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• New Zealand’s expertise shapes Guangdong’s new framework

  As China does not currently have a National Qualifications Framework, the delegation’s first task was to research and make recommendations on the development and implementation of a model for the Guangdong province.

  The delegation included six experts from the Open University of Guangdong, which has contracted by the Provincial Government to undertake the project. Vice President Li Jian, head of the delegation, described their work as “pioneering” within the Chinese system.

  ENZ’s International Market Manager (China, Korea, Japan) Tania Woodcock says the visit provided a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand’s education system, as well as the people behind it.

  “While the delegation gained insights into our qualification framework, they also went away with a broader understanding of how our organisations in the education sector work together.”

  The two-day visit was hosted by ENZ in close partnership with NZQA, Weltec, Universities New Zealand, the Academic Quality Agency and Victoria University of Wellington. 

  

  Vice President Li Jian with Emeritus Prof. Sheelagh Matear (Director, Academic Quality Agency for UNZ) and Wendy Robinson (Academic Programmes Manager, UNZ)

  The programme focused on the design and administration of the National Qualifications Framework, discussing it from each host organisation’s perspective.

  Tania says the delegation found the visit invaluable in shaping its thinking, and will shortly submit its report to the Provincial Government.

  “The success of the visit couldn’t have been achieved without the warm hospitality of all those involved, especially in light of the recent earthquakes which provided a few logistical challenges.

  “Thankfully, both the hosts and the delegation had a good sense of humour about it, and at one point agreed to continue meetings under the table in the event of another quake!”

  An additional objective for the delegation was to build relationships with government officials and providers, making this visit an important first step in that process. 

  The ENZ China team will be following up with the Guangdong team in China on engaging further on this project.

  

  At Weltec, Petone Campus. Vice President Li Jian is fifth from right, flanked by Weltec staff, Moira Hagenson on the left (Director, International) and Graham Carson on right (Head of School of Engineering Technology). To Graham’s right is Mr Brian Cao (Senior Market Manager, Weltec).

• Iran trade visit seals breakthrough deal for New Zealand universities

  The visit secured several major education outcomes, including a ministerial announcement that the University of Canterbury, Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University would be reclassified as ‘excellent’ by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. These universities will join the University of Auckland and University of Otago, who have already been given the top ranking. These classifications play a significant role in guiding Iranian students in choosing where to study abroad. All of New Zealand’s universities are now classified in the top two categories. 

  

  Above: signing the Education Cooperation Agreement

  A higher education co-operation agreement was also signed between Ministers, which provides a platform for increased academic and research co-operation between the two countries.

  ENZ arranged several university recruitment events as part of the visit programme. Some 80 per cent of Iranian students in New Zealand are studying at PhD level. ENZ Chair Charles Finny, who led the education delegates on the visit, said this is a key area to build on.

  “These initiatives will significantly boost our universities’ recruitment of Iranian students, particularly at the PhD level,” said Mr Finny.

  “I look forward to New Zealand universities making the most of this opportunity in the coming years, and commend the University of Auckland, University of Canterbury and Auckland University of Technology for participating in this ground-breaking visit.”

• Impact of demonetisation on Indian student recruitment

  The government has implemented a deadline of 30 December for people to exchange the old currency notes at banks.

  In the student recruitment market, key impacts have already been felt:

  • There are maximum daily limits for banks to exchange money, which is creating delays in student loan processing for international students, and in Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ) ability to verify financial documents and process visas.
  • Study abroad has become more expensive but conversely, New Zealand has become relatively more cost effective as the Indian rupee has dropped more against the Euro and USD than the NZD and AUD.

  Longer term, the supply of ‘grey money’ to finance significant purchases will be reduced, including for education. This may impact study abroad numbers. However, student loan costs may fall as a reduction in overall money supply (some grey money will not be exchanged) will reduce loan interest rates and inflation. It’s too soon to tell the significance of these impacts, but it’s more likely that rural and agricultural cash-based regions such as the Punjab will be affected.

  ENZ’s Regional Director South, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, John Laxon, said the repercussions of this change are still playing out.

  “The changes are likely to result in some delays in Indian student applications over the next few months for all countries, while any significant longer-term impacts are still to be worked through,” said Mr Laxon.

  “We have provided an update to education agents to keep them informed of New Zealand’s student visa approach. We will monitor visa numbers with INZ and keep education providers updated,” added Laxon. 

• Otago DBA creates new model in China

  As ENZ supported the development of the degree, ENZ’s General Manager Industry Development Clive Jones joined 18 students from China to celebrate the start of the course orientation in Dunedin last Monday. He said the DBA was off to a promising start.

  “The healthy interest in the first year of the DBA shows that New Zealand degrees can attract high-calibre international students – especially when they meet the professional needs of busy executives, and are delivered flexibly where they live and work,” said Mr Jones.

  “We hope that these business people, through the course of their degree, will develop ongoing friendships and business links between China and New Zealand.”

  A total of 22 students in the inaugural intake will study six papers in the first year, covering academic research methods, organisational leadership and psychology, corporate finance and international trade.

  The degree will be distance taught online with on-campus workshops in both countries.

  For more information about the programme visit: http://www.otago.ac.nz/otagobulletin/news/otago627883.html

• Regional Partnership Programme – reaching new heights

  With Southland, Northland and Waikato recently joining the programme, ENZ now has 15 regions looking to develop and implement new strategies, and better tell their regional international education story.

  Here’s a snapshot of the good things currently underway.

  The Global Workforce project

  The Global Workforce project aims to better position regions as education and career development centres, and to more effectively connect international talent with skilled employment opportunities. 

  This initiative will continue to expand the options for students to participate in the existing Work Ready programmes by working with government agencies and employers in sectors with future skill shortages. 

  Better regional data

  International education is a valuable industry, and soon we’ll have the numbers to show it. Precise data will demonstrate the level of contribution that international education makes to regional economies, with clear information about value, job creation and the average international student spend per region. We expect the first round of data to be available for regional partners in early 2017.

  Regional workshop

  

  Fifteen regions were represented at the workshop, gaining new insights on destination marketing best practice.

  In late November, representatives from 15 regions gathered for a two-day workshop in Christchurch.

  The workshop included a presentation by ICEF (International Consultants for Education and Fairs) Asia-Pacific Vice President, Rod Hearps, on maximising engagement with agents, and the importance of destination marketing. Also on the agenda was a session on how regional organisations can collaborate with SIEBA (Schools International Education Business Association) and an inspiring presentation from Christchurch Educated on its progress to date.

  Get to know your region

  If you’d like to know more about New Zealand’s international education regional organisations and how you can get involved with the Regional Partnership Programme, click here.

  For more information, contact Greg Scott, Programme Manager – Regional Partnership Programme 

  greg.scott@enz.govt.nz

• US institutions tour New Zealand ITPs

  Despite a shaky start to the week, the US visitors undertook a successful study tour which involved visiting six ITPs: Unitec Institute of Technology, Waikato Institute of Technology, Wellington Institute of Technology, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Otago Polytechnic and Southern Institute of Technology.

  ENZ funded the IAPP as part of an agreement with IIE and was designed to focus on professional and vocational education (PAVE).

  ENZ Director of Education - North America, Amy Rutherford said the US institutions had gained a solid understanding of the ITP sector during the study tour, as well as the unique offerings of each institution and potential areas for collaboration.

  “Historically, ITPs have not had much interaction with US institutions, but ENZ’s presence in the US coupled with the support of US-based organisations like IIE will help develop PAVE collaboration,” said Rutherford.

  The IAPP is designed to help develop partnerships between US institutions and institutions abroad. The programme began in April this year with a series of webinars involving New Zealand ITPs and US institutions, and will finish with development of strategic relationships between the New Zealand and US institutions in 2017.

  US representatives from Hawaii, California, Michigan and Pennsylvania were particularly interested in how ITPs work with their communities, engage with industry and schools, and develop curriculum offerings to meet the needs of the local economy. They were also impressed with the breadth of ITPs’ internationalisation goals and successes, and the strong Māori cultural links of each institution.

  For more information on IAPP or the work ENZ is doing in the US, please contact Amy Rutherford: Amy.Rutherford@enz.govt.nz

• International students awarded for ICT excellence

  Ruslan Levenets, who originally studied law in Russia, came to study in New Zealand in preparation of a career change. 

  “I had some practical skills and interest in IT, but my main motivation for study was to have a strong theoretical background,” said Levenets.

  Ruslan was awarded most outstanding student for the Graduate Diploma in Information Assurance and Security. The award was sponsored by ISACA, an international professional association for IT governance.

  Mike Binkhorst, president of the Wellington chapter of ISACA, believes supporting top students is an important part of building the future of their industry. 

  “We're keen to encourage people into the profession to make a difference in the field. ISACA promotes frameworks and standards in IT to improve governance and security. Education and supporting the next generation is a big part of that,” said Binkhorst.

  

  Alexander Sokolov with Alisdair McKenzie

  Also achieving excellence in IT was Alexander Sokolov who was awarded most outstanding student for the Graduate Diploma in Information Technology. He received his award from Alisdair McKenzie, a member of WelTec’s IT Industry Partnership Committee. 

  “WelTec’s Industry Partnership Committee offers guest lectures, takes interns and reviews WelTec's IT programmes – all so that they deliver what the industry is needing,” said McKenzie. 

  “We work to ensure that the tertiary education sector is harmonised with business and industry requirements.”

  Ian Hunter from WelTec’s School of Business & IT said the involvement of industry associations makes a significant difference to the way WelTec students are taught. 

  “Our students are working on real scenarios and real problems as part of their academic programme,” said Hunter.

• iStudent Complaints update

  The iStudent Complaints scheme was set up by the Government to resolve contractual and financial disputes between international students and their education providers. It replaced the International Education Appeal Authority (IEAA).

  All 16 complaints to date have involved Private Training Establishments (PTEs) with the majority referring to providers that are declining course fee refunds after the students withdrew from their study courses. Four cases have been settled, while another two were adjudicated in favour of the education provider. The remaining cases are still going through the resolution process.

  iStudent Scheme Director, Derek Pullen, said the small number could indicate there is little cause for dispute or many students are not yet aware of the scheme.

  He noted that the scheme has highlighted gaps in providers’ internal complaints processes.

  “Under the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016, providers must ensure they have an effective internal process for addressing grievances, and that international students are informed about the process,” explained Pullen.

  “Providers must also make students aware of the iStudent Complaints scheme and other relevant authorities if the student can't access the internal process or is dissatisfied with the outcome.

  “Yet many of the providers we’ve dealt with don't have a documented complaints process. We urge all providers to ensure they have a clearly documented, up-to-date and easily accessible complaints process.”

  For more information see www.istudent.org.nz.

• 2016 Code of Practice resources now available

  A key piece of the collateral is a special PDF that has been designed to make the Code of Practice more accessible to the sector – specifically signatories, agents, international students and their families, and relevant agencies.

  Alongside this, NZQA has created a brochure that summarises the Code and provides important information for international students (at both a secondary and tertiary level), and their families and caregivers.

  The pdfs and brochure are available in English as well as Arabic, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.

  After widespread consultation across the sector, NZQA has also developed a Code of Practice toolbox, with the intention of helping signatories meet their obligations. The toolbox includes examples of good practice collected from around the sector that can be tailored and applied to different organisations.

  These resources are available here on the NZQA website.

  The Code of Practice toolbox can also be found on the NZQA website. It will develop over time, reflecting the material submitted by the sector.

• Korean students: “I want to study in New Zealand”

  Launched in October, the competition aims to mobilise Korean agents to promote New Zealand education and attract students to enrol with New Zealand providers (participating students must use the service of an agent). 

  The promotion of the competition attracted a record number of Korean agents to the ENZ agent seminar in Seoul and the ENZ team received very positive feedback about the initiative. While the winning students stand to gain a significant contribution towards their costs of studying in New Zealand, the highest performing agents will also be rewarded with a familiarisation trip to New Zealand (or flights between Korea and New Zealand).

  The entry for the short video is open until 31 January 2017. ENZ’s Regional Lead, North Asia, Cecily Lin said this is an excellent opportunity for New Zealand providers.

  “The competition is an invaluable opportunity to promote your school or institution and your region – you can maximise this by directly supporting your agents with information and resources,” said Cecily.

  All video entries from the competition are publically accessible and will promote the student’s sector and/or provider of choice until the competition closes. ENZ will also profile quality entries and the winning Korean students through our social media channels in January and beyond the competition.  

  Recently joining the ENZ team is Dahee Sohn, a talented Korean international student skilled in social media, who will be working to boost our ENZ Naver blog and Facebook posts. We’ll be active in these platforms so please follow our posts and make sure you direct your agents to them too.

  ENZ has also provided resources to agents to promote New Zealand – including an open poster artwork they can adapt to include their branding to reach out to potential students.