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  • Feedback from education agents opens up conversation on how ENZ can better support them

    Over half (57 per cent) of those surveyed are members of the ENZ Recognised Agency (ENZRA) programme.

    The survey, a cross-team ENZ initiative, was a useful opportunity to open up a conversation with agents and to continue to support them while borders remain closed.

    Over 40 per cent of agents surveyed said that that 75 to 100 per cent of their business activities had changed or reduced due to the pandemic. Agents also reported experiencing a reduction of staff, closed branches and transitioning to fully remote operations.

    ENZ-supported webinars, online and hybrid events were most valuable to agents, followed closely by digital collateral and marketing material, support for student-facing activities, B2B events with education providers and training.

    On training needs, 60 per cent of agents surveyed said that they would like to receive training on student visa application processes, 50 per cent were keen on hearing about New Zealand education providers and their offering, while 40 per cent were keen for more professional development training.

    Videos, templates (including banners and PowerPoint presentations), student testimonials and brochures were reported to be the marketing tools that agents find most useful.

    ENZ’s Manager – Education Agents, Geneviève Rousseau Cung, says the survey is a key component of ENZ’s agent engagement plan as part of the Government’s Recovery Plan for International Education.

    “Insights from the survey will allow ENZ to develop activities, tailored communications and training initiatives that are best aligned with agent needs, which in turn, will also inform and result in better outcomes for education providers.

    “Seeing how the agent engagement plan is linked closely to the longer-term recovery of international education, it is crucial that we check in with our agents on a regular basis,” Geneviève says.

    The current plan has three areas of focus – supporting the ENZ Recognised Agencies Activity Fund in New Zealand and offshore with marketing initiatives, driving the agent engagement plan through a range of initiatives, and ongoing recognition of the role of education agents.

    For enquiries:

    Keep an eye out for the full results from the Agent Survey in the next issue of ENZ’s The Insight Story, due out in early May.

  • Jorun Tomte jorun93hotmail2.com

  • Innovative ENZ universities’ partnership a key part of sector’s COVID-19 recovery and rebuild

    Education New Zealand and New Zealand’s eight universities have announced a new partnership with UK-based qualifications provider the University Consortium (NCUK) that will allow students from more than 30 countries to begin a New Zealand university qualification without leaving home.

    The partnership will play an important role in implementing the Government’s COVID-19 Strategic Recovery Plan for International Education.

    ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson said the Pathway initiative is key to the shift in New Zealand’s international education approach that will make the sector more resilient over the next few years.

    “It is a tangible demonstration of New Zealand providing flexible and diverse education options for students that will enhance sector’s resilience and sustainability in the face of global change,” Grant said.

    This agreement is part of a broader ENZ Global New Zealand Education Pathways initiative, through which ENZ is extending its activities to enable students to connect with blended, online, digital and full qualification study options. 

    In support of this initiative, ENZ has extended its Study in New Zealand website to enable all New Zealand quality-assured education providers to add global delivery sites over time, where students undertake learning for a qualification offshore.

    The pathways initiative enables international students to begin study in their home countries towards Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at any of New Zealand’s eight universities. It leverages NCUK’s quality-assured global network of 81 recognised Study Centres.

    Students commencing the pathway in 2021 could start their study either online or in New Zealand, in 2022 or 2023, once they complete one of three relevant NCUK pathway qualifications – a one-year international foundation year programme to enter an undergraduate degree in New Zealand; or a one-year international year one programme, equivalent to one year’s study towards a business or engineering Bachelor’s degree; or a pre-Master’s programme towards a Master’s degree in New Zealand. 

    All New Zealand universities are supporting this latest partnership, committing at least $300,000 per annum across the sector in dedicated NCUK scholarships. Universities New Zealand has recognised the NCUK Foundation Year programme as being equivalent to University Entrance.

    Universities New Zealand Chief Executive Chris Whelan said New Zealand’s universities were committed to developing innovative solutions that connect New Zealand to students globally.

    “The partnership will give students flexibility to work towards New Zealand university undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications while borders are closed.

    “International education is a critical component of building the quality of our education offering – specifically in areas such as research and development. The ‘team New Zealand’ approach taken by our universities will enable us to better attract students who are sought after by universities all over the world,” Whelan said.

    ENZ General Manager – Partnerships and Marketing, Paul Irwin, said the initiative also has strong potential to be extended across the wider New Zealand education sector.

    “This has great potential to be developed for the wider New Zealand education sector with diverse study options such as new blended, online, digital and full qualifications.”

    NCUK Study Centres will start promoting pathway qualifications to study at New Zealand universities from December for the next cohort intake in March 2021. 

    The offshore pathways initiative has involved nearly all ENZ’s teams - both onshore and offshore – including International, Industry, Marketing (Digital and Brand) and Communications.

    The Pathways partnership will help develop a pipeline of international students to study in New Zealand when the time is right. The partnership is part of the Government’s Recovery Plan for international education, which invests $10 million over three years towards innovative products and modes of education delivery that will enable the international education sector to not only recover from the shock of COVID-19, but transform to a more diversified, sustainable future state.

    Further information on the New Zealand Global Education Pathways initiative can be found at http://studyinnewzealand.govt.nz/global-pathways.

  • Welcoming ENZ’s new Manager – Agents

    Dan photo

    As Manager – Agents, Dan will be responsible for relaunching the ENZRA programme and engaging with agents and providers.

    Areas of focus in his role will include reviewing our online training for agents, developing ongoing communications to agents, reviewing marketing and other support provided to ENZRA agents, evaluation of agent performance, and ensuring agents are setting the right expectations for students to have a positive experience.

    Dan’s new role will see him joining ENZ’s Student Marketing team in Wellington.

    Over the last two years, Dan has worked with Immigration New Zealand in India and was a key contributor to ENZ’s rebalancing the market, lifting the quality of student applications and agent performance. Dan has worked closely with ENZ’s India team, attending education fairs and other education events, and also has strong industry relationships. 

    Dan has also worked offshore for Immigration New Zealand in South Africa, Thailand and Singapore so he brings a strong understanding of a range of markets and the role of NZ Inc offshore. His in-market experience, passion for the education sector and understanding of education agents will be a huge asset to ENZ in his new role.

    Dan officially joins the team on 9 October.

  • Evolution of ThinkNew

    Almost four years after the launch of the New Zealand Education story, there is a need to further sharpen our value proposition for growth and impact.

    ENZ Director – Student Experience Kaylee Butters said that while ThinkNew continues to be recognised as a brand leader in the education destination field, the brand awareness of New Zealand education is still low in many of our target markets.

    “It is important that we communicate the distinctive and credible position New Zealand holds as a study abroad destination and Education New Zealand has invested over the past two years in brand research that has helped us to better understand this. 

    “It was a great opportunity to share this research journey with conference delegates at NZIEC and to get feedback on our direction for ThinkNew. We discussed the importance of ensuring we don’t undersell the New Zealand experience, especially for partners such as the English language sector.

    “We also discussed the need to ensure our education story works both here in New Zealand and for partners focussed on offshore delivery.”

    The next step will be the development of a revised brand strategy which will help us move to a distinctive position in the market that reflects our high quality education offering and New Zealand experience. 

  • Visiting my Taiwanese friends in Taipei

  • Chenggang Zhoucard

  • From the CE: A celebration of energy, optimism and human spirit

    Kia ora tātou,

    NZIEC TI KUA – the pathway forward, was a celebration of the energy, optimism, and the human spirit of the international education sector in New Zealand. 

    It was great to see, and be among, more than 590 delegates reconnecting in person, sharing experiences, discussing the future, and listening to a remarkable range of quality speakers. All the presenters were inspiring and all clearly outlined some the challenges and the opportunities as we move forward. 

    First among these was the visiting Minister for Education in China, His Excellency Huai Jinpeng whose warm outgoing personality was clear to all who met him. It was enormously positive that Minister Huai emphasised China’s was willing to work together with New Zealand to “promote win-win cooperation” and “to unite for mutual benefit”. I hope many of us accept his open invitation to visit China. As he said “Better to see for oneself than to hear from others”. 

    From the New Zealand side it was a great to have Minister for Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, attend the Gala dinner, and reinforce that “education is one of the key pillars of the New Zealand-China relationship and a foundation for enduring links between our countries”. China was the Country of Honour for this year’s conference and is an important long-term partner. 

    After a break of four years since the last NZIEC was held in-person, the friendship and happiness amongst conference delegates was tangible. 

    Certainly, there are challenges ahead as we continue to rebuild the sector. Several of the conference presenters highlighted the changes in global demographics, workplace demand for skills and technological developments as key drivers for a different future in the next 30 years. But the progress achieved in the year since the borders reopened was also cause for celebration and highlighted the adaptability and resilience of education providers throughout the sector. 

    I’d like to thank officials from the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Qualifications Authority and Immigration New Zealand who attended the conference and gave insights and answering queries relating to the impact of policies and practice. International education is a team sport and it was great to see their commitment to the future of the sector. And a very special thanks must also go to the ENZ organising team and supporting cast who delivered a remarkable and uplifting event. 

    As the curtain came down at the outstanding Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, and delegates said final farewells before returning to their homes and communities, my lasting impression was that of an industry re-enlivened by the human contact we have all missed so much.  

    As our Chair, Tracey Bridges commented in her opening welcome, we have good cause to be optimistic about the future of the sector and the contribution it can make to all the people of Aotearoa and beyond.  

    It is now our responsibility to act on this optimism and to move forward. As Peter Drucker once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it”. 

    Ngā mihi,

    Grant

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  • A message to our students and their families

    Our focus at this time is on supporting the families and communities affected by the attack and making sure people feel safe and secure – public safety is the top priority for the New Zealand Police and the New Zealand Government. 

    People everywhere in New Zealand are coming together to ensure that New Zealand remains an inclusive, caring country.

    The attack is an assault on the values of New Zealanders – values of international friendship, tolerance and kindness. International education has a powerful role to play in this, and we value the diversity and perspectives all our international friends bring to New Zealand.

    The following services are available, and we encourage you to access them if required:

    New Zealand is committed to making sure all international students feel safe and well, and that the country remains a welcoming and open society:

    • The New Zealand Government’s pastoral care requirements are world leading and set high expectations for the support of international students. The requirements ensure education providers are providing support, information and counselling services. Also, that students are safe and properly cared for.

    • New Zealand’s International Student Wellbeing Strategy includes a focus on health and wellbeing, and inclusion, and funds initiatives that support these aims.

    • The New Zealand International Education Strategy 2018-2030 is focussed on delivering excellent education and student experience, and ensuring international students are welcome and safe.

    Noho ora mai (stay well, look after yourself).

     

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