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• Our Board

  Tony Gray | Board Chair 

  Tony Gray has had a career in education spanning over 37 years across New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Tony is a former Chief Executive of NMIT and Ara Institute of Technology.  

  He is currently the Chief Executive of Nelson Tasman Hospice Trust. His governance portfolio includes Chair of the Tertiary Accord of New Zealand, where he worked towards establishing a shared online learning platform across member institutes. In 2023, Tony was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to education. 

  Dr Therese Arseneau | Board Member

  Dr Therese Arseneau has wide ranging governance experience including as Chair of the Board of ChristchurchNZ, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Regenerate Christchurch and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra; and as a Director of J Ballantyne Company Ltd, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand Ltd, Enterprise North Canterbury and the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada.

  Therese has over 30 years’ experience in the tertiary education sector, including as a university lecturer in Canada and New Zealand. A specialist in elections and New Zealand politics, she is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow in Political Science at the University of Canterbury and in 2011 she received a UC Teaching Award for excellence in teaching. Therese holds a DPhil and MPhil from the University of Oxford, which she attended as an international student and Commonwealth Scholar.

  Dr Erik Lithander | Board Member 

  Dr Erik Lithander has had a career in higher education spanning over 20 years across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. He is a former Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (International and Outreach) at the Australian National University in Canberra and Director of International Affairs at University College Dublin.

  Dr Lithander is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Strategic Engagement at the University of Auckland. Prior to commencing this role in 2021, he was the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Global Engagement) at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Dr Lithander has an internationally focused governance portfolio, with oversight of the Auckland Confucius Institute and previously the North Asia CAPE (Centre for Asia Pacific Excellence). He also is Chair of the Advisory Boards for the New Zealand Centre at Peking University and the New Zealand Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi). 

  Prabha Ravi | Board Member

  Prabha Ravi QSM, JP is an experienced governance leader and international education specialist with over 25 years in senior management roles, including International Director at Waiariki Institute of Technology and YMCA Central, and Senior Manager at Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao. She has represented New Zealand in more than 47 countries, generating millions in export education earnings and building strong global partnerships.

  With nearly 20 years of governance experience across the arts, sports, education, health, community, and public sectors, Prabha serves on several boards, including the Wellington/Wairarapa Lotteries Committee.

  She is also the founder and director of Natraj School of Dance, a leading Indian classical dance institution in Wellington for over 25 years, and an award-winning actor. Her contributions to education, arts, governance, and ethnic communities have been recognised with multiple honours, including the Queen’s Service Medal in 2017. 

  Sara Brownlie | Board Member

  Sara Brownlie is a chartered accountant and chartered director with strong risk and financial management and financial planning knowledge. She has worked in the public sector for most of her career in senior financial roles including Department of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice and at Treasury where she was also Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and for the Public Services Commission. This followed early career at Deloitte and Unilever. 

  Sara now provides specialist strategic financial and project/programme advisory services through her company Fargher Woods Ltd.  Sara is a board member with Catalyst.net and is the Crown appointed Deputy Chair and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of the Research Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ). She is also an independent member of Enable New Zealand Finance, Risk and Audit Committee, and holds a similar role with the Upper Hutt City Council's Risk and Assurance Committee.

   

• Confidence in Christchurch

  Murray Strong, Chair of the Canterbury Leadership Accord, joined Christchurch Educated Chair, Mike Hadley, in opening the day with a reminder of the Strategy vision and 2025 targets to lift student enrolments to 25,000 and economic value to $937 million. Murray noted that good progress is being made in a range of product and market development projects.

  The Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce, Peter Townsend, indicated that, with $100 million additional investment each week, the Christchurch rebuild will maintain its momentum for some time to come. Drawing on material produced by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Peter emphasised the bright future for the city as a place to learn, live and work.

  Peter noted that; “The future of this region depends on the way we apply technology to our natural capital on a platform of product and service integrity”.

  He challenged our industry to ensure that “service integrity” is central to all we provide for our customers.

  Carl Everett, International Director, Christchurch Boys’ High School, commented; “There was a lot of talk about innovation, being flexible and thinking of new ways to approach the market, and then sharing all of that information together – especially here in Christchurch, where we are particularly good at sharing.” 

  Deanne Gath, International Director, Kaiapoi High School, particularly liked the definition of collaboration suggested by keynote speaker, Education Consultant, Chris Clay; “I like the idea that collaboration is working together to an end goal, but not necessary all doing the same thing.  It’s about not putting all our eggs in one basket, but trialling different things to see what works – with the end goal being that we all want to increase international student numbers in the Canterbury region,” she said.

  The Conference was closed by Christchurch City Councillor Jimmy Chen, representing Mayor Lianne Dalziel, who emphasised the contribution of international education to the region and the commitment of local government to support future growth aspirations. 

  Above: Conference attendees

• Market insights from Saudi Arabia

  The most notable changes have included restrictions to the Saudi scholarships programme, and a renewed focus on increasing the provision of private education to meet future growth in demand. As a result, opportunities ahead will be found in in-country education provision, while changes to the scholarship programme provide an opportunity to position New Zealand well for favoured specialist disciplines.

  Saudi Arabia is a ‘promote’ market for Education New Zealand. In 2014, 3,246 Saudi students enrolled with New Zealand providers. Saudi students often progress through English language, foundation courses, bachelor degrees and postgraduate qualifications here. Many New Zealand organisations also offer education services in-market.

  Scholarships changes

  Saudi Arabia has implemented the largest study-abroad scholarship programme in the world, with up to 180,000 Saudi students being sponsored at any one time.

  Students have traditionally entered the scholarship programme either by undertaking three to four months privately funded English language study and then receiving a scholarship from the in-country Cultural Mission (the private-entry pathway), or by receiving a full scholarship in Saudi Arabia (the Saudi-entry pathway).

  • Private entry pathway changes: In February the Saudi Government announced restrictions on the private entry pathway, which had accounted for the majority of scholarship students globally. This restriction requires students to attend a top-100 university (Shanghai JiaoTong rankings) before being admitted. This route had been paused since 2015 – a factor reflected in New Zealand’s first time student visa statistics, which show a reduction in first-time student numbers from March 2015 onwards (brown versus blue line below).

  

  • Saudi pathway changes: The Ministry has also reformed the Saudi pathway in 2015 by establishing 'your job your scholarship' which links the scholarships to future employment. The timeframes for this scholarship allocation process has been extended to provide for the central management of scholarships by the Ministry of Education (which merged with the Ministry of Higher Education in 2015).

  In sum these changes will increase the entry criteria for the scholarships and therefore the overall calibre of Saudi scholarship students, and position New Zealand well for specialist disciplines that are in-demand in the Saudi labour market.

  Increasing international and private education within the Kingdom

  The recently appointed Minister of Education, Mohammed Al-Isa, has signalled that the Ministry is to review a long-standing ban on foreign universities. The Minister has also signalled in Arabic media that ‘private education will drive growth in the education sector’.

  These signals may see growth in the number of private international operators established in the Kingdom. There will also be increasing opportunities for New Zealand providers to meet in-market demand for high quality education provision. Reflecting the importance that the Saudi authorities are placing on international investment, the theme of the April 2016 Ta’leem Exhibition, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, is ‘Investment in Education’.

  Education New Zealand’s activities in Saudi Arabia in 2016 include a three-pronged approach to these changing market dynamics:

  • Targeting promotions towards private students, e.g. through the English-language promotional campaign which will focus on students studying abroad over the extended Saudi summer

  • Working directly with the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Cultural Mission in New Zealand, and sponsor agencies to offer places through the ‘your job your scholarship’ programme, and

  • Supporting New Zealand education organisations to increase the delivery of education services in Kingdom, as the Government tilts its investment towards more ‘in-market’ education solutions and delivery.

  For further information, please get in touch with your key ENZ contact. 

• PM’s Scholarships for Asia announced

  The PMSA is an outbound scholarship programme, with funding of $9 million over five years provided in Budget 2013 as part of the Government's Internationally Focused Growth Package.

  This first round sees 89 of New Zealand's outstanding students selected to attend some of the top universities in Asia. Successful scholarship recipients for this first round include a Bachelor of Science student from Victoria University who will study at Osaka University for two trimesters, a Bachelor of Design (Hons) student from Massey University who will study for one semester at NanyangTechnological University in Singapore.

  Students will gain an international education experience, helping them to develop skills to prosper in the global economy, operate comfortably in different countries and cultures, and increase our people-to-people links with the world.

  Scholarship recipients will bring back new ideas and develop a deeper understanding of other cultures, and while away, will act as ambassadors for New Zealand, helping to promote the quality of our education system.

  The scholarships will also help us develop deeper links with some of the top education institutions in Asia, and help build networks with our key Asian trading partners.

  Education New Zealand (ENZ), who is managing this outbound scholarship programme, has been working closely with all our universities to ensure the success of this first selection round.

  Selections were made by a panel made up of members from the Asia New Zealand Foundation, Universities New Zealand, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ENZ.

  Applications for the 2014/15 rounds of the Prime Minister's Scholarships for Asia will open in January 2014.

• Meet the Brazil expert

  Ana took the opportunity to clarify the recently-introduced – and then removed – tax on international education fee transfers and gain insights from Maura on New Zealand’s competitive advantage in the Brazil market.

  Ana: What is the Brazilian Educational and Language Travel Association (BELTA) is and what does it do? 

  Maura: BELTA is a non-profit organisation that works across Brazil. Launched in 1992, it was the first association working in the field of international education in Latin America. Today, BELTA agencies represent 75 percent of Brazil’s international education market. These agencies are committed to promoting, facilitating and delivering education and exchange services (educational and cultural programs of all kinds and for all ages, courses, internship and volunteer work programs), in Brazil and overseas. BELTA is often asked to share its experiences with other countries to help them organize their own associations.

  Besides promoting Study and Exchange Travel, BELTA monitors the standard of services offered by its associated companies, evaluating their performance from both a student and international partner organisation perspective. Only agency partners of the highest integrity and who agree to abide by the Association’s Social Statute and rigid Code of Ethics are allowed to join BELTA.

  Along with the Board of Directors, I am responsible for ensuring BELTA functions correctly, and for representing the Brazilian market to international government and education entities. BELTA is a member of the Federation of Agencies Associations, and I am its president for the next four years.

  The income tax on international transfers relating to educational purposes (such as student exchange programmes) has recently been in the news. The Brazilian government has now announced that it will not charge those transfers. Would you clarify and comment on that? 

  At the start of January the Brazilian government decided to end the tax exemption for payments due abroad. The proposed rate for the new tax was between 6.38 percent and 33 percent. Fortunately, on 26 January 2016, the Department of Federal Revenue published that study abroad programs would be exempt from the new tax.

  Brazilian students are now able to plan their international exchange programs with the knowledge that they will not have to pay this tax. This good news for our New Zealand partners!

  We know the weakening of the Brazilian Real in relation to the American dollar and the Euro has had an impact on the demand for education abroad to those destinations. Do you believe that New Zealand may be a more desirable study destination in the current economic scenario? 

  New Zealand has a big market in Brazil because of the favourable exchange rate and the high quality of the education. The opportunity to work while studying is also very appealing for Brazilian students. All of these conditions combined places New Zealand in a special position as a destination for the Brazilian student. 

  Brazilian students are looking for qualifications that will help them succeed in the challenging job market. They are looking for postgraduate and specialized programs that will position them well in the job market, when the Brazilian economy is back on track. New Zealand is well-placed to fulfil this demand.

  What’s your connection to New Zealand? What’s your view of New Zealand as an education destination for Brazilian students and what advice you would give to NZ institutions wanting to attract Brazilian students?

  I have visited New Zealand as part of my job, visiting a range of education institutions. I have also had the opportunity to visit the country with my family as a tourist. It offers great education and lifestyle opportunities for students and fantastic tourism experiences.

  Students are able to live in a very safe environment, can choose from a great variety of high quality institutions and subject areas, in all kinds of cities or towns. And all within a country with beaches and mountains, fields and farms, with very hospitable and well-educated people.

  New Zealand is a top education destination and I love its people! This is my very personal opinion!
  
  

  Institutions wanting to receive Brazilian students should:

  • offer high quality academic programmes and excellent facilities, including accommodation

  • work with high-quality agencies

  • promote the school regularly throughout the year

  • offer good advice on visa processes

  • be open and understanding to the cultural differences between New Zealand and Brazil.

  Find out more about BELTA at http://www.belta.org.br/

• Update on the New Zealand Story – Our shared story to support export growth

  The New Zealand Story project is led by the chief executives of Education New Zealand, Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

  The Story will:

  • Communicate New Zealand’s values and personality

  • Feel and be authentic

  • Feel different to other countries’ stories

  • Move us beyond place (our landscape)

  • Be a foundation story from which other stories can grow

  • Support growth in export earnings.

  It will help communicate New Zealand’s distinct and unique attributes to international audiences around the world.

  Education New Zealand Marketing and Channel Development Manager Kathryn McCarrison says that while New Zealand has a great reputation in a number of areas, “the New Zealand Story is an opportunity to sharpen and highlight our country’s many qualities.

  “What we have got is a gap between how international audiences see us and the ideal positioning we need to ensure the world ‘buys’ New Zealand.

  “The New Zealand Story will fill that gap so that exporters don’t have to spend half their meetings in international markets explaining why New Zealand is great. They can get straight into saying why they are great.”

  The New Zealand Story will be a foundation for more specific stories about individual businesses and sectors like education. It will help give the stories told in international markets by individual companies and organisations a common voice when talking about New Zealand.

  The Story has been tested and accepted by businesses and consumers in six markets –Australia, China, USA, Jakarta, India and Germany.

  Leaders from New Zealand’s primary sectors, manufacturing services, export education, Māori and wider government have also had extensive input into the story’s formulation.

  The project is now in its creative development stage. A toolbox for industry will be developed that will include images and videos to help ‘NZ Inc’ partners (from both the public and private sector) tell a consistent story about New Zealand across different sectors and in very diverse international markets.

  This is an exciting development in the marketing of New Zealand globally and one that will help us all tremendously in raising the profile of our own sectors overseas.

• How New Zealand education compares around the world

  Education at a Glance provides comparable national statistics measuring the state of education worldwide. The report analyses the education systems of 34 OECD member countries, as well as Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.  Most of the recent data in the report relates to 2011.

  The findings show New Zealand is performing well.

  In terms of international education, key findings include:

  • New Zealand has the 11th largest market in absolute market share terms (at 1.7 percent), about the same as last year, but much higher than its share in 2000 (0.4 percent)

  • In 2011, we ranked fourth in terms of proportion of tertiary-level students who were international (16 percent). In particular, we had the highest proportion of diploma-level students who were international (at 21 percent ), and the fifth highest (with 13 percent ) at degree level

  • The level of international doctorate students has continued its significant rise since 2005 (since the introduction of domestic-fees policy). Nearly 40 percent  of doctorate-level students were international in 2011 (the third highest level after UK and Switzerland).

  The report shows that New Zealand is:

  • investing 7.3 percent of its GDP in education - the seventh highest in the OECD

  • ·investing 20 percent of all public expenditure in education, which is the second highest percentage in the OECD

  • in the top third of countries for participation in early childhood education - 95 percent of four year olds enrolled in 2011

  • in the top 10 of the OECD for the highest proportion of tertiary qualified adults, with 39 percent of 25 to 64 year-olds and 47 percent of 25 to 34 year-olds in New Zealand having a diploma or higher qualification

  • increasing significantly the number of 15 to 19 year olds enrolled in study - 81.5 percent in 2011, up from 74 percent in 2008.

  The OECD report, Education at a Glance 2013 is available here

• NZ ITP ISB 2015 Sector Presentation

• Immigration VisaView online

  They can also see if any conditions are attached to the student’s visa. Here’s a flyer about VisaView for education providers.

  You can learn more about VisaView for education providers at INZ.

• Help us thank New Zealand’s education partners in Japan

  As part of a programme to explore greater opportunities for the New Zealand education industry in Japan.

  The alumni networking function will acknowledge and show our appreciation for the informal “ambassadorial” role alumni undertake on behalf of New Zealand education. We will also be encouraging alumni to join the recently launched New Zealand Educated Alumni LinkedIn group where they will be able to network with fellow alumni and keep in touch with events and activities of interest.

  The agent seminars will recognise the work agents do on behalf of New Zealand education and show the agents our appreciation. The seminars will also inform agents of any immigration updates and changes (there will be someone from Immigration New Zealand in attendance) and let them know about the agent e-learning that will be launched in the next few months. A preview of this will be available at the event. 

  It is hoped that these activities will  further nignite agents’ interest in, and enthusiasm for, promoting New Zealand as an education destination.

  To ensure we reach the greatest number of agents and alumni, we would like your suggestions for who you would like us to invite.

  For the dates for each event, and a form where you can enter the names and contact information of those you’d like to be sent an invitation, click here.

  In completing this form, you will be assured of early notification of when registration opens for these events.

  As well agents and alumni, we know that many New Zealand education institutions have active and fruitful partnerships with fellow institutions in Japan. We are hoping to host such people at a ‘thank you’ lunch where we can show our gratitude for the very important role they play in fostering a lively education exchange between our two countries. Details about the lunch will be provided at a later date.

  These events are a great opportunity for you to show how much you value your education partners and advocates in Japan.

  Thank you in advance for help make these events the best they can be.