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David Downs appointed Chief Executive of Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao
David Downs takes over following the recent departure of Amanda Malu, who was appointed Secretary for Children and Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children.
ENZ Board Chair Tony Gray said Downs’ international and marketing experience, including his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Story Group, makes him well placed to lead ENZ as it continues delivering the International Education Going for Growth Plan.
“David has an innate understanding of New Zealand and its competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world. Coupled with his leadership experience at New Zealand Story Group, he is well placed to lead ENZ at this time,” Tony said.
Downs is currently Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Story Group, a role he has held since July 2021. Previously he has previously held a number of General Management roles at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), most recently working with the technology sector to help fast growing tech companies grow internationally and New Zealand companies adopt digital commerce channels to market. Prior to this he had an extensive career in leadership roles with Microsoft in New Zealand and Asia Pacific.
“David is a passionate New Zealander and storyteller by nature, and we are looking forward to his joining ENZ in June,” Tony said.
In the meantime, Dr Linda Sissons will continue as Acting Chief Executive and the Board will be working closely with her and the leadership team to ensure a seamless transition.
- Te Pukenga
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PIF Recipient: Mission New Zealand
With support from Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao, New Zealand’s government agency for international education, Mission New Zealand showcases courses from a number of New Zealand institutes, and is being developed by The Mind Lab.
Mission New Zealand offers a fully immersive and distinctly New Zealand experience. It focuses on the best of what New Zealand has to offer and the benefits of being part of a global movement for positive change.
From anywhere in the world, learners can choose from a mix of short courses and micro-credentials, grouped around four themes that reflect New Zealand’s progressiveness and values: culture, tech innovation, creativity and sustainability. Courses range from one to 15 weeks in length, with a mix of free and paid options available.
A selection of The Mind Lab’s own micro-credentials is available on Mission New Zealand, along with offerings from Te Pūkenga - New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology - and some of New Zealand’s most innovative private training establishments.
Visitors to the site will be greeted by the world’s first 360° virtual pōwhiri, starting at the gates of Ngāti Whātua Orākei Marae in Auckland. They will experience being called onto the marae with a karanga and stepping onto the grounds to be welcomed by members of Ngāti Whātua.
Personalised learning, with optional content and stories, insights and other material will help learners experience what makes New Zealand unique.
Through an immersive experience, Mission New Zealand invites learners to take the first step in a lifelong connection with Aotearoa New Zealand.
The new platform is designed to address the increasing global demand for connections with purpose and cause, for online learning options, and for shorter and more flexible courses.
Mission New Zealand is among a range of pilot projects supported by Education New Zealand's Manapou ki te Ao Covid Response and Recovery Fund product and service diversification workstream. This New Zealand Government-funded initiative encourages the development of new products and services in the international education sector.
The Mind Lab was founded in 2013 and has a strong background in innovation, online education delivery that builds impactful futures and building community connections, including relationships with iwi and Māori-led organisations.
More information:
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PIF Recipient: Te Kaihau Ltd
Te Kaihau Ltd, based in the Hutt Valley, is the organisation behind the Global Enterprise Experience (GEE), a well-known social enterprise proposal competition. For years, GEE has brought together eight-person virtual teams from around the world. Their challenge: to work together on a six-page business case for a profitable, self-funding business venture that addresses a United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and can get off the ground with limited capital.
In 2022 alone, GEE placed 1,100 participants from 131 universities and 98 other organisations across 72 countries onto global teams. Although many participants are tertiary students studying business or other courses, GEE teams are open to anyone, anywhere in the world, looking for a cross-cultural challenge.
From a highly successful foundation, Te Kaihau Ltd is planning to upgrade the Global Enterprise Experience into an even more impactful programme that builds lifelong links between Kiwis and emerging global learners, while making a real contribution to sustainable development. Thanks to an award of funding from the International Education Product Innovation Fund, managed by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ), the upgraded GEE programme is on the way to becoming a reality.
The new ‘GEE Peer-Leader Plus’ programme is designed to supercharge the impact of the existing programme, which already develops an impressive set of skills in its participants: cross-cultural communication, teamwork, entrepreneurship and innovation to name a few.
Future GEE learners who opt into GEE Peer-Leader Plus will benefit from one-on-one leadership coaching, peer-group interactive webinars, online learning modules, and a microcredential in peer-leadership which will be assessed on performance.
As Te Kaihau Ltd explains, the upgraded programme aims to transform learners into peer-leaders. Instead of being passive recipients of knowledge, peer-leaders step up to make a difference where they can, no matter their ‘designated role’ in a workplace or other organisation. Peer-leaders are confident, can influence others, are action oriented, and can support designated leaders to make change.
A deeper, more immersive learning experience through the GEE Peer-Leader Plus programme will also leave learners in a better position to bring their sustainable business concept to life, or take other meaningful action on the UN SDGs.
Woven throughout the new learning experience is a uniquely New Zealand theme, which draws attention to New Zealand’s efforts on sustainable development and positions New Zealand as a leader in ‘manaaki leadership’, which uplifts and supports the mana of others.
To complement the upgraded GEE experience, a microcredential will be developed and offered to universities and other education providers. A microcredential – a short course that offers certification on completion – recognises achievement in a specific set of skills, competencies, and knowledge. The GEE Peer-Leader Plus microcredential will provide a way for education providers to incorporate peer-leadership into their international-focussed course offerings.
Over time, and using the GEE Peer-Leader Plus microcredential as a stepping stone, Te Kaihau Ltd hopes to build a full qualification in global leadership and innovation by 2025, with the GEE Peer-Leader Plus experience serving as one module. With GEE participants coming from 800 universities around the world, Te Kaihau Ltd has built a valuable network of learners and education providers. Now, with support from ENZ and the International Education Product Innovation Fund, the stage is set for the New Zealand-led GEE programme to supercharge its impacts, building peer-leaders around the world with the skills and capability to take action for a better future.
More information:
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From the Chief Executive: Momentum building for a strong 2026
Kia ora koutou,
It’s a pleasure to be back as Acting Chief Executive at Education New Zealand to build on the leadership of Amanda Malu.
Delivering on the Government’s International Education Going for Growth Plan is our key focus in 2026. Internally, our annual market planning process is underway. This work helps us decide where to focus our efforts – ensuring we are doing the right thing in the right places at the right time.
An essential part of the market planning is to incorporate insights from the sector and Government agencies. Our sincere appreciation for the insights we have received so far.
The team is getting ready to lead the first ever Sri Lanka Roadshow featuring 19 New Zealand education institutions from 5 to 8 March that aims to strengthen the awareness of the New Zealand education brand and promote our undergraduate offering in the country. You can read more about our integrated promotional campaign in Sri Lanka in this edition of E-News.
Applications remain open for the 2026 funding round of the New Zealand-China Tripartite Partnership Fund, ENZ’s long-standing initiative supporting partnerships between New Zealand and Chinese universities. This year’s round encourages proposals that highlight pathways for student mobility and transnational education alongside research collaboration.
This month, as many of our partners and communities usher in the Lunar New Year, I want to extend warm wishes for a prosperous and energising Year of the Horse. This is an important time across several of our key markets, and a reminder of the strong cultural and people-to-people connections that underpin international education.
Thank you for your continued support and collaboration as we continue to deliver on our shared ambitions for international education in 2026.
Okea ururoatia
Keep striving forward.
Ngā mihi nui,
Linda Sissons
Acting Chief Executive -
We want to hear from you!
This survey is important to gauge ENZ’s performance and importantly, let us know how we’re doing, what services you value and what you’d like to see more of.
In last year’s survey, you highlighted several themes that we’ve been working to address. We heard that you need more advance notice of our global events to allow you to plan better. In response, we published our event calendar in November, covering events to be held in the last half of 2024.
You also said you wanted to see closer alignment between government agencies and the sector. As a result, we have worked with peak bodies and key government agencies to refresh the purpose of the quarterly Peak Body Forum and built a closer working relationship with the Alliance of Peak Bodies.
Other important themes included improving our engagement and integrating views of the sector in our planning, while providing more clarity on our range of services and support. We have provided more webinars ranging from showcasing the regions to the global agent network, through to leveraging research, data and analysis to provide you with targeted market insights.
Peak body and sector representatives were involved early in our business planning, including market prioritisation, to ensure that we walk in step with the sector.
While we may not always get it right, you can rest assured that we are listening and continually striving to deliver the products and services that you value and help you to grow.
A survey link will be sent out in early May. We look forward to hearing your thoughts to enable us to improve our support to the New Zealand international education sector. Thank you in advance for your participation.
