Busy season for international education in India

The inaugural session at the Connect event served as a valuable platform to provide an update on the recent high-level bilateral engagements between New Zealand and India during the Prime Minister's visit. It also highlighted the continued prominence of education as a key theme across these discussions.  

The event started with high-level bilateral updates by New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India, Patrick Rata, followed by an education overview by ENZ’s Chief Executive, Amanda Malu. Immigration New Zealand also attended and provided a market update as well as conducted a workshop with a selection of Indian education agents. 

The programme was strategically designed to provide university representatives with expert intelligence and insights to support the development of their India engagement strategies, aligning with the evolving priorities and demands within the Indian context.

Panel discussions featured senior government officials and sector leaders, who shared perspectives on the increasing significance of deepening education sector collaboration between New Zealand and India. They also highlighted the opportunities presented by India’s National Education Policy 2020 to further strengthen these bilateral ties. 

Following the New Zealand – India Education Connect programme and ahead of APAIE, ENZ hosted its NZ Networking Reception which was attended by more than 100 guests. 

APAIE 2025 

Running in tandem with New Zealand-India Education Connect, ENZ coordinated the New Zealand pavilion at the 2025 APAIE Conference, held in New Delhi from 24-28 March.  

The pavilion featured 11 NZ institutions including, all eight New Zealand universities alongside representatives from the Southern Institute of Technology, Whitecliffe College, and Ignite Colleges. The pavilion also had in-attendance key representative from Immigration New Zealand to support providers and stakeholders.  

This is the first time APAIE has been held in India that resulted in phenomenal engagement from Indian stakeholders, especially coinciding with this year’s theme on ‘Cultivating Global Citizens for the Future: The Higher Education Imperative in the Asia Pacific and Beyond’.   

New Zealand featured strongly across eight panels, with ENZ Chief Executive Amanda Malu contributing to three panel discussions on Indigenous Perspectives in the Internationalisation of Higher Education; a regional update from New Zealand and Laos; and National Strategies for International Education: Three Perspectives from Asia-Pacific. The wider New Zealand  speakers led critical conversations on international collaboration, indigenous knowledge, and sustainable education practices.  

Director of Engagement for India, Jugnu Roy, said the New Zealand pavilion was buzzing across the three days of the conference.  

“APAIE 2025 was an incredible opportunity to connect with global colleagues, exchange ideas, and gain fresh perspectives on the future of international education. The conversations offered plenty of inspiration and practical insights to take away,” she said.  

APAIE aims to advance education through enabling greater cooperation between institutions to enrich and support international programmes, activities and exchanges; and to promote the value of international education within the Asia-Pacific region.