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  • Improved website offers students more

    As part of the drive to keep delivering meaningful content to prospective students and their parents that will help them choose New Zealand as a study destination, and drive referrals to your institutions, ENZ’s marketing team have developed the following pages:

    Check out the screen grabs below to see how they look!

    Other great content additions – made possible thanks to contributions from international education providers from around New Zealand – are case studies that enable students and parents to hear straight from the horse’s mouth what it’s like to live and learn in New Zealand.

    ‘Study options’ pages:

    17

    ‘Programmes and Courses’ pages

    4

    Dedicated pages for parents, graduates and those interested in STEM subjects, business management and scholarships

    18

    Case studies, where students can hear from students who have studied in New Zealand…

    5

    …and parents can hear from parents whose children have studied here.

    9

  • Letter from the CE: $4.28 billion valuation a great result

    This places international education (onshore and offshore delivery) as New Zealand’s fourth largest export industry, and puts us well on the way to achieving our goal of a $5 billion economic value by 2025.

    This achievement belongs to our education providers for delivering high-quality education programmes, the government bodies who work together and keep student well-being at the heart of the industry, and the Kiwis who welcome young people from around the globe into their homes and communities. This is what keeps bringing students to our shores.

    As we know, economic contribution is just one aspect of international education, with the social and cultural benefits (though harder to quantify) being equally important.

    International education connects New Zealanders with the world in a personal and meaningful way, and provides a global perspective to our institutions and communities. International students bring a rich cultural diversity, and allow Kiwi students to learn about the world by bringing the world to them. Students are exposed to different ways of thinking and looking at things, helping them to become more outward-looking and accepting of other cultures.

    Of course, international education is a two-way flow. While New Zealanders are increasingly aware of the benefits of having international students here, there is ample opportunity for young Kiwis to go out into the world and experience the benefits of international education for themselves. This, I hope, will be a growing focus for the industry.

    The new valuation is a clear reflection of New Zealand’s successful approach for both providers and students. It also demonstrates that great things that can happen when we work together. Let’s keep working together for the benefit of all.

    Grant McPherson photo edit6Grant McPherson 

    Chief Executive, Education New Zealand

     

     

     

    The Economic Impact of International Education Report for 2015/16 and its key findings can be found here.

  • International Student Barometer Results: school sector

    The results of the International Student Barometer (ISB) survey for the school sector are now in, and New Zealand has maintained very high overall student satisfaction.

    ENZ commissioned the ISB survey of students at schools to investigate the decision-making, expectations, perceptions and experiences of over 2,000 international students aged 16+. 

    Unlike the surveys of the other sectors, there is no global benchmark, because New Zealand is the only country which undertakes the ISB survey in the school sector. However, we can compare ourselves with our own performance in 2012, which was also very high.

    Ninety-four percent of school students surveyed were satisfied with their experience. This is on par with the 2012 survey. Students showing the highest satisfaction level were from France, Hong Kong, Germany, and Brazil.

    This is a great result for the NZ school sector – maintaining high satisfaction levels, while growing student numbers.

    Eighty-eight percent are happy with their life in New Zealand. Three out of four students would recommend their school to other students thinking of studying there.

    It’s worth noting that overall satisfaction levels vary noticeably by institution and by nationality. Most participating institutions have received their own results to analyse and help inform the development of services and support for their student cohorts.

    Generally speaking, the areas with lowest student satisfaction are around making friends with locals, and some aspects of arrival support – elements of which are issues for international students globally, not just in New Zealand.

    Education New Zealand will be using this data to identify follow-up actions and deliver professional development support to schools.

    One particular point to note is that, of those students who plan to stay in New Zealand after school (26 percent), two thirds intend to go to university. And, 26 percent of all students don’t yet know what they will do post-school – an opportunity for local tertiary providers.

    A point of comparison is Australia’s International Student Survey 2014, in which 82 percent of school students were satisfied with their overall experience.

    More in-depth results of the New Zealand survey are available in the ISB School Sector Summary Report 2015 and the ISB School Sector Presentation.

  • Supporting university recruitment and raising New Zealand’s profile in Viet Nam

    Building on the programme first introduced in 2025, NZUA 2026 is larger and more flexible. It continues to serve as a key tool for student recruitment and for building long-term connections in Viet Nam. 
     
    In 2026, there are 15 scholarships available, each worth NZD $15,000 for the first year of undergraduate study. The scholarships are offered at six New Zealand universities: University of Auckland, University of Waikato, Massey University, Lincoln University, University of Canterbury and University of Otago. The awards help universities connect with high‑achieving Vietnamese students for whom receiving a scholarship is both a major achievement and a source of pride. 
     
    The programme was first introduced following Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s visit to Viet Nam in 2025. It recognises students’ academic achievement, creativity and leadership, while showcasing the strengths of New Zealand’s university system. 
     
    A key feature of NZUA is that students can combine the award with other university scholarships (depending on each university’s rules). This helps make studying in New Zealand more affordable and strengthens New Zealand’s competitiveness in attracting undergraduate students. 
     
    The 2026 programme offers greater flexibility in entry requirements while maintaining strong academic standards. Applications are submitted online and require academic documents, an offer of place from a New Zealand university, and a short video introducing the student and their goals. 
     
    The awards have already generated strong visibility for New Zealand education, with coverage in major Vietnamese media. This helps reinforce New Zealand’s reputation among students, parents and education agents. 
     
    Applications are open until 12 July 2026. The successful applicants will be announced in early September followed by an awards ceremony in October.  
     
    Through NZUA, ENZ continues to work closely with New Zealand universities to build long‑term engagement in Viet Nam, support sustainable growth in student enrolments, and align scholarships with wider international education and brand goals. 

  • New approach for Korean middle schools

    The Korean government wants to improve levels of student happiness, and move on from students validating their success and self-worth only in terms of academic performance. A priority is to support students to pursue “non-core learning areas” (such as music, arts, physical education, career exploration, club-oriented activities, etc). Each school will now designate a semester that is exam- and test-free to allow students to experience a wide range of these activities.

    This approach represents a big change in the Korean education environment. To date these students have relied heavily on simple memorisation and rote learning instead of thinking creatively or critically. The government now expects students to freely discover their competencies and capability, free from the stress associated with exams. Korean President Park Geun-hye describes this initiative as a “key task to fundamentally change Korea’s education system”.

    Under this new initiative, schools will teach students using diverse and engaging methods such as discussion, experiments, outdoor activities and team projects. Opportunities for students to engage with activities that may inform their thinking about future career options and/or future subject choices is also encouraged.

    The initiative began as a pilot in September 2013 with 42 Korean middle schools (1 percent of all Korean middle schools). It was expanded in 2014 to around 800 schools (25 percent), and to 1,500 schools in 2015 (nearly 50 percent). This year, all 3,204 middle schools – and their 1.5 million students – will implement this approach.

    Opportunities for NZ schools

    This new way of working not only requires a significant paradigm change in thinking for educators and parents, it also requires Korea to develop new infrastructure outside the classroom. It may therefore take some time to fully develop.

    This new initiative presents an opportunity for New Zealand schools; two groups of Korean parents may be interested in sending their children to study abroad during the exam-free semester:

    1. Families that wish to take advantage of the New Zealand curriculum, teaching expertise and existing infrastructure in terms of these broader subject areas (especially opportunities to learn outside of the classroom that are available at New Zealand’s intermediate schools); or

    2. Families that have a more traditional Korean academic education preference and wish to provide their children with an intensive learning experience (such as significantly develop their English language skills).

    New Zealand schools may therefore wish to reframe their marketing collateral for parents to demonstrate the strengths of their school’s programmes to deliver quality educational outcomes for Korean middle school students during these exam-free semesters.

    FAQs

    What age and year level are Korean middle school students?

    Students in Korea start school at age seven, rather than five, the usual age in New Zealand.  Korean middle school students are in years seven and eight and aged 13-14 years. The table below compares the age and year of the two school systems.

    What are the Korean school semester dates?

    Korean school year is divided into two semesters, running from 1 March to mid-July, and from mid/late August to February.

    Who decides which semester will be exam-free? Will it be the same semester for all schools in a region, for example? 

    Individual principals, in consultation with their school staff decide which semester will be selected as the ‘exam-free’ semester. This could be any semester between the first semester in the first year and the first semester of the second year.

    Korea graph

    Would this be an opportunity for students to spend the whole semester away from Korea, or are we talking about short (say 2-3 week or 4-5 week) programmes for groups?

    This will likely be predominately an opportunity for individual students to study for a full semester in New Zealand.

    That said, it is possible that schools with MoUs with Korean schools could promote an exchange or short course study abroad programme, but New Zealand schools who are interested in this should carefully canvas existing sister schools first to confirm whether this approach would meet the requirements.

    What does experiential learning mean in Korea? 

    The following four types of activities have been recommended by the Korean Ministry of Education:

    • Topic of interest: students choose topic(s) of interest and participate in a programme of activities around the topic, such as: entrepreneurship, design, animation, film, barista skills, smartphone app development, robotics, cooking, science etc.

    • Arts and physical education: students undertake activities that are not part of their regular school curriculum such as: participating in a musical or in a band, curating, industrial design, or physical education activities such as sports leisure industry experience or exploring career options around soccer, dancing etc.

    • Club activities: student clubs can be organised by students around topics of interest. These could be linked to other activities such as sports, career or volunteering such as a hospital volunteering group of 20 students who go to local hospitals to help out.

    • Career: students discover what employment options await; giving a chance for them to begin thinking about the sort of work they would like to do in the future and to gather information that will help them make good decisions about the courses they will undertake when they enter secondary school. This could include going into workplaces to experience, observe etc. and could also include a career counselling component.

    The New Zealand curriculum, teaching techniques and education outside of the classroom experience and infrastructure appears to be a good fit with this initiative.

  • India strategy available

    ENZ’s India Strategy 2013-2014 provides the New Zealand education sector with an overview of ENZ’s approach to the India market – one that is aimed at raising New Zealand’s profile as a study destination and increasing the number of introductions that result in new business for New Zealand institutions. The strategy captures ENZ’s primary activities in India under three key strands – marketing initiatives, government relations, and business development.

    The strategy follows on the from the ENZ India Plan that went through a consultation process with the New Zealand education sector and NZ Inc partners last year. While the India Plan provides useful background information on the Indian education sector and opportunities in the market, the strategy clearly outlines the areas of focus and activities that ENZ will be leading and supporting from now through 2014. ENZ will continue to work with the New Zealand education sector and NZ Inc partners to refine our approach in the market to ensure the best opportunities are supported and realised.

    The strategy also provides a snapshot of information about the market, a calendar of events, and contact details for the ENZ South Asia team. 

  • Grow your business with the Skills Lab

    At the heart of the Skills Lab is project-based learning. These projects are designed to give you top tips and advice that you can consume in bite-size pieces. The Skills Lab also allows you to post your own comments and share your top tips so we can develop a professional community.

    Collaboration at the heart

    The Skills Lab was born of industry feedback. In the 2015 Industry Survey, you expressed a desire for more professional development support, and in particular asked for online support in order for you to access content at a time and location that suits you.

    We’ve since co-developed the Skills Lab with multiple groups of industry representatives, having taken into account your advice on the structure and features of the website, as well as on key content areas. We’re already working on a range of refinements that you’ve suggested, including on individual projects and website functionality.

    Helping grow your business

    The Skills Lab is already proving useful. Robbie Pickford, International Director of Takapuna Grammar School, told The PIE News at the New Zealand International Education Conference that the Skills Lab helped her institution learn about new markets.

    “I’ve been in the industry for a long time and there hasn’t been that go-to place that I could get intel about the market, the country or the culture. The Skills Lab also encourages industry collaboration, with users able to upload their own information and expertise. There’ll be more and more information available for the sector. It keeps us growing and thinking towards the future,” Pickford said.

    Kirstyn Mawdsley, Director International of St Hilda’s Collegiate School, also told The PIE News that the Skills Lab would be of particular benefit to New Zealand’s regional and smaller providers.

    “We don’t have the same budget available as bigger programmes, and often we’re working in very small departments. Trying to keep up to date with everything and find professional development opportunities is quite complicated. The Skills Lab helps with that and also alleviates the distance barrier,” she said.

    Skills lab example photos

    Content examples from the Skills Lab

    But wait, there’s more!

    The current version of the Skills Lab is just the beginning.  We’ll continue to roll out new content, so stay tuned for more case studies and international education-specific content over the coming months. We’re planning more detailed and useful projects that will help you in your specific organisational context.

    We’ll also be partnering with individual industry experts to bring you case studies and projects based on their successes. If you have suggestions on content, or would like to offer some of your expertise and contribute to a case study or project, please email us at skillslab@enz.govt.nz.

    Sign up and participate

    You can access the Skills Lab at skillslab.enz.govt.nz or from the ENZ website.

    Make sure you watch the introductory video to learn how you can use this exciting new tool.

    Note that only approved New Zealand education providers are able to access the Skills Lab and its content.

    If you are experiencing any difficulty in signing up to the Skills Lab, please email skillslab@enz.govt.nz.

  • Malaysian student teachers value NZ experience

    While it was not much money, it motivated them, according to Mdm Anis Abdullah, co-ordinator of the Kiwi Experience Project at the Institute of Teacher Education (Batu Lintang) in Kuching, who accompanied the students.

    Over the next year they raised their target of 100,000MYR or $NZ 30,000. That first day they rented out the bikes for less than 1 ringgit – so the fact there were 12 takers was the incentive to continue.

    During the March visit to Dunedin the third-year primary-level English language student teachers gained insights into New Zealand culture, education techniques, ways of managing pupil behaviour and various literacy programmes. The tour ended with the students performing three songs, including a waiata, at North East Valley Normal School.

    Aged 21 to 25, many will be posted in rural areas with added responsibilities as school administrators and for pastoral care of pupils. “English is part of the curriculum in both primary and secondary schools now but in 2016 it will become compulsory and pupils will be required to pass English language studies to graduate from high school,” according to Mdm Anis.

    She said the trip enabled the students to have the total Kiwi experience.  “I believe in the holistic approach to education where learning entails much more than just what you study in class. Trips like this enrich an education. New Zealand is the most expensive benchmark option for us, but it is the best because we would like our students to see first-hand how the early literacy and reading recovery programmes are carried out here.  Besides, New Zealand is a very beautiful and safe country and the warmth of the Kiwis always made us feel very welcomed.”

    This visit was the first time some had left their home region of Sarawak. “They have had a great time and many said that when they graduate and have worked for a few years, they will come back.”

    Mdm Anis said commonalities existed between the Malaysian and New Zealand teaching ethos. “It is about teachers being informed, knowledgeable and global citizens. Our teacher development programmes focus not only on intellectual aspects, but  also on developing values and the emotional, spiritual and physical aspects – similar to the ‘life-long-learner’ concepts in New Zealand.”

    Mdm Anis hopes the Malaysian Ministry of Education will plan another twinning programme for Malaysian students to study at the University of Otago, possibly at Masters level. She previously helped co-ordinate such a programme at the institute where she works, that ended in 2013, for 117 student teachers to complete half of their Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL, degree at Otago.

  • Meet our Korea video competition winners

    In a 60-second video, students were asked to share their aspirations for studying in New Zealand, including references to the programme they have selected.  

    Cecily Lin, ENZ’s Regional Lead, North Asia, said the standard of entries was impressive, as was the level of support agents provided their students. 

    “It’s encouraging to see agents teaming up with students to enter the competition, and help them achieve their goal of studying in New Zealand,” said Cecily. 

    “As this was the first time we ran the competition, we were unsure of how much interest we’d have – but we were pleasantly surprised when the videos started flooding in.” 

    The winning students and agents will be presented with their awards at a ceremony hosted by Clare Fearnley, New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, at her residence in Seoul on Friday, 17 February. The winners’ videos will be screened at the event.  

    The student winners are: 

    • Overall: Seoyeon Nam (video), who will receive tuition fees up to $8,000 to study at Macleans College, Auckland. 

    • School category: Sohyune Shin (video) and Sumin Nam (video), who will each receive tuition fees up to $6,000 and will study in Auckland at Belmont Intermediate School and St. Mary’s College, respectively. 

    • English language category: Jiwan Park (video) and HyeJin Kim (video), who will each receive tuition fees up to $5,000. Both of them will study at the Dominion English School, Auckland. 

    The agent winners are:  

    • HJ Global Education, which supported Seoyeon Nam, the overall winner  

    • Uhak K, which encouraged 16 students to enter – more than any other agent 

    • SIS International Education, which encouraged 11 students to enter 

    • Prime, which encouraged eight students to enter. 

    The prize for the winning agents is an invitation to the familiarisation trip to New Zealand (or flights between Korea and New Zealand). 

  • University of Waikato announces pioneering international partnership

    In September 2017, the University of Waikato will launch a joint Institute with Zheijiang University City College [ZUCC], offering Chinese students the opportunity to enrol in one of three undergraduate degrees in China with the University of Waikato providing the degrees and teaching staff.

    On completion, the Chinese students will receive a degree from both universities.

    University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor, Professor Neil Quigley, says the initiative complements other joint programmes the University has been running in China over the past 20 years.

    "The University is committed to growing its off-shore delivery, and transnational education plays an important role in the University’s internationalisation strategy," said Professor Quigley.

    Education New Zealand [ENZ] supported the preparation of the bid for initial submission to the Chinese Ministry of Education and the redevelopment of the Academic English part of the programme.

    Grant McPherson, ENZ Chief Executive, says that in a global context transnational education is not only a growth area, but an important contributor to supporting the international reputation and brand of the provider, and New Zealand.

    “We are delighted to see the University of Waikato expand offshore, with an approach that builds on an existing relationship and seamlessly aligns with the University’s offering,” said Mr McPherson. 

    The application process for approval of the institute was rigorous, including examination by the Provincial Ministry of Education and the Chinese Ministry of Education in Beijing.

    The first intake of students will be able to study for degrees in finance, media and creative technologies, and computer graphic design.

    The programmes included in the partnership were selected based on demand. The finance degree has been available to ZUCC students since 2008 but the students were required to complete the qualification in New Zealand. The partnership with the University of Waikato was established in 2002.

    "The finance degree was a popular choice with students when we began our partnership with ZUCC,” said Professor Quigley. 

    “The addition of media and creative technologies and computer graphic design relates well to the location of ZUCC in Hangzhou, which is a hub for technology and creative practices." 

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