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  • Get involved in the next Korea–New Zealand Digital School Exchange Programme

    Programme information 

    • Number of New Zealand schools selected: Up to 10. 

    • Who can apply: Schools with students in Year 7-9. 

    • Number of participating students per session: 20-25 (Korean schools typically involve a full class of 20-25 students per exchange session. If a New Zealand school wishes to include more than 25 students, they can form multiple groups of around 20 students each to participate separately.)  

    • Exchange period: Four, one-hour Zoom sessions held weekly from Monday 11 May 2026 to Monday 8 June 2026. 

    • Exchange times: To accommodate both time zones, exchange sessions will be scheduled between 12:00-3:00pm NZT.  

    • Participation fee: Free of charge. 

    Why join?  

    • Promote your school to a South Korean audience for free  

    • Showcase New Zealand’s unique education environment and culture  

    • Engage your students in a hybrid STEM and cultural exchange  

    • No added work to your teaching load - LEL takes care of all the admin and logistics, allowing you to simply show up with your classroom and enjoy the global learning experience  

    Teachers in previous rounds praised the programme for its smooth delivery and the enthusiasm it sparked in their classrooms.  

    Check out the story from the previous programme:  New Zealand – Korea digital student exchange » Education NZ  

    How it works  

    ENZ and Seoul MOE work closely with Learn English Live (LEL), who will:  

    • Coordinate all communication with New Zealand schools. 

    • Match exchange times with Korean schools and New Zealand schools. 

    • Provide pre-training for New Zealand teachers and students. 

    • Facilitate sessions using topics tailored for digital exchanges ranging from culture & language sharing, United Nation SDG projects, STEM learning, global citizenship and much more. 

    In previous programmes, NZ teachers appreciated not having to prepare or run the sessions themselves—LEL takes care of everything.  

    Is this right for your school?  

    This programme is a great fit for schools that:   

    • Are looking to build long-term sister-school relationships with Korean schools, especially through social studies, cultural/global studies, languages or global citizenship education.  

    • See value in soft marketing opportunities, promoting their school in Korea in a meaningful, low-pressure and no cost way, and are interested in attracting potential international students over the long term.  

    Application timeline 

    • Applications close: Friday 12 December 2025 11:59pm  

    • Selection process: 15 – 16 December   

    • Notification of outcome: Wednesday 17 December  

    • Next steps: From April 2026, selected schools will be contacted by LEL with a detailed guide  

    If you wish to apply for this programme, please fill out the Expression of Interest (EOI) here or scan the QRCode below.  

    If you have any questions, please contact ENZ (Alana Pellow ) or Learn English Live (William Clarke ).  

    Background    

    ENZ has partnered with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (Seoul MOE) to run digital classroom exchanges since 2021 with ENZ education technology partner Learn English Live (LEL) . These exchanges have created meaningful connections between students, teachers, and schools in both countries. NZ students have had the opportunity to connect with their Korean peers, build global friendships, and experience cross-cultural learning—all from their own classrooms.  

  • NZ’s education brand remains stable despite border closures

    A recent presentation by Jason Cate of Kantar, who carried out the 2022 annual brand survey for ENZ, considers two broad questions: 

    • How is the demand for international education changing post-Covid 19? 
    • How is New Zealand’s brand as an education destination being impacted? 

    “This programme tracks perceptions of New Zealand as an education destination globally, but also specific association statements and overall sentiment, appeal and attractiveness,” Jason Cate says.  

    “It’s always interesting to see how this develops and changes over time, particularly over the last couple of years, given all the challenges.” 

    More than 4,800 potential students were surveyed online across 11 priority countries, as well as their parents in some markets. The 16-24 year olds surveyed were mostly current students, and all of them were considering further study in an offshore, English-speaking country. 

    Jason Cate says the survey shows the overall nature of demand for offshore education is stable in 2022, and only slightly lower than before Covid-19.  

    The core reasons why students are considering studying offshore haven’t changed: 

    • to live and travel overseas 
    • to meet new people 
    • to enhance their employability. 

    The survey shows there has been a significant reduction in the proportion of students delaying their studies because of Covid-19 (from close to half of students to around one third), but the proportions of students considering both study offshore and at home, or study offshore and online, have increased. In other words, there is a shift in their preferences for the mode of delivery. 

    Across most of our key partner countries, perceptions of New Zealand are relatively constant, with the only change being a small decline in awareness. New Zealand again tussles with Singapore for the fifth strongest brand in student mobility among English-speaking countries. 

    For more details about global demand and perceptions of New Zealand’s education brand in individual markets, you can listen to the full presentation on Intellilab here, by registering and logging in through MaiENZ. 

     

  • Virtual events around the world

    Viet Nam: Career fair at Nguyen Sieu School (NSS)

    Representatives from eight New Zealand providers attended a career fair at Hanoi’s Nguyen Sieu School (NSS) last month.

    With no cases of community-transmitted COVID-19 for the past six weeks, Viet Nam has started to return to normal life. Schools have reopened just ahead of the end of the academic year.

    Usually, the NSS Career Fair only allows in-person representatives from foreign institutions. However, thanks to ENZ’s strong relationship with the school, our institutions were represented by proxy – either an education agent or alumnus. A representative from the institution was also permitted to join via video link.

    As a result, New Zealand’s presence was well ahead of our competitors like Canada (with two institutions), the UK (also two), or Australia (three).

    ENZ Viet Nam Market Manager Van Banh says this is a great example of how key in-market relationships will be critical as international education looks to conduct usual activity online.

    “This year’s NSS Career Fair was an exciting example of how we can incorporate digital technology into our in-person events,” she says.

    North America: NAFSA eShowcase

    For the first time ever, the world’s biggest B2B international education conference was held entirely online.

    More than 9,000 international educators from over 100 countries were expected to attend the conference in St. Louis, Missouri over 25-29 May before COVID-19 forced organisers to take it to the digital world. In the end, over 2,000 attended the eShowcase.

    Participants were able to visit ENZ’s virtual booth and engage either through chat or live video conversations at designated times.

    New Zealand universities and ITPs had dedicated times to host a ‘Virtual Showcase’, which is a mechanism by which NAFSA exhibitors presented, met or collaborated with attendees via a dedicated Zoom session.

    “The process of moving the largest in-person B2B international education conference in the world online has been a big learning curve, not only for ENZ and the individual booths and attendees, but for NAFSA themselves,” ENZ Director of Engagement – North America, DuBois Jennings, says.

    “With no live, conference-wide chatroom or method to see a list of conference participants it felt isolating at time on the booth, which is very different from the normal, in-person NAFSA conference. However, it has been a valuable learning experience as the international education industry looks for new ways to connect virtually.”

    The official NZ CEE schedule.

    China: China Education Expo (CEE)

    In late May, representatives from ENZ, all eight of New Zealand’s universities and the NZIST were offered a unique opportunity to engage directly with students from China and their parents.

    The annual China Education Expo (CEE) is one of the biggest events in the Chinese international education calendar. But ENZ Market Development Manager, Jane Liu, says this year’s engagement through the virtual platform is greater than they would usually expect.

    “Although ENZ has worked with the CEE for years, this is the first time we’ve been collaborated with them online. We can see this being useful to New Zealand institutions even after COVID-19.”

    Each university provided a one-hour presentation sharing their programmes and how they can work with interested students once COVID-19 precautions have been lifted. The NZIST representative also gave a detailed introduction to the reforms the ITP sector has recently gone through.

    The webinars have garnered a combined total of 1000 views, and have been recorded and hosted on WeChat so that students and parents can watch them at their leisure.

  • Kiwi students become ambassadors in Beijing

    The students represented three cohorts from Massey University and the University Canterbury. Two of the groups were based at Peking University, while the other had been studying in Hangzhou.    

    This marks the second year in a row that PMSA groups have come together at a function at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing.  

    New Zealand Ambassador to China, Clare Fearnley, welcomed the visitors and provided an update on the China-New Zealand relationship. Other Embassy staff, representing a range of government agencies from the Ministry of Primary Industries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade were present to talk to students about their roles and areas of interest. 

    ENZ Regional Director North Asia, Adele Bryant, said it provided a great opportunity to encourage the students to be ambassadors for New Zealand education during their stay in China. 

    “These students are ideally placed to help raise the profile of New Zealand education, as they are great examples of the kind of students we produce – independent thinkers, and creative, innovative and skilled young people.” 

    Massey University’s Head of the School of Humanities, Kerry Taylor, also believes in the value of the programmes to students, both now and in their future. 

    “The PMSA provides an opportunity for our high academic achievers to experience first-hand the dynamism and relevance of China to New Zealand,” said Kerry.  

    “Many will come back to do more study in China or develop business links with China that will contribute to New Zealand’s prosperity.”

    Massey PMSA group

    A PMSA group from Massey University at the New Zealand Centre, Peking University. The Massey students studied an intensive Chinese Language programme at PKU.

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  • INZ student visa processing update

    Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ) Palmerston North Area Office (PNAO) is coming out of the peak processing period for onshore student visa applications, with the last of the March visa applications still to be processed.

    The standard processing timeframe for a student visa application is 20 working days for an online application, and 25 working days for a paper-based application.

    Kimberley Polata, PNAO Head of Operations, said her team is working on applications received within the last 20 days and is committed to clearing these applications by the end of April.

    Progress has already been made towards this, with PNAO sending out nearly 1,800 visa decisions in the last week alone, she said

    “There are approximately 1,100 visa applications where further documentation or information has been requested from the student, and this is required in order to compete the application.”

    Ms Polata asks that education providers check in with their students who are still waiting for their visa decision and ask them to check their email and online applications for communication from INZ.

  • Regional NZ

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  • Noteworthy education programme featured during Prime Minister’s Trade Mission to Japan

    Hot on the heels of the Prime Minister’s Trade Mission to Southeast Asia in April, relationships with our partner countries in the region continued to be strengthened for the benefit of the education sector during New Zealand’s most recent trade mission to Japan. This mission supported export sectors, including education, to engage with the Japan market and leverage emerging opportunities while advancing the New Zealand brand.  The inclusion of education in the high-level visit acknowledges its contribution to the government’s ambition to lift the value of exports.  

    The strong people-to-people links between New Zealand and Japan are noteworthy with high student mobility in both directions. Japan is the third largest source of international students for New Zealand according to 2023 international student enrolment data with the school sector making up the largest proportion of enrolments. Japan is also a top destination for New Zealand scholars with many joining the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme and in the most recent Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia group announcement, three groups were awarded scholarships for programmes in Japan. 

    The international education sector was represented by two delegates nominated by ENZ to participate in the full business delegation. Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor University of Canterbury, attended as Chair of the Vice-Chancellor’s Committee on behalf of the wider university sector and John van der Zwan, Executive Director, Schools International Education Business Association (SIEBA). Unfortunately, John had to withdraw due to illness.  

    The education programme elements woven into the high-level visit included a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing, a visit by Mrs Amanda Luxon to a local Japanese school, and scholarship students participating in the New Zealand Sports and Business Leadership luncheon.  

    MoU between Massey University and a group of all-girls secondary schools  

    The Prime Minister promoted awareness of New Zealand’s world-leading universities among high schools in Japan through witnessing the signing of an MoU between Massey University and six all-girls secondary schools in Japan.  

     

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon witnessed the signing of the MoU between Massey University and six all-girls secondary schools in Japan.

    The memorandum signing ceremony was held at the New Zealand Embassy in Japan on 18 June. The MoU will develop a special admission system, enabling Massey University’s foundation or bachelor’s programmes to accept outstanding students recommended by the principals of the Japanese high schools. Through this agreement, students who meet Massey University's English and academic requirements and receive a recommendation from their schools will be able to enrol in Massey University's bachelor's programmes. Students can graduate with a degree in three years from the time they start their studies.  

    Shelly Turner, Deputy Vice Chancellor represented Massey University in Tokyo at the MoU signing and said at the signing “Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University has a long-standing relationship with Japan, reflecting our commitment to fostering international education and cultural exchange, and more recently we have seen a growing interest in our full degree programmes.  

    “We are dedicated to providing comprehensive support to ensure our Japanese students thrive academically and personally. We recognise the crucial role of women and girls in tertiary education and are committed to empowering them to achieve their full potential during their studies, and transition to successful careers,” said Shelly.  

    The Japanese school Principals, including Japan Women’s University Senior High School Principal, Yumi Susuki also welcomed the new partnership.  

    “For the past 30 years, our school has deepened its understanding of New Zealand culture and society through language training programs in New Zealand. With the 2022 agreement between Education New Zealand and our school, and now the new special admission system with Massey University, we hope to build even richer relationships and empower our students to shape their future,” said Yumi.  

    The Japanese schools that signed the agreement participated in the 'New Zealand Education Familiarisation Tour,' co-hosted by ENZ and Air New Zealand in March 2024. During the tour, they found a high level of compatibility with Massey’s educational philosophy, wide range of academic options, future-oriented learning environment, and extensive support for international students. 

    Homei Elementary School 

    Mrs Luxon with teachers and students at Homei Elementary School.

    International education opportunities were also highlighted in a well-received visit Mrs Luxon made to Homei Elementary School on 19 June (affiliated to Japan Women’s University). It was Mrs Luxon's first trip to Japan and her school visit enhanced New Zealand's presence and reputation among all-girls' schools and universities in Japan.  

    In 2022, an Education Cooperation Arrangement between ENZ and Japan Women's University (JWU) and its affiliated schools including the Homei Elementary School was concluded to promote student and teacher exchange as well as gender equality and women’s empowerment.    

    From 2025, Homei Elementary School will send its first cohort of six graders (11-12 years old) to St. Margaret’s College for a short-term study and homestay experience.   

    Sports and Business Leadership Luncheon 

    The Sports and Business Leadership Luncheon held earlier in the programme on 17 June celebrated people-to-people connections and promoted New Zealand as an attractive study destination, including through the “Tobitate” scholarship programme.  

    The Tobitate programme, managed by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), sends students abroad and New Zealand has welcomed many students as part of this initiative. Ten Tobitate Alumni were invited by ENZ to attend the lunch in support of the New Zealand – Japan sporting ties and to promote education opportunities in New Zealand to the Japanese audience.  

    The Prime Minister’s remarks during the event celebrated ten years of the Game on English programme (which combines rugby and study in New Zealand for Japanese high school students), highlighted Fonterra’s contribution to its success, and announced Air New Zealand as a new sponsor.  

    Upcoming Events in Japan for NZ education providers 

    ENZ’s Acting General Manager International and Regional Director Asia (excluding China), Ben Burrowes accompanied the delegation and said he is looking forward to the upcoming ENZ events in Japan.  

    “The team is preparing to welcome providers to Japan later this year for the New Zealand Fair and Agent Seminars from 6 to 8 October.   

    “The timing of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s recent visit to Japan couldn’t have been better. We will look to further leverage this focus by continuing our work with the sector to promote New Zealand’s education offerings with prospective students, families and education stakeholders in Japan.”   

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