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• Christchurch Educated “Owning Our Future”

  Thought-provoking and at times challenging messages were received from Kay Giles, Chief Executive of CPIT (“My view on opportunities in international education”), Michael Prentice, Designworks (“The brand journey”) and Lester Wolfreys, Focus Consulting (“Commercialising opportunities”).

  This event was supported by Education New Zealand and in his opening address, Chief Executive Grant McPherson welcomed the pleasing progress towards recovery in the Canterbury region and encouraged members to work together to continue the momentum for sustainable growth.

  From the conference, Christchurch Educated members gained a greater awareness of the value and potential of our New Zealand and regional brands and participants discussed a range of ideas related to the further development of pathways, student experience and possible models for collaborative market and product development.  These outcomes will form the basis for initiatives that the Board of Christchurch Educated will consider in the coming months.

  To find out more, receive copies of the conference presentations or to make contact with Christchurch Educated, contact Karen Haigh (karen.haigh@enz.govt.nz)

  Below: Christchurch Educated Board Member and Cobham Intermediate School Principal, Scott Thelning MC’s the conference.

  

• Shared role expected to bring benefits in Southland

  Southland Girls’ High School and Southland Boys’ High School have decided to maximise their international opportunities by appointing Carolyn Davies as Director of International Students for both schools.

  “We have been in the International student market for over 23 years. What we find works well for us is having a full time International Director – that one port of call helps agents, students and parents,” says Yvonne Browning, Principal of Southland Girls’ High School.

  “SGHS and SBHS are not in competition with each other and we see major benefits in sharing an International Director. There may be economies of scale to be achieved through joint promotions and marketing material, and by sharing systems and processes we will create better practice for both schools.”

  Ian Baldwin, Rector of Southland Boys’ High School says their more than 20 years of experience in international education has taught them that it is important to develop mutually beneficial relationships with students and parents.

  “We’ve had to become much more professional in our approach and commit real resource to building these relationships. I realised that we needed a person dedicated to the necessary 24/7 pastoral care of students along with agent-school and parent-school relationships,” says Ian.

  Carolyn Davies is that person and she agrees with Ian about the dedication required to be a successful international director.

  “International education is more than a job; it is part of your life – a passion. Many of the agents and school staff are like family and my parents now have many international children and grandchildren. I often have agents asking, ‘can I stay at mum and dads?’ If they don’t stay there, the first thing they do when they arrive is ring up and book in for a roast lamb dinner.

  “When the opportunity arose for me to take up the DIS role at SBHS it was a natural fit. If you are going to talk to an agent about an opportunity you know the agent represent girls as well as boys – so it makes sense,” says Carolyn.

  Carolyn says feedback from agents supports the decision by Ian and Yvonne to follow this path.

  “The role will include agent liaison, coordination of accommodation placements for the students, marketing, holiday and weekend programmes and some new things like setting up an International Facebook page for SBHS,” says Carolyn.

  SGHS currently has over 25 international students from Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Germany and Yvonne is excited to soon see some students coming from Chile and Korea.

  SBHS has fewer students but is looking for growth.

  “While our numbers are relatively low at 12 students, Carolyn and I fully expect a 50 percent increase within a year just through the obvious synergies,” says Ian.

  Carolyn will continue to be based at Southland Girls’ but will now be the first point of contact for both schools.

• Online student visas save time

  The Immigration New Zealand service allows students to apply for their student visa, pay application fees and upload documents online. The time savings are impressive – the very first completed online application was received at 10.41pm NZ time on 29 August from a PhD student in Italy. The application landed in the London branch 15 minutes later and received a successful decision roughly three hours after that. 

  Since launching Immigration ONLINE – Student, INZ has continued to develop its stability and usability and is seeking to shift more students from the manual to online application channel. While the ability to apply online is currently only available to individuals, the “Apply on Behalf” capability will be added from mid-2015, allowing agents and advisors to use the platform. 

  For more information, please see: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/study/application/default.htm

• Study in New Zealand on Instagram

  Over the next six months we are trialling some social media marketing with 15 scholarship students on Instagram.

  The students from the university and ITP sectors have been challenged to capture one moment each week of their New Zealand study experience. This could be in the form of a photo or a short video.

  Highlights so far include shopping for fruit and vegetables at Wellington’s fresh produce markets, a visit to the Taihape Gumboot, canyoning in Piha and riding a mechanical bull at AUT University. We are looking forward to seeing the ‘inside the classroom’ pictures as the study year gets underway.

  With Instagram it’s very important to be real so we thought the best way to do that was to hand the reins over to the students themselves. While we are working closely with the students to generate the right type of content, our student ambassadors are encouraged to share their education experience as authentically as possible. As we learn how to make the most of this student-led social media channel, we’ll invite new contributors from all markets to increase the amount of content we are generating.

  The 15 scholarship students are competing to be crowned the best contributor with a prize of $200 towards a kiwi adventure of their choice. We’ll also provide each of the 15 students with an official reference for their CV at the end of their six month stay in New Zealand.

  If you’re on Instagram, follow the students’ journey at @studyinnewzealand - http://instagram.com/studyinnewzealand

• New Zealand Cracks Top Five Preferred Overseas Study Destinations for China’s Wealthy

  Rupert Hoogewerf, Founder, Chairman and Chief Researcher of the Hurun Report, noted “New Zealand breaking into the ‘Big 5’ shows how far it has come to building a global education programme, attracting many of China’s most successful families to send their children to study there.  With 80% of these families now looking to send their children to study overseas, New Zealand’s all-round education system is able to compete at the very highest levels in the world”.

  ENZ received a “Best of the Best” award for this achievement.  The awards are based on the annual Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey (CLCS), now in its 11th year.  Between September and November 2014 the Hurun Report surveyed 376 Chinese individuals with at least CNY 10 million (NZD 2 million) personal wealth.  62% surveyed were from the first tier cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

  Those surveyed were asked, “what is your preferred overseas study destination?”.  New Zealand followed the US, UK, Australia, and Canada (out of 12 countries), and edged out Switzerland, a popular education destination with the world’s wealthy.   

  “This recognition hasn’t come about by accident”, said Regional Director Alexandra Grace.  “We have made a deliberate effort to connect with the Hurun Report’s readership, and to showcase that New Zealand education is something to which to aspire.  We have done this in various ways, including through Hurun media interviews with our Prime Minister, Hon Steven Joyce, and with leaders such as Auckland Mayor, Len Brown.  The messaging in all has been consistent: New Zealand offers high quality, personalised education in a world-class environment.  Our education system fosters creativity and innovation; ideas are born in our country.  And future leaders across all sectors are developed in our country”.

  This isn’t the only award won recently by ENZ’s China Team.  “We had a very successful year on the awards and recognition front in China last year”, said Alex.  “We are off to a good start this year by also being awarded an “international partner award” from the China Education Association for International Exchange”.

• Added ability for searching New Zealand education organisations

  While there has always been the ability to find education organisations on the site by region and type, users can now also choose to filter organisations by their NZQA assigned provider category.

  Provider categories are either Category 1, 2, 3 or 4 and are reflective of the findings of the institutions most recent External Evaluation and Review.

  The enhancement to the website search function is in response to feedback from the education sector and improves access to information for international students and their agents looking to enrol in courses in New Zealand, as well as students, parents and the public wanting to know more about NZQA-registered tertiary providers.

  The search function is available here and includes descriptions of each of the four provider categories.

• Auckland students welcomed

  Auckland-based students hailing from Korea, Germany, China, Japan, Brazil and Russia were waiting for the doors to open and the powhiri and mayoral welcome to begin.

  Once inside, the students flocked to the 30-plus tourism and service provider stalls and to take part in the games, with the FIFA kick-wall proving most very popular.

  Live entertainment throughout the day greatly added to the atmosphere, as did the awarding of spot prizes.

  Three Blues players and the FIFA Ambassadors (past All Whites Ivan Vicelich, Andy Boyens and Dan Ellensohn) did Q&A sessions on the main stage which were well attended.

  Six of Study Auckland’s top Indian education agents and 10 Indian students who have recently arrived to take up New Zealand India Scholarships for 2015 and were at the event, and one of them, Ketaki Khare, had this to say, “It was as an absolutely wonderful experience to be at the International InAKL Student Event where all of us were greeted so warmly by the Mayor, and by Auckland itself with such a marvellous sunny morning!

  “The school kids who performed the kapa haka were absolutely delightful and put a big smile on all of our faces. The highlight though, for me, was getting to meet the Auckland Blues! It was incredible how modest and friendly they are!”

  Education providers saw value in the event as a great show of manaakitanga (welcome), and as Jennifer Kirkham, Director of International Students, Botany Downs Secondary College put it.

  “Our students had a great time at the Auckland Student Welcome that took place in the Cloud last Thursday.  The Cloud was the perfect venue, with a vibrant and warm Pacific flavour.  It opened our students’ eyes to what the city has to offer and gave them a chance to take selfies with the Mayor, the Blues, the Police and just to wander around and meet other students. 

  “It also gave us a chance to show our students that they are welcome not only in our school, but that the city as a whole values their presence. Our students had a lot of fun and took a walk around the Viaduct afterwards to see the Volvo Ocean Race Yachts - just another beautiful day in fabulous Auckland!  Our students loved it. “

• Reconnecting New Zealand and India through sport and business

  The recipients, who were formally awarded their scholarships in India by Minister Nathan Guy and New Zealand Education Brand Ambassador and former Black Cap Captain Stephen Fleming, were able to reconnect with the Minister at the New Zealand India Business Council Summit in Auckland recently which was part of the welcome programme. The scholarship winners also had the opportunity to chat with Prime Minister John Key at the Summit which is one of the biggest events on the New Zealand-India calendar.

  

  Above: Tashi Malik shakes Prime Minister Key’s hand while Kritika Bhasin and Harpreet Kaur looks on.

  “I had been looking for a sports scholarship in New Zealand since I found a video of Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, on Youtube talking about sports collaboration between the two countries. It was wonderful to actually meet the Prime Minister today and talk to him. I feel like my dream has come full circle” said 23 year old Surabhi Date, who is now studying a postgraduate diploma in sport and exercise science at AUT University in Auckland.

  As the youngest Captain of the Asian Rugby Team at just 19 years old, Surabhi, wants to change the face of rugby. She is just one of ten the high profile students awarded sports scholarships funded by ENZ and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

  The scholarship students have just started their sports-related courses at universities and institutes of technology and polytechnics around the country.  Tashi and Nungshi Malik are the first twins in the world to scale the tallest peaks in the seven continents and to ski to the South Pole. The 23 year old twins are studying a graduate diploma in sport and exercise science at the Southern Institute of Technology in Invercargill.

  The welcome programme was not only an opportunity for the students to sample Kiwi hospitality, it also exposed them to the many possibilities for careers in the sporting industry.

  In their applications, many of the students expressed a desire to open a sport-related business including high performance academies. To stimulate this thinking, the students also spent time with Ritika Bhargava, a former international student from India who last year won ‘Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards for building up a successful chain of physiotherapy clinics in New Zealand and working with a variety of clients including cricket teams.

  As well as putting the students through their paces physically, Ritika offered many words of wisdom to motivate them to make the most out of their time in New Zealand.

  “I am glad that I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and study in New Zealand when I was young as I still have years ahead to experiment and explore my options in life.”  

  

  Centre: Ketaki Khare and Ritika Bhargava while sports scholarship students Mehareen Nishander, Tashi Malik, Surabhi Date, Shashank Ghai and Yogesh Sharma look on. 

• PMSA and beyond

  Diana Tam is one such student, and below is an account of her PMSA-aided  journey  from New Zealand to Hong Kong, and to landing a plum job in her chosen law firm. One of the goals of the PMSA is to strengthen New Zealand’s ability to engage with key Asian trading partners.

  Back in college, I’d always dreamed of going on exchange. I loved the feeling of being in a foreign country and slowly absorbing its culture. Years later, after saving up and finishing my compulsory uni papers, I was finally heading to City University of Hong Kong, as a recipient of the inaugural Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia.

  To be truthful, I didn’t give much consideration to the PMSA at the time. I was grateful, but I’d made up my mind to study abroad long ago. Without further thought, I packed my bags and started my new life.

  It’s impossible to describe Hong Kong without relying on the same phrases: frenetic, international, fast-paced. It reminds me of both London and Guangzhou, and yet has this spirit that I don’t imagine any other city can replicate.

  While I was exploring, I was also thinking about my career. After spending time in Hong Kong, I knew I wanted to enter the commercial realm. I applied to Kensington Swan, a law firm I admired for its strategic focus and commitment to gender equity. One Skype interview and several questions about the PMSA later, I was sitting in the Wan Chai Grand Hyatt with Charlotte, a partner in the IP team. It was a pretty novel way to have an employment offer pack delivered.

  I’ve been fortunate: my interests and passions dovetailed with New Zealand’s pivot to the Asia-Pacific, and I’ve met brilliant and inspirational people on the way — many of them in Southeast Asia, a region I visited on my second PMSA! Now I’m settled in at Kensington Swan, in our Financial Services team and aiming to end up working in Asia-NZ trade. It’s a supportive atmosphere, and I’m excited about the future.

• Education in ASEAN 40 celebrations

  Let them be part of an exciting project that's taking place this year to mark the 40th anniversary of New Zealand’s Dialogue Partnership with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

  A cross-government leverage and legacy team, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is looking for stories and photos that will bring the ASEAN : New Zealand relationship to life, and perhaps be included in a timeline that will tell this story in a compelling and high impact way.

  We all know what an important role education has played in this relationship, and some of you may have your own experiences of this to draw on. If so, we encourage you to share them with the team, as they may be suitable for inclusion in the timeline project.

  Stories and pictures that demonstrate the significant impact education exchange has had on all involved - on both a personal and national level - are most sought after.

  If you have memories or stories, and accompanying photos or other visual material that tell:

  • of events/activities involving students from SEA countries in New Zealand

  • a ‘where are they now?’ story showing the path a New Zealand-educated student from the SEA region has taken

  • of personal experiences of studying with students from ASEAN countries, particularly those where enduring friendships or research partnerships were formed.

  In the first instance, please write a brief description of the story or “moment” using the three questions below as a guide, and email it to Mandi.vanWeede@mfat.govt.nz. Please note that not all stories will be able to be included in the timeline, and someone will be in touch if there is any follow up required.

  What took place? Include a brief description of the event/activity/experience.

  1. When did the activity/event/experience take place?

  2. Are there any images or other visual material that will help illustrate your story?

  3. How can you be contacted should someone from the team wish to follow up on your story?

  Please include your name and contact details.