28 March 2018 at 9:00 am

Education Minister opens ENZ Singapore office

Education Minister Hon Chris Hipkins formally opened ENZ’s South East Asia hub office in Singapore earlier this month during his first day of international travel as Minister. 

Sinagpore
L-R: ENZ Regional Director John Laxon, Minister Hipkins, New Zealand High Commissioner to Singapore Jonathan Austin, Deputy High Commissioner Laura Grey and ENZ South East Asia Regional Manager Ben Burrowes.

The Minister’s visit included a market briefing from ENZ, the signing of an Education Co-operation Arrangement with the Singapore Government, and several visits to Singaporean education ministries and institutions.

John Laxon, ENZ Regional Director – South, South East Asia & the Middle East, said the office opening represents a significant milestone in ENZ’s strategy to increase the organisation’s presence across the region. The region includes five of ENZ’s priority markets (Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines). 

“The Minister’s support of a stronger New Zealand education presence in the region is really appreciated, particularly as we’re seeing growth across South East Asia in the numbers of high-quality students choosing New Zealand,” said John. 

“Our organisational strategy is to add value to our industry by providing better intelligence, connections and expertise in areas such as digital marketing and public relations.

“The SEA regional hub office will complement our in-market and global teams, and we look forward to connecting with our New Zealand education providers in the coming months.”

The opening follows several recruitment initiatives across ENZ’s South and South East Asia, Middle East team:

  • The appointment of Ben Burrowes as ENZ’s South East Asia Regional Manager
  • Recruitment of a South East Asia Regional Marketing and Communications Specialist, to be based in Singapore (recruitment closing 12 April)
  • Expansion of the Viet Nam office through the appointment of Van Banh as Market Manager (Van.Banh@enz.govt.nz) and Tam Ngo as Programme Manager (Tam.Ngo@enz.govt.nz)
  • Recruitment of a Market Manager responsible for Malaysia and the Philippines (short-listing underway).

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