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Alumni embrace tikanga Māori in Vermont
The North American Whānau Council – East Coast is one of three Whānau Councils worldwide (the other two being Europe and the USA’s West Coast) and is made up of AUT alumni who attended the Noho Marae weekend at AUT’s Ngā Wai o Horotiu marae.
There, students learned what it means to be whānau and experienced a range of Māori cultural activities including sleeping on the marae and learning waiata and the haka.
Jason King (centre) Senior Lecturer of the Faculty of Maori & Indigenous Development, AUT with brother Charles and wife Andrea.

Originally a student-driven initiative in Europe, the Whānau Councils are now supported formally by AUT and Jason King, AUT’s Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development. Jason and his wife Andrea make an annual trip to each of the Whānau Councils’ AGMs.
Lewis Gibson, ENZ Field Director, North America, attended this year’s events with students from Champlain College (currently hosting its first Māori student on campus) and the University of Vermont (UVM) where AUT has exchange programmes.
“The Whānau Councils act as local communities for alumni to maintain their connections to each other, New Zealand and Māori culture.
“They’ve also been instrumental in helping US universities connect with their own tangata whenua; the Chief of the Nulhegan Abenaki tribe, Don Stevens, attended Whānau Council events this month to show support. For these students, it was the first time many had had any interaction with the Abenaki.”
Lewis said the experience these students had at AUT’s Noho Marae has profoundly impacted them, turning them into lifelong advocates for New Zealand, its education system and Māori culture.
“By embracing an indigenous culture on the other side of the world these students have found a home away from home and a whānau they belong to.”
This sense of belonging has remained long after those students left New Zealand. Today, a large number of alumni from both UVM and Champlain College have become teachers, sharing Māori culture in their own classrooms with their students.
“By incorporating lessons and culture from New Zealand, these alumni are exposing US students to the benefits of a New Zealand education, as well as actively sharing their positive New Zealand education experiences with their peers in the wider community.
“This encourages more US students to participate in study abroad opportunities in New Zealand, and further entrenches the kiwi connections in Vermont,” Lewis said.
Kaka
Around the world in five
UK
What can the UK do to attract overseas students? Imitate Australia
The UK must not become complacent – competition for international students around the world is growing. We need a coordinated effort between universities, government and the private sector.
Read more

SCOTLAND
Push for post-study work scheme
Scotland has urged the UK government to review its immigration policy and to create a Scotland-specific post-study work scheme.
Read more

VIET NAM
Cram-and-exam framework has got to go
Employers across Vietnam say its graduates lack critical thinking skills and work-readiness and are calling for the cram-and-exam framework to go.
Read more

RUSSIA
New recruitment drive to attract students from Europe and America
The Russian government is planning to introduce a series of measures, including new scholarships and streamlined visa processing, to encourage more students from Western countries to study in Russia.
Read more

CHINA
Belt and Road countries attract students
Countries that are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative are more popular among Chinese students as study destinations, with 66,100 students in ‘en route’ countries in 2017, up 15.7 percent from 2016.
Read more
Work begins on plan to grow offshore delivery
Education New Zealand is developing an international delivery plan to provide a clear and comprehensive rationale for New Zealand's involvement in the international delivery of education and training. Its findings will be integrated with the International Education Strategy, currently underway.
ENZ Industry Development Manager Adele Bryant said the plan will be comprehensive.
“It will identify and prioritise opportunities, approaches and models that will be competitive and build the best long-term value proposition for New Zealand,” Bryant said.
The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE), in partnership with the International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate) have been selected by ENZ to develop the plan.
OBHE is a higher education think tank with a unique remit focussed on ‘borderless’ education. Richard Garrett, Director of OBHE will lead a team of 8-9 based in the USA, UK, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Some of the team members will be well-known to the New Zealand education sector including Stephen Connelly, Director of GlobalEd Services in Australia and Kyla Steenhart, Director of i-Graduate in New Zealand.
The views of interested education providers will be sought over the next three months. The plan is due to be published in May 2017.
Meet the Dream NEW scholarship winners
The initiative was launched in December 2015 by Prime Minister John Key as part of the FTA campaigning in Europe. The scholarship offers EU students one study abroad semester in New Zealand (valued at $12,500 NZD) - sending one student to each of New Zealand’s eight universities.
We received nearly 400 applications from across 21 EU countries, with the majority of students applying from Germany. Candidates were selected based on a combination of their fantastic academic results as well as creative motivational essays or videos.
The winners begin their New Zealand adventure in February 2017, and as official ‘Kiwi Ambassadors’ will keep us updated throughout their time in New Zealand.
Here the eight winners share with us the moment they heard the news, as well as what they are most looking forward to.
Patrick Rebacz (from Germany, going to Massey University)
“I have never been to New Zealand, so I am very curious about the culture, the landscape, the education system and the food. I am looking forward to meeting new people, getting lots of new ideas, being part of a great educational infrastructure and exploring the amazing landscapes. It will be an inspiring and rewarding experience.”
Veronika Rudolf (from Germany, going to University of Waikato)
"When I received the call about the Dream NEW Scholarship I couldn't believe it! Even after telling my family and friends, and starting the preparations, it still feels like a dream. I'm looking forward to my papers about Māori culture at the University of Waikato - I can't wait to start my journey and experience a whole new part of the world."
Lisa Kullander (from Sweden, going to Lincoln University)
“I was so excited when I found out that I won that I wanted to jump and scream with joy. It has given me the opportunity to fulfil my dream to study in New Zealand. There are so many things that I am looking forward to, like exploring the amazing nature. But as a landscape architecture student, what makes me most excited is all the knowledge and inspiration this opportunity will provide me with.”
Marvin Stüde (from Germany, going to University of Auckland)
“I am most excited to explore the beautiful country and to attend interesting courses about topics which are not taught at my home university. I have no doubt that I will have a great time during my study abroad!”
Read his essay submission here.
Laura Schnelle (from Germany, going to University of Canterbury)
"I am looking forward to living in Christchurch, exploring the great outdoors and learning new things about health education and motivational psychology!"
Read her essay entry here.
Simone Grilli (from Italy, going to Auckland University of Technology)
“I am definitely ready for this new adventure and know it will be one of the most important of my life. My mind is focused on the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand, the unique culture and the All Blacks - the best rugby team in the World!”
Anna Czerwinska (from Poland, going to Victoria University of Wellington)
“I only shared the news with my best friend, my boyfriend and my sister – telling them that it could not be true, it was a dream. During the first week I didn’t tell anyone else about it - I still can't believe that it really happened!”
Watch her video entry here.
Svenja Niederkrome (from Germany going to University of Otago)
“I can’t put into words how happy I was when I found out that I’m one of the lucky recipients! For me, New Zealand is a little paradise at the other side of the world and I can’t wait to spend a whole term studying in such a unique place!”
Watch her video entry here.
Japan story 14
NZ set to host Brazilian ‘Ganhando o Mundo’ programme scholars in 2025

Brazil is now the 6th largest source of international high school students for New Zealand, moving up from 11th place in 2023 (1). Contributing to this rise in popularity has been the strengthening of educational ties between education partners in Brazil and Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ).

The ‘Ganhando o Mundo’ programme from Paraná, recently announced new high school student scholarship winners for 2025. Five countries have been chosen to host the students, with New Zealand being announced as one of the five. Approximately 200 scholarship winners are expected to spend two terms in New Zealand schools next year.

‘Ganhando o Mundo’ is an international education programme created by the state of Paraná which allows thousands of students from public high schools to study abroad for six months with all expenses subsidised. The goal is to provide academic training in foreign institutions, as well as cultural and pedagogical experiences that can later be shared in state schools in Paraná.

The announcement was made in Curitiba during a series of engagements that took place in October between a New Zealand delegation and Paraná state institutions, international education agencies and government authorities.

ENZ’s Bruna de Natale meets with ‘Ganhando o Mundo’ programme coordinators at the Paraná State Department of Education, Lucimar Gusmão and Marlon de Campos Mateus in October.

This was followed by a launch event hosted by the Paraná state government on 25 November in which the New Zealand Ambassador to Brazil, Richard Prendergast, attended alongside ENZ’s market development manager for Brazil, Bruna de Natale, state government officials, and hundreds of excited scholarship winners.

New Zealand Ambassador to Brazil, Richard Prendergast, with Ganhando o Mundo scholarship recipients who will be heading to New Zealand in 2025.

Ambassador Prendergast said that it was incredibly gratifying to participate in the Ganhando o Mundo programme launch event.,

“The two hundred students who will be going to New Zealand next year – and the 350 others who went in the two previous editions, in fact, all the Brazilians who studied in New Zealand, our alumni - are ‘informal ambassadors’ of New Zealand in Brazil,” said Ambassador Prendergast.

“They know and understand both countries and tend to work to expand our collaboration, to build bridges. People-to-people relationships are fundamental in our bilateral relationship, he added.”

Following the launch event, the Ambassador and Bruna de Natale, met with the Paraná state Secretary of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Aldo Bona, and the Secretary of Education Roni Miranda. They are pictured here with the Secretary of Education Roni Miranda.

Following the launch event, the Ambassador and Bruna de Natale, met with the Paraná state Secretary of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Aldo Bona, and the Secretary of Education Roni Miranda. They are pictured here with the Secretary of Education Roni Miranda.

ENZ’s Bruna de Natale said that this announcement is testament to the strong educational ties that are continually growing between New Zealand and not just the state of Paraná, but across the rest of Brazil too.

“A similar study abroad programme has also just been announced by the state government of São Paulo. ‘Prontos Pro Mundo’ (Ready for the World) will send approximately 100 Brazilian students to New Zealand high schools during term 1 next year,” said Bruna.

“We look forward to welcoming all of these Brazilian students to high schools and their local communities across the country in 2025 and building on this momentum to host more students in the future,” added Bruna.

1. Source: Ministry of Education interim international student enrolment data (January to August 2024).
Getting started with chatbots
ENZ is the only country in the world that uses a chatbot to market to prospective international students.
Tohu is a helpful little bot that sits on Study in New Zealand, NauMai NZ, and the Study in New Zealand Facebook page.
It answers questions on everything from applying for a visa to what you can do for fun in New Zealand. It gives prospective students an answer to most of their questions immediately, freeing up ENZ’s social media team so they can focus on other projects.
ENZ’s Director of Planning, Jamie Crump, has developed a whitepaper with ENZ’s chatbot agency partner, Theta, which lays out a framework for developing a chatbot.
The five-step framework draws on Jamie’s Master of Technological Futures report, and is based on ENZ’s development of Tohu.
Because ENZ staff can train Tohu on new information at any time, the bot is a versatile tool in our social engagement team’s toolbox. So far, Tohu has been utilised in the Ask New Anything campaign, and has most recently learnt new answers on the COVID-19 situation in New Zealand.
“Prior to Tohu, with a social media team of two, it could take up to 24 hours for someone to get a response to their question. Now they can get an immediate response, and we know that Tohu can answer more than 80 percent of the most common questions,” ENZ International Social Media Manager, Nicole Baird, says.
“So the team can spend time answering the specific questions, and doing more of the strategic things for our Facebook channel, rather than answering the same straightforward questions repeatedly.”
Jamie’s initial research revealed that many people already like engaging with a chatbot, and that more and more consumers are using chatbots as a way of finding out information. For example, 48 percent of people would rather connect with a company via live chat than any other means of contact.
Tohu is integrated with ENZ’s marketing database and automation software, Marketo. Instead of completing a form, students can sign up to the receive updates from Study In New Zealand or NauMai NZ. This feature also opens up possibilities for Tohu to become a more targeted, useful channel for prospective students.
“The logical next step is personalisation of the chat experience, and that’s something we’re looking forward to exploring with Theta,” Jamie says.
Read Get started with chatbots: A proven framework for chatbot implementation
Ask New Anything
Campaign page: https://www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz/asknewanything
NZ’s second big global digital campaign of 2019 launched on 7 October with our students at the heart of it.
The campaign will be promoted digitally in our key markets for 8 weeks. Campaign-related content and messaging will remain relevant and live on our channels for the foreseeable future.
The campaign will be the first time the refreshed Think New brand has been widely used in digital channels.
Campaign Strategy
The main objective of the campaign is to challenge perceptions of New Zealand by increasing awareness of the country as a high-quality study destination. The campaign aims to achieve this by inviting our target audiences in 14 international markets to question what they know about New Zealand.
Key markets that will be reached by the campaign are:
- Brazil
- Colombia
- France
- Germany
- India
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Philippines
- Thailand
- UK
- USA
- Vietnam
- Indonesia
The campaign aims to increase New Zealand’s standing as the preferred study destination amongst our target audiences in these key markets.
For more information about ENZ’s target markets and the general digital campaign strategy, and New Zealand education providers can access the 2019 ENZ Digital Marketing Calendar on IntelliLab.
The creative concept and technical execution of this campaign will push ENZ into new territory for its marketing campaigns and award-winning digital strategy.
Utilising 100 short videos, a variety of digital media placements, Tohu the chatbot, a range of social media channels including a peer-to-peer Facebook group and Instagram Live sessions hosted by our Kiwi Ambassadors, the campaign embodies the authenticity and bold NEW thinking of the Think New brand.
A bespoke campaign strategy has been developed for China, making use of the same campaign creative concept and content, but delivered through the channels we know our audiences in China use and interact with the most.
ENZ invites and encourages our New Zealand education sector partners and education agents to participate in the campaign by sharing content and aligning your own messaging with those of the campaign and the Think New brand.
The campaign tool kit below provides more information around how your organisation can leverage the campaign.
Creative concept
Brand research tells us there is generally low awareness of New Zealand internationally, and where there is awareness it’s often based on incorrect perceptions of quality.
The creative concept of the Ask New Anything campaign seeks to address this by answering prospective students’ burning questions authentically and honestly, using unscripted video responses from current international students.
We started by researching the most used Google search terms relevant to studying in New Zealand, as well as the most asked questions on our Study in New Zealand chatbot Tohu. We combined this hard data with anecdotal questions from prospective and current students around what they want to know/what they wish they had known, and key brand messages we hoped to get across to our audiences.
From this we narrowed down to a list of 100 questions and filmed videos with international and New Zealand students, alumni, a teacher, a parent, and a New Zealand employer providing the answers. These videos form the basis of the campaign.
We also know that word of mouth is a key influence on student decision making. The Ask New Anything campaign not only offers pre-recorded Q&As with current students, but also gives prospective students the opportunity to talk directly to current students through a new Facebook group and scheduled Instagram Live events.
All of this results in a much more interactive campaign than anything ENZ has previously done. We’re not broadcasting a message to students; we’re asking them to start a conversation, putting prospective students themselves at the centre of the campaign.
Technical execution
A typical digital media campaign uses creative digital ad placements on social media, relevant websites and search engines to drive traffic through to a campaign landing page on a website.
Ask New Anything goes well beyond this, using new technology and a broad range of social media tools to be a true omni-channel campaign. The resulting immersive and pleasantly unexpected experience will help the Think New brand stand out.
The marketing activity and technology being used in this campaign includes:
- Tohu the chatbot – Tohu was launched on the Study in New Zealand website in 2018, on Facebook Messenger in early 2019, and on the NauMai NZ website in July 2019. Tohu is the centrepiece of the Ask New Anything campaign as it represents the technology through which prospective students can really ask any question they want. From the launch of the Ask New Anything campaign, Tohu will be able to respond to 100 of the most frequently asked questions with one of the short videos created for the campaign
- Facebook group - Should a question be asked that Tohu cannot answer, prospective students will be invited to join a Facebook group where they can ask real students their questions in real time. The Facebook group will be managed and moderated by our Kiwi Ambassadors.
- Instagram Live – Throughout the campaign, a select group of Kiwi Ambassadors will host a series of Instagram Live events. These events will be designed and scheduled to suit the key international regions we are targeting in the campaign.
- Campaign landing page – There will be a campaign landing page on the Study in New Zealand website. Tohu the chatbot will be the main focus of this page.
- Social media – Beyond the Facebook group, Instagram Live sessions and use of Tohu on Facebook Messenger, all of ENZ’s student-facing social media channels will be driving the campaign messages. Campaign content will be shared on Facebook, and YouTube and Instagram will feature strongly for both organic and paid media content.
- Database marketing – The database marketing strategy for the campaign ensures we are reaching all our currently engaged audiences, and nurturing new leads throughout their decision-making journey. Personalised email campaigns will be sent to members of the Study in New Zealand, My StudyNZ and NauMai NZ communities, and to anyone who signs up throughout the campaign period.
The campaign in China
Because our audiences in China use different digital platforms to our other markets, the Ask New Anything campaign will follow a different strategy in China.
Separate research has been undertaken to identify the most-asked questions for prospective international students in China. Based on this, the most relevant videos will be translated into Chinese and integrated into a campaign rollout on our China platforms:
Paid media:
- WeChat
- Zhihu (Zhihu is China’s version of Quora. In classical Chinese, "Zhīhū" means "Know?". Chinese-language internet users nowadays increasingly resort to Zhihu for expert knowledge and insights into various topics.
Owned media:
Tohu the chatbot does not exist on our Chinese platforms, so the China Ask New Anything campaign makes use of the question/answer format in a different way, posing questions to our audience and then supplying key information based on their response.
On the Zhihu platform we will post questions for both Kiwi Ambassadors and users to answer. Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) will also be recruited to support the campaign and both ask and answer questions about studying in New Zealand.
Messaging and Brand
The campaign concept and the technical execution of the campaign both contribute to the overall brand message of ‘I am New’. It showcases our innovative new thinking and captures New Zealand’s values of societal openness, transparency and manaakitanga.
Through this campaign, we want to show that New Zealand is an inclusive, collaborative and progressive environment where students are challenged and supported to reach their full potential.
Our new Think New brand strategy and creative approach position our international education brand for success and redefine what a quality education looks like and means.
Sector representation and localisation
The 100 question and answer videos have been carefully planned to ensure a good global representation of our markets. Care has been taken to match the talent to questions based region. So where a question is most important to a certain region, the talent has been matched to that region to ensure the most relevant response.
The videos feature 18 different individuals representing a spread of sectors and markets. We have included students from all the key markets we are targeting in the campaign. A teacher, employer, Kiwi student and parent are also included.
In the Facebook group and Instagram Live sessions, prospective students will be able to converse with Kiwi Ambassadors in local language – either directly or with the help of Facebook’s automatic translation technology.
Toolkit
Throughout the campaign duration New Zealand education will have an increased digital presence in the 13 target markets listed above.
New Zealand education providers and education agents are encouraged to leverage this campaign activity for your own marketing strategies.
Here is a toolkit of resources and suggested actions to help you get started:
- Ensure your institution profile on the Study in New Zealand website is up to date. Follow these step-by-step instructions to find out how. Please note you will be required a login to access this link.
- Register for the ENZ Brand Lab. There are over 1,000 images, videos and more available on the Brand Lab for you to download and use in your marketing.
- Read this article about how to leverage ENZ digital campaigns. You will need to be registered and signed in to the Brand Lab to access it.
- Share the Q&A videos from the campaign on your social media channels. ENZ will be creating a spreadsheet with all the YouTube links to make this easy for you navigate and choose the most relevant videos for your audiences. Watch this space or sign up to the Brand Lab to get a notification when this becomes available.
- Download ENZ’s 2019 Digital Marketing Calendar from IntelliLab. The calendar explains our key dates and strategies for each of our target markets. You will need to be registered and signed in to IntelliLab to access this.
- If you are an education agent, join ENZ’s AgentLab. This new platform was launched this year. Gain access to online training courses, news, webinars and ENZ updates.
WellingtonStaff 29