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• Development of new international education strategy underway

  Chief Executive Grant McPherson says Education New Zealand is aiming for a strategy that offers a step change in thinking, enjoys wide support and paves the way for sustained quality outcomes for all stakeholders, especially international students.

  "International education touches many parts of our country and many individuals, organisations and businesses. We want everybody to see themselves reflected in the strategy. That means casting the net wide in its development."

  “We are setting out to challenge and be challenged – we encourage all interested parties to be involved in strategy development.”

  International student numbers and the economic value of the international education industry have grown steadily since the Leadership Statement for International Education was released in 2011.

  In announcing the development of the new strategy at conference, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said that while the Leadership Statement set aspirational targets for the industry out to 2025, it is now time for a new plan that offers a clear view of the opportunities and challenges ahead, as well as an aligned strategy across government to inform and lead industry development.

  Grant says that the new international education strategy is an opportunity for New Zealand to consolidate its current position and use it as a platform for future growth.

  “Building sustainable growth in international education will require a diversified and innovative approach that looks to the future.

  “We’re interested in rebalancing the targets across social, cultural and economic values as well as outcomes and experiences. 

  “While student mobility remains important, we’ll be increasing our focus on our education expertise in products and services which is an area of enormous opportunity for New Zealand.

  “We are setting out to challenge and be challenged – we encourage all interested parties to be involved in strategy development.” – Grant McPherson, Chief Executive, Education New Zealand

  “It’s also important that the contribution of international education to our regional communities and economies is emphasised in the strategy.”

  Work is underway on planning for broad engagement with stakeholders over the next couple of months (see below to register for a workshop), followed by consultation on the draft strategy in January and February.  A focus is on making involvement as straightforward as possible for industry participants through online and direct engagement.

  Strategy workshops – register now

  The strategy workshops are your chance to put your ideas forward and listen to the ideas of others. Please register for a workshop now at info@enz.govt.nz

  Wellington, Monday 17 October – 1-4pm
  Cliftons venue, Level 28, Majestic Tower, 100 Willis Street

  Auckland, Tuesday 18 October – 12-3pm
  Cliftons venue, Level 4, 45 Queen Street

  Auckland, Wednesday 19 October – 9.30-12.30pm
  Cliftons venue, Level 4, 45 Queen Street

  Christchurch, Thursday 20 October – 12.30-3.30pm
  Tait Communications, 245 Wooldridge Road, Harewood

  Tauranga, Tuesday 1 November – 10-1pm
  Club Mount Maunganui, 45 Kawaka Street, Mount Maunganui
  
  You will also shortly have the opportunity to share your ideas online. A formal consultation process will begin in mid-December.

  We will provide regular updates on strategy development and ways to be involved through E-News.

• Winners announced for the NZIDRS scholarships

  Eight international research students have been awarded New Zealand International Doctoral Research Scholarships (NZIDRS), worth about NZD$100,000 each. The scholarships aim to attract and retain the best international researchers to New Zealand, and provide full tuition fees and a living stipend for up to 3 years.

  Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for more in-depth profiles on select winners.

  The 2016 awardees are:

  Family Name	First Name	Citizenship Country	Title of Research	NZ University
  Pham	Thuy Trang	Viet Nam	Chemical synthesis using substrates available from biomass	University of Auckland
  Tan	Marion Lara	Philippines	Capturing citizens' perspectives on usability: mobile apps for disaster preparedness and response	Massey University
  Chen	Ting-Hsuan	Taiwan	Investigation of the regulatory mechanism of endogenous transposon (TE)activity in grapevines	Lincoln University
  Prakash	Khadka	Nepal	Interaction of drugs with lung surfactant monolayer and the influence of alveolar liquid crystalline nanostructures on dissolution of drugs	University of Otago
  Amirpour Najafabadi	Hamed	Iran	Investigation of polymorphic variation in the growth differentiation factor-9 gene (GDF9) in New Zealand Sheep breeds	Lincoln University
  Jabbari	Milad	Iran	Development of cold-formed steel portal frame system using the HRC connection	University of Auckland
  Etemadi	Hossein	Iran	Processing, Surface Engineering and Characterisation of Magnetic Hydrogels for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications	Massey University
  Lischka	Alexandra	Germany, Canada	Metal contamination in the ecologically and commercially important New Zealand squids (Nototodarus sloanii), N. gouldi and Onykia ingens	AUT University

• Charles Finny's address to the India New Zealand Business Council
  

  Charles Finny

  India and New Zealand have been friends and trading partners for a long time, and thanks to our Commonwealth heritage, our democratic tradition, and our shared love of cricket, we have much to celebrate.

  The Indian community here adds richness and vibrancy to New Zealand life, through great food, music, art and sport, diverse business ties, and annual festivals such as Diwali.

  New Zealand’s economic future is very much tied to our key trading partners. India is currently our 10^th largest trade partner, and the Government’s vision is for India to become a core trade, economic and political partner. The importance of the relationship is reflected in the visit in April of the President of the Republic of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and, of course, our Prime Minister John Key will visit India later this month.

  We have been negotiating a Free Trade Agreement bilaterally for several years and we are both part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

  One of the strongest parts of our relationship is in international education.   Last year international education was probably the largest single item exported from New Zealand to India.

  India is, and will continue to be, an important part of New Zealand’s international education strategy. 

  Every day, tens of thousands of Indian international students, alongside other international students, are helping New Zealand to build our research capability and global linkages, to fill skill shortages and enrich New Zealand culture.

  The India New Zealand Business Council is a valued partner in our international education strategy. A number of education providers and immigration and education consultants are Council members, and all members play an important role in ensuring Indian international students have a positive experience in New Zealand. You do this not only through recruiting and employing them in your businesses, but also in providing leadership in upholding high standards when it comes to their treatment and welfare.

  Many members of our Indian community have come to live in New Zealand after studying here. If we can continue to work together on skill development (and I’ll touch more on this later), then the transfer of knowledge, innovation and best practice will not only benefit the individuals involved but also our respective countries.

  Countries that have innovative and skilled workforces prosper and it is the education system of a country that nurtures those skills.

  The education experience that New Zealand offers is first rate. Our universities are world-class – all eight are rated in the top 3% globally, and we offer quality qualifications and hands-on vocational learning through our institutes of technology and private providers.

  This quality has clearly been recognised by the Indian student audience, as we have experienced significant growth over the last three years – from 13,000 to 29,000 students between 2013 and 2015.

  Such growth has demonstrated New Zealand’s strength as a world-class education destination, but it has also created some challenges as we adjust to manage this demand. I will spend some time outlining how the Government is ensuring a sustainable education sector – particularly for our Indian students and stakeholders.

  Our education system has strong government oversight, a commitment to continuous improvement and we place student success and wellbeing front and centre.

  We do this through a comprehensive framework of support, and many of us have a role to play here. These include the main government agencies, Education New Zealand, Ministry of Education, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, Tertiary Education Commission and Immigration New Zealand.

  Other key players include education providers and the agents they use, employers and businesses, community and ethnic groups and other support services.

  This extends also to our bilateral relationship – we have regular catch ups with the High Commissioner of India to New Zealand, Mr Sanjiv Kohil.

  All of us have a collective responsibility to ensure the experience of our international students is a positive one and results in positive outcomes for them and ultimately for our businesses and New Zealand society and economy.

  We welcome international students who come here with genuine intent and means. But New Zealand, like any sovereign country, will take steps to protect our borders and deal decisively with fraudulent or unlawful behaviour when we see it.

  Immigration New Zealand has invested heavily in intelligence gathering and verification support resources for immigration officers in India. As a result they have become more aware of risk and fraud in the market. 

  The visa decline rates from India are evidence of a significant effort by Immigration NZ to manage students and agents who submit false and misleading information in visa applications.

  Immigration New Zealand is doing a lot of work to educate providers about student selection, and the need to manage their agent networks.

  Immigration New Zealand and the Immigration Advisers Authority also ran a campaign in India earlier this year encouraging people to use a New Zealand licensed immigration adviser if they are seeking assistance to come to New Zealand.

  I think it’s important to acknowledge at this stage too that New Zealand is not alone in facing issues of student visa fraud and dishonest agent behaviour. The United States, Canada, Australia and other countries all face the same challenges.

  New Zealand government agencies are committed to acting in a fair and reasonable manner when dealing with students affected by issues of provider quality, or when students’ personal circumstances are, for a variety of reasons, less than straight-forward. Each student is dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

  The New Zealand Qualifications Authority, for example, is working with a group of former IANZ Level 6 students who were required to undertake reassessment to confirm their preparedness for study at another provider, EDENZ. More than 210 students will need extra support and assistance to get them to a standard where they can continue their studies. This is being provided to students at no additional cost so that they can move on from this period of change and continue their studies.

  And, throughout this process, advice, support and counselling is being made freely available to all of the affected students.

  Some of the issues that international students are experiencing are an important reminder that the majority of our international students are young adults, not only crossing geographical divides, many for the first time, but more often than not, cultural divides, away from the familiarity and care of family and friends.

  The New Zealand government agencies I mentioned earlier are working closely together on these issues, to ensure all international students are treated fairly and are well cared for – that they feel welcome, are safe and well, enjoy a high-quality education and are valued for their contribution to New Zealand.

  This joint-agency work on international student wellbeing has focused in recent months on Auckland where the majority of international students are located. It has involved a wide range of community meetings and student focus groups to ensure student needs and concerns are being heard and addressed.

  We must maintain high standards across our international education industry. Equally, we are determined not to let the actions of a small number of individuals damage the reputation of an entire community, nor devalue the contribution that students from India and elsewhere, and our education providers, make to New Zealand.

  Most providers are doing a very good job for their students. Satisfaction rates among students surveyed by the International Student Barometer in 2014 and 2015 ranged from 88% to 94% as being satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience at their New Zealand institution.

  Government agencies are working with providers to address any issues with quality, including insisting they work with reliable education agents in India.

  Agents play a key role at the beginning of a student’s international education journey in ensuring that the students are informed and make the right choices, and know what to expect as a student in New Zealand.

  The reality is, the seeds of what will be a positive or negative international student experience are often sown before the student has even left India.

  Education agents are central to the Indian market, with more than 90% of Indian students using agents when applying to study in New Zealand. There are thousands of agents in India, and the Government is promoting the use of high-performing agents through:

  • Education providers having a responsibility for agent performance and advice under the revised Code of Pastoral Care, which I’ll talk more about shortly
  • Education New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand providing more information on agent performance to education providers and students, including through the Immigration New Zealand website
  • Education New Zealand revising the ENZ Recognised Agencies programme, to ensure we better support and promote the use of high-quality agents in markets such as India.

  I’m interested too in your thoughts as to what we can do together – at both a government and business level – to ensure that Indian students are working with genuine agents? Perhaps that’s something we can discuss at the end of this address.

  The onus is also on students to ensure they have the financial means to support themselves in their study, and to take responsibility for understanding the requirements to study in New Zealand, including the immigration requirements. When students apply for a visa, they must sign their application as a true and accurate record and have the documents to support their application.

  The cross-agency wellbeing work I mentioned earlier complements the pastoral care Code of Practice which New Zealand was the first country to introduce and which was recently strengthened with effect from 1 July.

  Only education providers who are approved signatories to the Code are allowed to enrol international students. To maintain this privilege, they are expected to meet high standards of service delivery, in accordance with the Code.

  The strengthened Code now means that providers are directly accountable for the behaviour of their agents. Expectations include carrying out reference checks of agents, having a written contract with agents, actively monitoring agents and terminating contracts where there is evidence of misleading, deceptive or illegal behaviour, or where an agent is breaching the Code. The focus is on creating sustainable growth by prioritising higher value, higher quality students.

  Tough sanctions are now available to deal with providers who fail to manage their agents, including the removal of the right to enrol international students. Enforcing the Code is the responsibility of NZQA who are working closely with Immigration New Zealand to ensure providers proactively comply with the Code.

  At the same time, as I mentioned earlier, international students also have an obligation to come here with genuine intent – that their primary purpose is to study, and they have the means to do so.

  Working in New Zealand while studying is a way to complement the classroom skills they learn and to really engage with New Zealand’s everyday life. It is not intended as a lifeline to cover living costs.

  Not having enough money to support themselves creates vulnerable students who are easy to exploit.  This is the reason why Immigration New Zealand has a minimum level of fund requirement for international students to cover their time here.

  And of course when students do get jobs, New Zealand employers have a legal and moral responsibility to uphold New Zealand employment law, to pay for hours worked and to honour the minimum wage. Everyone in New Zealand has the right to protection through minimum work rights.

  I urge Council members to show leadership in modelling and upholding these rights in the Indian community, in your businesses and through your wider networks.

  We continue to encourage individuals to come forward if they have specific examples of exploitation. This is the only way we can address these issues.

  The support and input of the New Zealand communities of our international students is also vital to good outcomes.

  INZBC has a crucial role to play in helping to bridge the gap that may exist through differing cultural contexts, where, for example, some international students aren’t aware that their rights in New Zealand are protected.

  I’d like to applaud the contribution of INZBC members who acknowledge the opportunities that a New Zealand education can offer Indian students in terms of skills and knowledge transfer.

  To be truly successful we need to attract students who have the best potential for positive outcomes to New Zealand. These are the students coming to New Zealand to study high-value programmes that can put them on the path to further study, or to work in high-demand areas in New Zealand, India or across the world. 

  Our ‘target South’ India strategy focuses on attracting genuine students interested in pursuing high-level qualifications in our education market.

  As part of this strategy we established a presence in Mumbai in early 2015 and have since focused our promotional activities in the south and west of India where students have higher levels of visa approval rates and student mobility.

  This strategy involves promotion across a variety of channels, including digital, social and traditional media, promotional events and scholarship initiatives, academic exchanges, and education fairs.

  Education fairs continue to be a strong recruitment channel for us in India, providing outreach to students and families so they can discuss the benefits of New Zealand as a study destination. These fairs are well supported by industry, with more than 30 New Zealand providers attending each of our fairs this year.

  We will continue to adjust the locations and formats of fairs to anticipate local market conditions, and they remain an important part of ENZ’s India promotional strategy.

  We are trialling new initiatives in-market too. In August, ENZ partnered with New Zealand universities and Indian institutions to host a series of guest lectures by eminent New Zealand academics in cities in South India.

  The lecture series was extremely successful in raising awareness of New Zealand’s technical expertise in the areas of engineering, science and business, and building institutional partnerships between our countries.

  We have also boosted the numbers of scholarships aimed at Indian graduates interested in pursuing post-graduate study here. The New Zealand Excellence Awards, announced mid-year, offer scholarships to 35 Indian scholars at all eight of our universities. There is also the Christchurch Educated Skills Scholarship for India which targets post-graduate students studying courses in skill shortage areas that are directly related to the Canterbury earthquake rebuild.

  In closing, I’d like to repeat how much the social, cultural and economic contribution of Indian students to New Zealand is valued. I want to acknowledge again the Council’s part in that, as well as its important role in demonstrating leadership to the Indian business community when it comes to recruiting, employing and supporting Indian international students.

  While we all play a role in the welfare and outcomes of our international students, we also have a collective responsibility to share and promote the positive contribution that international education makes to our communities.

  As a result of the policy changes that we have already introduced you will notice that the number of Indian students coming to New Zealand will have reduced to levels similar to that we achieved in 2013.  As we solve some of the problems I have discussed today that number may slow further before starting to grow again. 

  Can I end by emphasising that over the longer term we look forward to welcoming as many high quality Indian students who want to come to New Zealand to study higher end qualifications who meet our entry criteria.  We look forward to working in India and here with stakeholders such as the INZBC to ensure that we have a sustainable level of Indian students in New Zealand and that this vital part of the bilateral relationship is not put further at risk by the actions of a few.

  Thank you.

• Making New Zealand’s roads safer for students

  The Visiting Drivers Project is aiming to do just that. The project is a collaboration between the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and its road safety partners, including the Automobile Association (AA), and rental vehicle operators and tourism operators across the country.

  The focus for the project is the Otago, Southland and West Coast regions where visiting drivers make up a large proportion of traffic. On roads in these regions, safety improvements such as centre-line rumble strips, “keep left” arrows, “no-passing” markings and new signage have been installed. Road safety information has also been made more accessible and user-friendly, with resources available in different languages and formats, including interactive videos and apps.

  Over summer, during the regions’ peak visitor season, an education campaign will be run to help visiting drivers understand and prepare for driving in New Zealand.

  Jim Harland, NZTA’s Regional Director, Southern, says the strength of the project has been in the shared objective of ‘host responsibility’ and a partnership approach that ensures visitors are helped at every stage of their journey.

  While the project is largely aimed at tourists, it will benefit all newcomers to New Zealand, including international students.

  “We want all visitors who are driving on our roads, including students, to make good decisions based on correct information about travel times, speeds and conditions,” he said.

  “It’s our responsibility as New Zealanders to help our visitors have a safe and enjoyable time.”

  The Visiting Drivers Project initiatives also include the following, many of which are available in different languages.

  • AA’s online Visiting Driver Training Programme, which includes video footage of New Zealand driving scenarios.
  • Apps with road safety messaging such as CamperMate.
  • Air New Zealand’s 'Driving in New Zealand' in-flight app (available on long-haul flights) and videos on all international flights about driving in New Zealand.
  • A 'Driving in New Zealand' leaflet available from rental vehicle and other tourism operators, and can be downloaded here.
  • Providing road safety information to successful applicants for student visas.
  • Guidelines for accommodation providers to provide practical driving advice to their guests.
  • A Rental Vehicle Operators’ Code of Practice.

• The EAIE 2016 builds partnerships

  The EAIE conference took place last month in Liverpool, with more than 5000 participants from over 80 countries in attendance. This included ENZ, which coordinated a branded New Zealand pavilion that showcased six universities and four Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics.

  ENZ’s Regional Director Americas and Europe, Lisa Futschek, says that partnerships such as NMIT’s confirm how important EAIE is for New Zealand providers wanting to work with overseas institutions.

  “Face-to-face relationship building is invaluable in this industry, allowing providers to discuss opportunities in a friendly but focussed environment,” she said.

  “Each year EAIE brings together not just European, but global key industry players. It therefore provides a perfect platform for New Zealand industry to establish new and develop existing international partnerships.”

  In light of its new partnership, NMIT will begin on-campus promotion of the exchange opportunity to Kiwi students in 2017.

  The EAIE is not a student-facing event, similar to its North American counterpart, NAFSA (Association of International Educators) but an important business to business event on the annual international education calendar.

  

  Left: Will Tregidga, International Development Manager from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) with Silke Bochow from Cologne Business School.

  On the eve of the EAIE conference, ENZ hosted a New Zealand networking function, A Taste of New Zealand in the heart of Liverpool, for New Zealand institutions along with their existing and potential European partners. The New Zealand High Commissioner in London, Sir Lockwood Smith, officially opened the event, delighting guests with his passionate promotion of New Zealand as an international education destination.  He shared with the crowd his pride at having introduced the world-leading integrated Qualifications Framework as Education Minister in the late 1980s.

  Sir Lockwood brought the evening to a fitting close by leading Ngati Ranana Kapa Haka group in a spontaneous and rousing rendition of “Now is the Hour”.

  

  Sir Lockwood Smith at A Taste of New Zealand in the heart of Liverpool

• Major offshore donation to University of Auckland

  The Aotearoa Foundation is a private foundation founded by well-known philanthropist Julian Robertson and his late wife Josie, and seeks to make high-impact grants in New Zealand for education, conservation and environmental stewardship, and medical research. In the 1970s, Robertson and his family spent a year living in New Zealand.

  The Aotearoa Foundation donation is set to create new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for healthcare, new opportunities in New Zealand’s medical technology sector, and support leading researchers at the university’s Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) and Centre for Brain Research (CBR).

  The Director of the CBR, Professor Richard Faull, says the donation will be “a vital catalyst” for the CBR’s work in brain research, and hopes it will bring more international attention to the campaign.

  For All Our Futures is the largest fundraising campaign in New Zealand history, aiming to raise $300m on research projects that address critical challenges facing our communities.

  The ambitious project comes on the back of the university ranking highest of all New Zealand universities in the latest QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

• ENZ launches inaugural education showcase in Saudi Arabia

  The event followed Trade Minister Todd McClay's visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss several education initiatives, leading a trade delegation with five education organisations.

  The New Zealand Showcase covered New Zealand’s expertise in teacher training, school management and operations, and early childhood education delivery. The event was hosted in Riyadh at the Saudi Ministry of Education, chaired by the Minister of Education, Ahmed Al-Issa, with the support of New Zealand Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Hamish MacMaster. The event included representatives from the University of Waikato, Cognition Education, and Little Schools.

  Saudi Arabia is implementing education reforms, a response to lower oil revenues, with a focus on growing private education capacity in the country. Saudi officials and investors have shown a particular interest in partnering with New Zealand to set up new school and early childhood education networks, and to raise the performance of existing private schools.

  ENZ’s Middle East and Acting South Asia Regional Director, John Laxon, says initiatives such as the showcase are an excellent way to bridge any gaps in knowledge, and promote what New Zealand organisations have to offer.

  “The showcase has created a great awareness of New Zealand’s world-class education system, and established partnerships to address some of the common education challenges faced by Saudi Arabia and New Zealand,” said Mr Laxon.

  “We are very grateful for the support of Minister Al-Issa and the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, and the New Zealand organisations who supported the event.”

  

  Ambassador Hamish MacMaster and Minister Al-Issa chair the New Zealand Education Showcase

• School exam reform in China

  The changes are part of the Guiding Opinion on Further Advancing Exam and Student Enrolment Reform at High School Level, officially released by China’s Ministry of Education. Key features of the Guiding Opinion include:

  • The intention to combine the Middle School Completion Exam (Chuzhong Huikao) and High School Entrance Exam (Zhongkao) into one ‘Middle School Academic Achievement Exam’ (Chuzhong Xueye Shuiping Kaoshi).
  • Middle school students (Years 7 – 9 in China) will have the freedom to choose optional subjects whose exam results will contribute to the final Middle School Academic Achievement Exam (alongside their usual compulsory subjects, for example, Chinese literature and maths).

  The overarching objective of the reform is to advance students’ development by allowing them to choose elective courses to complement compulsory subjects. This reform is consistent with adjustments to Gaokao, China’s College Entrance Exam, where students have the option to choose what they want to study, and can pursue what they are good at.

  Piloting of the reform is expected to begin at a provincial level from 2018 onwards, and will not affect students enrolling until then.  

  Rosemary An, ENZ’s Education Manager based in China, says that when these changes come into play, they will likely have some impact on Chinese students who decide to study abroad.

  “The changes show an effort by China to mitigate exam burdens and to emphasise the value of all-round development. An added benefit is that if these Chinese students decide to study in New Zealand, they are likely to adapt more quickly to New Zealand secondary schooling as they will have already experienced ‘course selection’ in their home country.”

  While it is still too soon to predict what this development will mean for overseas study trends, Rosemary recommends that any institutions recruiting Chinese school students should be aware of this development. 

  The ENZ China team will keep an eye on the progress and impact of these reforms, and share any updates as they occur.

• Innovative award scheme announced in Seoul

  At the seminar, agents and providers received updates from Immigration New Zealand and ENZ, had one-on-one discussions and attended the announcement of ENZ’s hotly anticipated new award scheme for Korean students, a video competition called I want to study in New Zealand. The award encourages students to research New Zealand’s education offerings, and get creative by putting together a short video (60 seconds or less) that shows what they want to study in New Zealand and why.

  Five awards, ranging from NZ$5,000 - $8,000 to go towards tuition fees, will be given to the students who produce stand-out entries. Agents who put students forward for the scheme will also be rewarded, with four places up for grabs on an ENZ agent famil to New Zealand in 2017.

  Cecily Lin, ENZ’s Acting Regional Lead - North Asia, says that in this market it is important to strengthen relationships with agents, and interactive schemes like this are a win-win.

  “Promoting New Zealand as an education destination and attracting more Korean students starts with mobilising Korean agents.”

  “Through this competition we can acknowledge the important role Korean agents play in this market, and reward their efforts in attracting both quality and high numbers of students.”  

  The details of the scheme can be found here.

  For any queries about the scheme, please contact Cecily Lin or Onnuri Lee (Cecily.Lin@enz.govt.nz and lee.onnuri@enz.govt.nz)

• University of Waikato announces pioneering international partnership

  In September 2017, the University of Waikato will launch a joint Institute with Zheijiang University City College [ZUCC], offering Chinese students the opportunity to enrol in one of three undergraduate degrees in China with the University of Waikato providing the degrees and teaching staff.

  On completion, the Chinese students will receive a degree from both universities.

  University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor, Professor Neil Quigley, says the initiative complements other joint programmes the University has been running in China over the past 20 years.

  "The University is committed to growing its off-shore delivery, and transnational education plays an important role in the University’s internationalisation strategy," said Professor Quigley.

  Education New Zealand [ENZ] supported the preparation of the bid for initial submission to the Chinese Ministry of Education and the redevelopment of the Academic English part of the programme.

  Grant McPherson, ENZ Chief Executive, says that in a global context transnational education is not only a growth area, but an important contributor to supporting the international reputation and brand of the provider, and New Zealand.

  “We are delighted to see the University of Waikato expand offshore, with an approach that builds on an existing relationship and seamlessly aligns with the University’s offering,” said Mr McPherson. 

  The application process for approval of the institute was rigorous, including examination by the Provincial Ministry of Education and the Chinese Ministry of Education in Beijing.

  The first intake of students will be able to study for degrees in finance, media and creative technologies, and computer graphic design.

  The programmes included in the partnership were selected based on demand. The finance degree has been available to ZUCC students since 2008 but the students were required to complete the qualification in New Zealand. The partnership with the University of Waikato was established in 2002.

  "The finance degree was a popular choice with students when we began our partnership with ZUCC,” said Professor Quigley. 

  “The addition of media and creative technologies and computer graphic design relates well to the location of ZUCC in Hangzhou, which is a hub for technology and creative practices."