists went on a trade and tourism circuit, our group travelled on their own education-focused itinerary. Apart from meeting up with the others at a cocktail event held by the Prime Minister at Auckland Museum, we did our own thing.
Above: The journalists were engaged right from the get go!
Most regrettably, a blizzard interfered with our plans to visit Dunedin and Queenstown, but the hastily-arranged alternative schedule of Canterbury-based events made up, in some measure, for the missed opportunities further south.
Once we got the basics – such as dressing appropriately for the cold – sorted, we were on a roll and the week raced by in the intense, humour-filled, lost-in-translation way they do with such visits, and with a good measure of sheep shearing, eye-dog marvelling, pie eating and hobbit-home wonderment thrown in.
Above: They saw cakes being iced in Canterbury…and a robotic guitar in Wellington.
From schools to English language centres, ITPs to universities the journalists were impressed by the range and quality of the programmes and facilities, intrigued by the Intermediate School concept, very interested in our homestay set ups and excited by the many opportunities to hear directly from students currently in New Zealand.
Above: They met with a group of Thai health professionals undergoing executive development in Waikato...and rubbed shoulders with the Prime Minister in Auckland.
For my part, it was a hugely informative trip – providing me with valuable insights into the three South East Asian countries via the journalists, as well as me to make connections with members of our industry and to become more familiar with what you have to offer. Many thanks to those who took part, and arranged tours and gathered students to talk to the journalists.
As I bid farewell to them all at Auckland airport, Nirunsak, one of the Thai journalists who had been a bit of lone wolf during the week, but who I discovered was a music-loving, short story-writing romantic, said: “I will carry New Zealand in my heart with a song.’ Magic.
And yes, we went to Hobbiton!
The follow up questions are coming through now and we look forward to the stories in their media that the visit will generate.