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• Wintec celebrates 10 years of friendship with Shimane University

  Accompanied by Professors Jun Iwata and Dr Rie Sato, the students will undertake a two-week short study tour through Wintec’s Centre for Health and Social Practice and Centre for Languages.

  The group was welcomed with a pōwhiri at Wintec’s city campus where the students responded with traditional Japanese songs. Shortly after, Wintec chief executive Mark Flowers and Shimane University professor Jun Iwata cut a celebration cake with the students.

  Wintec international director Jason Matangi welcomed the visitors and spoke about the value of the relationship between Wintec and Japan.

  “Maintaining international relations is essential for Wintec and for New Zealand. The 10-year anniversary is an important milestone in our relationship and is a recognition of our deep friendship and the regard with which we hold Shimane University and Japan.”

  During their time at Wintec, the students will study nursing and medical education to get an overview of the health sector in New Zealand. This includes academic visits to Waikato Hospital and Waterford Birth Centre to allow the Japanese students to learn more about New Zealand practices.

  To complete the Kiwi experience, the students will also take English language courses and live with local homestays. The group will also have a chance to tour around the Waikato region including weekend trips to Waitomo Caves, Rotorua and Taupō.

  The relationship between the two institutions started 10 years ago through a staff exchange programme. Since 2010, Wintec has welcomed students from Shimane University for short-term training programmes every year.

  Wintec and Shimane University aim to enhance this mutual programme in the next few years. 

• Ara student’s volunteering experience

  Sas has been involved in the Christchurch Youth Council’s Civics focus group, is an International Student Representative for the Ara Student Council, and is the Student Representative for Engineering, representing his classmates at the Engineering New Zealand Canterbury Committee meetings each month.

  He has found that volunteering is great for networking and considering his future career options.

  “I love it because it’s study-related, and I get to meet a lot of industry people,” Sas said.

  “It’s been good for developing my communication skills, and public speaking. Currently I’m doing my final year project on recycled concrete but I’ve also talked to the City Council to see if there’s any research they want me to do for them. It’s good to do industry projects.”

  In future, Sas is interested in working with Engineers without Borders.

  “I’d love the opportunity to go to the Pacific Islands and use the knowledge I’ve learned so far to help build structures and give back to those communities.”

  Lynda Clegg from the Ara Careers Centre believes students can find great value in volunteering.

  “Volunteering offers a range of opportunities for students including building on their employability skills, gaining experience in an area of interest, contributing to the community and enhancing their CV,” said Clegg.

  Ara organised a Student Volunteer Expo earlier this month to connect students to volunteering with a variety of organisations, including Ronald McDonald House, Salvation Army and SPCA.

• Market insights from Japanese media

  The journalists represented a range of Japanese news media with audiences of various interests, ages and social groups:

  • Sachiko Habu, Editor-in-Chief of Nikkei DUAL, a digital magazine for working parents
  • Ryo Fujii, Deputy Editor of CNET Japan, focused on technology and innovation news
  • Yuko Okumura, a freelance journalist for Glolea!, promoting study abroad for Japanese students.

  The journalists visited secondary schools, English language schools, early childhood education (ECE) providers and government agencies involved in technology-focused start-ups.

  Misa Kitaoka, ENZ’s Senior Market Development Manager – Japan, said New Zealand’s approach to education was considered very forward-thinking in Japan.

  “They realised that education in New Zealand is not about only acquiring knowledge, which is still the case in Japan, but about what one can do with the knowledge in dealing with the uncertainties that come with the accelerated globalisation and digitisation in society.” 

  New Zealand’s world-first education ranking for instilling future skills resonated with the journalists, as did the Government’s push to enable innovation in the private sector, its tertiary qualifications framework for ITPs, and unique ECE curriculum.

  Government-led initiatives such as CreativeHQ were very attractive to the journalists as well.

  “In Japan, it’s usually the private sector that drives innovation so seeing a government-led initiative in New Zealand really made an impression,” said Misa.

  The journalists were interested that some New Zealand schools offered the International Baccalaureate (IB), which could be a pathway to tertiary study options in Japan, New Zealand, US and the UK.

  “IB is a hot topic in Japan at the moment, with the Japanese government promoting international education and introducing international curricula such as the IB diploma to Japanese schools,” said Misa.

  

  The journalists enjoy a Kiwi classic - hokey pokey ice cream.

  The topic of Japanese parents bringing their pre-school children to an English-speaking country like New Zealand for a short-term immersion – the ‘barefeet study abroad’ experience, as one journalist put it – was also of interest. The journalists appreciated the “unique learning environment” offered by the New Zealand ECEs they visited.

  “They were impressed to see children immersed in nature while learning how to be independent and resilient,” said Misa.    

  New Zealand’s high quality of life, healthy work-life balance and the flexibility of “work from home” also made a good impression.

• Talking employment rights with international students

  Lesley Brough, International Travel College (ITC)’s International Marketing Manager, welcomed Ms Kaloti to an international student lunch where Ms Kaloti spoke in detail about New Zealand employment rights, including contracts and the minimum wage and what to look out for to avoid exploitation.

  “Ms Kaloti’s message reinforced several of our values like inclusivity, fairness, and diversity,” said Lesley.

  “While ITC covers these important topics on a regular basis, it was good for international students to hear the same messages from an independent, unaffiliated organisation.

  “Now our students know they can also reach out to the Migrant Workers Association if they would like further support or guidance.”

  Ms Kaloti encouraged students to discuss these issues with their friends as they could be happening to someone they know.

  “It’s really important that our students feel empowered about their rights in New Zealand and are compelled to share this knowledge with their friends and family,” said Lesley.

  “The more we can raise awareness about these issues, the less likely it is that exploitation will occur.”

  Education providers interested in having Anu Kaloti speak at their institute can email migrantworkersnz@gmail.com.

• Kiwi schools celebrate at SIEBA hui

  The Schools International Education Business Association (SIEBA) held its second biennial hui over two days in Wellington.

  Featuring more than 60 presenters, including author and television host Nigel Latta as keynote speaker, the hui was an opportunity for professional learning and a chance to celebrate the schools sector.

  Jennifer Kirkham, SIEBA Professional Learning & Development Operations Manager, was impressed by the involvement and enthusiasm from delegates.

  “It is a testament to the value they see in SIEBA events and activities, both for member schools and the wider industry, and also shows there is an appetite for greater collaboration.

  

  “We appreciated the willingness of sector presenters to share with their colleagues, as schools always love to hear what others are doing. 

  Another highlight was the presentation by lawyer Tim Conder on how schools need to change their contracts and disciplinary processes to align with the recently amended Education Act.

  “I think we all left the hui with long to-do lists,” said Ms Kirkham.

  To celebrate the sector’s success, six international education professionals were honoured at the awards dinner with SIEBA International Education Leadership Awards.

  Allan Goodhall from Mount Maunganui College and Grant Berry from Kerikeri High School, both on the eve of retirement after decades of service to the sector, received long service and outstanding contribution awards. 

  Lynda Sullivan from Rangitoto College received an award for innovation, and Terry Kraettli from Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, Barbara Charlton-Kelly from Newlands College, and Annemieke Hart from Tauranga Intermediate received recognition for their outstanding contributions to the school sector.

  Recipients were nominated by their peers and were all deserving winners.

• Study in New Zealand website delivers greater value

  Euan Howden, ENZ’s Student Attraction Director, says prospective students are increasingly using StudyinNewZealand.govt.nz (SiNZ) to search for study options, with new statistics showing use of SiNZ’s search widgets (stand-alone applications) surged 117% from last year.

  “The addition of the ‘Find a course’ search widget last year, alongside existing widgets for institutions/schools, scholarships and agents, has considerably improved engagement.

  “This shows the site is delivering value to prospective students as well as New Zealand providers who want to attract students to their unique education offerings.”

  Those using the new search widgets are finding what they are looking for much quicker and are spending more time reading the results, an average of 4.22 minutes, which combined with a bounce rate (people who leave without reading further) of 5.9% is an outstanding result – the industry bounce rate average is 40%.

  “The recent improvements to the search widgets have significantly increased our target audience’s exposure to content about why they should choose New Zealand, and we’re very pleased with results to date,” says Euan.

  

  
  The SINZ search widgets allow prospective students to search for courses, institutions, scholarships and agents.

  This improved search performance coincides with a suite of other initiatives designed to improve site performance and deliver greater value to students.

  Other updates include:

  • Default search results are now randomised if a user has not used any search filters. This is a change from the previous approach of presenting results in alphabetical order and means preference won’t be given to institutions with names beginning with ‘A’.
  • The start date refinement filter has been removed due to inconsistencies in the data available from institutions, which led to inconsistent search results.
  • Keyword search will be enabled in the search widgets to allow for more intuitive search results for users.

  These changes are in addition to the launch of My StudyNZ, which helps to connect students to New Zealand study options.

  In the last year, more than one million users visited the SiNZ website. To maximise the potential of SINZ for your institution, ensure your institution’s profile is complete and up-to-date.

• Focus on Viet Nam visa processing

  Since April, Mumbai has processed 129 student visa applications from Viet Nam. The approval rate is 72%, which is in line with the approval rates recorded when processing was done in Ho Chi Minh City.  

  INZ Sector Relationship Manager (Education), Celia Coombes, said that some education providers have expressed concern that INZ processes have changed since Mumbai began processing. 

  “We would like to take the opportunity to advise that this is not the case. 

  “The Mumbai office is doing some further work on understanding how particular sub-sectors interact with the Vietnamese market so staff can have the most up-to-date information. 

  “An INZ staff member will also accompany ENZ’s Agent Manager, Dan Smidt, to Viet Nam early next month so that both agencies can connect directly with education agents in market and nurture those key relationships.”  

  Celia said that if providers or students have any questions about visa decisions or processes relating to any of the three student visa processing offices (Beijing, Mumbai, or Palmerston North), please contact that office directly to discuss.  

  She said that declines could be the result of incorrect documentation, or the agent not responding to a request for further information. The relevant processing office was best placed to provide clarity, she said.  

  New Zealand education providers with general feedback on the INZ system or policies can email this to INZ on IEengagement@mbie.govt.nz.  

  “At INZ, we realise that for many providers and agents, the closure of a local office can be a daunting time. Please be assured that INZ staff in Mumbai, Beijing and Palmerston North are ready and prepared to take over the work from other markets.  

  “We value your feedback and look forward to working with you constructively.” 

• International students get work ready in Welly

  Several times a year, Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA) offers a free Work Ready in Wellington programme to help prepare international students and graduates for work in New Zealand.

  Since 2016, some 600 students have completed the course, which covers CV preparation, job search strategies, interview techniques, employee rights and more. Specialist tutors teach a range of topics such as the importance of communicating in the New Zealand workplace including small talk.

  WREDA’s Talent, Skills and Education Manager Brook Pannell said the programme gives international students a clear picture of what is appropriate in the Kiwi workforce.

  “That sounds intuitive to New Zealanders but there are a wide range of norms in business behaviour and expectations around the world. We want to show students the Kiwi way to kickstart their careers in Wellington,” he said.

  Course coordinator Nicky Riddiford said engaging in small talk in a new workplace is an important element of fitting in.

  

  “It’s important to engage in small talk but it is often more challenging for newcomers because they are not sure which topics are suitable, and who they should do small talk with,” she said.

  Chinese international student Allen (Feng) Zhu graduated from Massey University before completing a Work Ready course in 2017. He then worked as an intern at WREDA’s head office for a month before starting his current role at the Ministry of Health.

  “Being able to quickly fit into a new workplace is something employers look for and having the confidence to chat with colleagues about everyday things is important.

  “Small talk was a good thing to learn about as part of the Work Ready programme.”

• ENZ refreshes Recognised Agency programme

  Following extensive review, ENZ has made key changes to its Recognised Agency programme.

  On a yearly basis, educations agencies will need to meet core requirements to gain or retain Recognised Agency status, including meeting a points target and minimum visa approval rate.

  “This aims to give confidence to stakeholders that Recognised Agencies are successfully, and consistently placing international students with New Zealand education providers,” said Dan.

  “Furthermore, the annual renewal process will ensure that the Recognised Agency information listed on the Study in New Zealand website is up-to-date and providers useful information  to students, parents and education providers who are seeking to engage with an education agent.”

  The changes to ENZRA broadly align with the objectives of the International Education Strategy, and contribute to the attraction of high-value students through ongoing support of quality education agencies.

  “Education agencies play an important role in assisting international students. By engaging more closely with high-quality agencies, we hope to help enrich the student experience by ensuring they are provided with comprehensive, accurate and factual advice regarding studying and living in New Zealand.

  The new ENZRA programme will be live from 1 November 2018.

  Further information can be found here.

• ISANA NZ workshops to support International Student Wellbeing

  ISANA NZ is offering a range of professional development and community engagement workshops that are aligned to deliver on the goals of the International Student Wellbeing Strategy.

  The workshops are being offered in Auckland, Palmerston North, Tauranga, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.

  The workshop topics are focused on helping education providers and local community groups to engage better with international students in order to enhance international student wellbeing.

  Topics for this year’s workshops include:

  • Enhancing international student engagement with local communities
  • Resources for pastoral care
  • Building cultural intelligence and skills 
  • Mental health
  • Ensuring everyday wellbeing
  • Tools to support students through cultural and academic transitions

  Each set of workshops will also include updates from government agencies, including MBIE (Immigration NZ) and NZQA.

  Click here for more details and to register for the events.