6 December 2017 at 9:00 am
New Zealand and China internationalise higher education
More than 100 New Zealand and Chinese delegates attended the New Zealand-China Higher Education Seminar (HES) in November, sharing insights and strategies to encourage more students to study abroad.
Held at the University of Auckland, the seminar was organised by Universities New Zealand (UNZ) in partnership with the Chinese Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) and sponsored by ENZ.
It comprised panel discussions and presentations focused on promoting student mobility between New Zealand and China.
Representatives from all eight New Zealand universities, 35 Chinese universities, the Chinese Embassy, Confucius Institute, the New Zealand and Chinese Ministries of Education, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and ENZ attended the seminar.
Ross Fisher, ENZ’s International Market Manager for China, said the HES gave delegates an opportunity to gain new insights and contacts for building a strategic education partnership between New Zealand and China.
“New Zealand universities shared their strategies on encouraging more New Zealand students to study abroad, particularly in countries whose long-term futures aligned with New Zealand’s trade and economic interests,” said Ross.
“Chinese universities provided some very interesting updates on their efforts to increase their attractiveness to international students, focused on the theme of creating multi-national learning environments through such things as the development of courses taught in English.
“It was also interesting to hear the perspectives of the Chinese delegates on the role of education in developing deeper person-to-person linkages as part of China’s One Belt-One Road initiative.”
Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia (PMSA) recipients took part in a panel discussion of the opportunities, barriers and challenges of studying in China.
To conclude the seminar, delegates participated in a business matching and networking session.
Adele Bryant, ENZ Regional Director – Greater China and North Asia, said the seminar held a lot of potential for further internationalisation.
“China is a major education destination, and hosted more than 440,000 international students in 2016,” said Adele.
“We hope this visit by some of China’s best universities will encourage New Zealand students to look at a wider range of study abroad partners in China, and will open doors for New Zealand universities seeking exchange and joint programme partners.”
