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  • Winds of Change students team up to tackle shared climate challenges

    While world leaders continue to discuss how to best tackle global warming, an inspiring group of students is stepping up collaboration between New Zealand and Chile to better understand the problems both countries face, share knowledge, and identify solutions.

    The Winds of Change programme, funded by the Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence (LatAm CAPE) and hosted by Otago University, is taking a broad approach by drawing in post-graduate students from a range of backgrounds including natural, physical or social science, business, finance, science communication, and humanities.

    They are motivated to tackle climate change by developing sustainable strategies in land management, business, and policy-making. Supporting them is a team of talented academics from both countries whose insight and expertise are helping to create impact.

    “The Winds of Change participants are extraordinary leaders from diverse backgrounds with a passion for making a difference,” says lead Otago academic Associate Professor Chris Moy.

    “Their collaborative work will help inspire communities and drive change.”

    Joining forces to reach common goals

    Project manager Hélène Eunson says the multi-disciplinary approach is vital. “It is one of the key features and strengths of the programme. We need people who bring a range of perspectives in addressing climate change issues,” she says.

    “We have come to realise that the scientists want to learn more about business and policy-making, and the policy-makers want to learn more about the science. We are trying to join forces to reach our common goals.”

    Now in its second year, Ms Eunson says there has been huge interest in the six-month programme, which seeks to attract 30 students in each cohort - 10 New Zealanders based in New Zealand, 10 Chilean students based in New Zealand (“Chiwis”), and 10 Chileans based in Chile.

    “These young leaders have a real drive to make a change. They volunteer their time and do not earn credits towards their degrees.”

    The participants work in small groups on projects based on common interest, to investigate an aspect of climate change, its impact on the environment and communities, and to identify solutions. Their findings are presented at an annual symposium attended by key industry players, researchers, embassy representatives, and past participants.

    The Winds of Change programme includes a series of workshops hosted by a range of expert speakers from both countries including business owners, industry experts, and academics studying climate change.

    Pacific partners help shape future solutions

    By studying the common climate change impacts that New Zealand and Chile are facing, the students are not only helping to shape future solutions, but also to build relationships with a key Pacific partner and enhance economic and social wellbeing in both countries.

    Projects undertaken by the participants have tackled wide-ranging issues including wetland restoration, wildfires, water scarcity, rising sea levels, diversity in agriculture, and renewable energies.

    Ms Eunson says the concept of global citizenship is a strong theme which runs through the programme. “The participants share experiences from their own countries and help to create bonds with each other by bringing their different perspectives to the table.”

    Being involved in the programme has been a profound experience for many of the participants.

    “Often, if you think as an individual about environmental issues, you don’t feel as though you can achieve much, but when you see all these people together with the same objective, you feel really powerful to make change,” says Julia Harvey, who grew up in Invercargill.

    “Meeting people from different backgrounds with a common interest has provided a unique opportunity to learn about sustainability in both countries,” says Javiera Otero, originally from Villa Alemana, Chile, but currently living in Napier.

    “This experience has given me hope for the future, as there are people out there who want to make changes to live a more compatible life with the planet.”

    Winds of Change programme builds credibility and impact

    Winds of Change is quickly building its network and outreach. “As we build the credibility of the programme, we will start to see long-term impacts,” Ms Eunson predicts.

    This new generation of leaders is already anticipating a future of global collaboration. In last year’s first post-programme survey, participants identified the most important benefits as “building networks, connections, and relationships”, and “having confidence to work in a transnational team”.

    LatAm CAPE Director Matthew O’Meagher says he looks forward to the ongoing expansion of the programme to include other partners, and ideally other nations in Latin America. “In this way we can continue to provide the best opportunities for our talented young New Zealanders to engage internationally on innovative scientific, sustainable business, and policy-focused, solutions to climate change.”

    Dr Moy agrees. “Our future depends on culturally-aware young leaders that can think globally and work collaboratively to tackle climate change impacts.”

    Learn more about the Winds of Change programme on the LatAm CAPE website.

  • New AgentLab platform launched to support education agents

    Launched in early August, the new platform features a wide range of relevant information and updates to support education agents and consultants promoting study with Aotearoa New Zealand. This includes a calendar of agent-focused events and webinars, resources, and latest news and updates from across the Aotearoa New Zealand education landscape. 

    In 2022, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) reviewed its agent engagement programme to ensure its offering for education agents is best placed to support the international education sector’s recovery.  

    ENZ commissioned Edified to research and evaluate its broad agent engagement programme as well as the ENZ Recognised Agency programme. Refreshing the AgentLab platform to offer agents a wider range of information about Aotearoa New Zealand education was among the recommendations of the Edified report. 

    ENZ’s Director – Sector Services, Laura Simpson, said the AgentLab platform’s refresh was guided by a need to better support all education agents, knowing the crucial role they play.  

    “We are developing the AgentLab platform with more tools and resources. We will continue to grow the platform to best serve all agents in their work to support students wanting to study with Aotearoa New Zealand. This helps us ensure that agents have access to accurate information, so they are best placed to drive international student recruitment and support the sector’s post-pandemic recovery.  

    “This is important work given our goal to grow onshore international student numbers. Rebuilding the sector to a thriving, resilient one is a major focus for Aotearoa New Zealand. We know that the relationship between education providers and agents is the primary one. So our job, set out clearly in Focus Area One of the International Education Strategy, is to make sure we support high-quality education agents in recruiting students to Aotearoa New Zealand and supporting the sector’s recovery,” Laura said.  

    The new AgentLab platform is hosted at the same address as the old site at agentlab.enz.govt.nz. It is easily accessed through the single sign-on, MaiENZ portal through which ENZ offers all its digital services to Aotearoa New Zealand’s international education sector. Existing AgentLab users will be able to seamlessly access the new site with their current MaiENZ logins.  

    The discontinuation of the ENZ Recognised Agencies (ENZRA) programme that was announced to the sector and education agents in July was also an outcome of the agent engagement review. All education agents – including former ENZRA agents – will be able to access the same level of information and resources via the AgentLab platform. The discontinuation of the ENZRA programme will not affect this. 

  • Report from GHEDEX 2022

    This year saw a welcome return to an in-person event, attracting good numbers of students and international education stakeholders. ENZ showcased New Zealand as an education partner for Oman during the “Quality in Higher Education” conference that took place alongside GHEDEX. While in Muscat, ENZ also hosted an event for Omani alumni of New Zealand universities. Twenty-eight attended, from seven universities, providing a useful networking opportunity.

    Officials at GHEDEX confirmed that as our border is reopening, New Zealand is included in the just-released Omani Ministry of Higher Education’s 2022/23 handbook for scholarships. Feedback from education agents suggests that fewer scholarship students overall are expected this year.

    Dr Nadia Kasto, New Zealand Academic Advisor for the Omani Consulate-General in Melbourne confirmed that from next year, all Omani scholarship students will be able to make their own decisions about the country and university that best suit their study needs.

    “All universities have to work very hard to promote themselves to Omani students in order to get as many students as they can.”

  • Teaching the teachers

    The School Influencers Workshop series focuses on new ideas in Early Childhood Education, English Language teaching and educational management and leadership. Originally planned to be delivered in-person, this is the first time the course will be held online.

    Members of the UC College of Education, Health and Human Development will deliver the online courses to more than 100 education practitioners and administrators alongside in-market organisations Teach for Indonesia and Teach for the Philippines.

    UC Associate Dean (International), Dr Stuart Wise, said “The College of Education, Health and Development at the University of Canterbury is delighted to support this initiative sponsored by Education New Zealand. We are very keen to support our colleagues at Teach for Indonesia and Teach for Philippines are looking forward to the opportunity to engage with course participants and share some of our expertise with them.”

    The professional development of teachers has been a key part of ENZ’s South East Asia engagement strategy since 2016.

    “The School Influencers Workshop series gives teachers and administrators a taste of New Zealand’s top-quality education by offering an insight into our hands-on teaching methodologies and contact with top academics,” ENZ Market Manager Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, Desiree Lee, said.

    “Teachers, counsellors and school leaders remain a key group of influencers in a student’s study journey. They are an important group which ENZ will continue to engage as the international education sector recovers from COVID-19.”

    Read the UC story on the Schools Influencers Workshop series

  • Applications open for the NZ-China Tripartite Fund

    Revised as at 2 March 2021

    ENZ is committed to supporting New Zealand institutions to progress and grow their research opportunities in China. In view of the current global situation and based on interim reports from the 2020/21 Tripartite Funding recipients, ENZ has made the following changes:

    • The application deadline has been extended to Monday 8 March 2021 COP.
    • The following section in the application has been revised:
      • Funding is available for costs associated with mobility, meetings and small scale operational costs. Due to the current global situation, applications that include costs relating to research or overhead costs will  be considered for this round.

    Any questions please contact china@enz.govt.nz.

    ---

    University researchers are invited to submit proposals for the latest round, with up to $20,000 available per application to support quality, high-level research and collaboration. The fund seeks to initiate new tripartite partnerships and enable the further development of existing partnerships between a New Zealand university and two Chinese partner universities. 

    Eligible Tripartite Fund subjects can be drawn from the arts; humanities; social sciences; sciences and applied sciences; including agriculture; food safety; conservation; forestry; advanced materials engineering and environmental science.

    The fund was established in 2005 when the New Zealand and Chinese Ministries of Education agreed to formally support and promote tripartite relationships between Kiwi and Chinese institutions, in which a New Zealand university became the ‘third brother’ to an existing ‘two brothers’ agreement.

    This agreement was a first for the education relationship between New Zealand and China, and since then many other countries have followed New Zealand’s lead.

    To account for the impact of COVID-19 on mobility of research partners, the 2020/21 Tripartite Partnership Funding Round awarded five successful recipients of up to $20,000NZD in comparison to previous years where there were three recipients of $30,000NZD each. The selection panel will take into consideration the current context when deciding on the funding structure for the 2021/22 award round.

    “The Tripartite programme highlights our commitment to the strategic education partnership between China and New Zealand,” ENZ Director – Greater China, Miranda Herbert, says. “We are pleased to see university representatives innovating and adapting their research and communication methods to the virtual environment in order to maintain strong links with Chinese partner institutions and progress research projects despite the challenging environment.”

    The deadline for applications is 1 March 2021, with a project start date of 1 May 2021 through until 30 April 2022.

    Below is the criteria for successful applicants:

    Download the application form and submit it to china@enz.govt.nz. Any queries can also be sent to this address.

     

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  • Wellington embraces talents, culture, and passion of international students

    While they love the great arts and culture vibe, fabulous food, and easy access to parks and hills, they choose Wellington principally for its world-class educational opportunities and diverse career prospects. 

    In a city where 23 percent of people are studying, international students quickly feel a sense of belonging as they are welcomed into a well-connected community of learners and achievers. As the capital city, Wellington offers sophisticated collaboration between education providers, research institutions, the business community, and Government. 

    Innovative programmes build long-term relationships with international students 

    Study in Wellington, a specialist team within economic development agency WellingtonNZ, promotes the region as a great place to study and enter the workforce, and recognises that international students have much to offer the city both during their stay, and after they have finished studying.  

    “International students bring their culture and their talents,” says programme lead Sarah Grant. “They bring determination, skill, and passion to our community. And they also bring a good work ethic with them.   

    Study in Wellington is focused on building-long-term relationships with students and alumni and has developed an innovative range of programmes tailored to each stage of an international student’s journey, and to provide channels for future collaboration.  

    Networking programmes key to “amazing” experience 

    For 25-year-old Shamanthi Jayawardena, leaving her home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to study overseas in 2019 was a big decision and there were plenty of options. In the end she chose Wellington, saying the “cool city vibe” and reputation for safety attracted her, along with the quality of the courses available at Victoria University. 

    Returning home 15 months later, having completed her Master’s in Global Marketing, she reflects on an “amazing” experience in Wellington and says much of it was down to her involvement in the programmes offered by Study in Wellington, including Work Ready in Wellington, Alumni Connect and Employer Connect. 

    She says there’s no doubt a highlight was being involved in Employer Connect, which builds up the networking skills of graduating students and connects them with employers.

    “As a project coordinator facilitator, I got the chance to meet people from diverse backgrounds, understand their needs and help design a programme that benefits both the international students and the community of local organisations.” 

    So successful was Shamanthi’s networking that she landed a contract role with Wellington design and digital agency Obvious and continues to work for them remotely from Sri Lanka. 

    The opportunity to succeed is there for all international students, Shamanthi says. 

    “You need to be open-minded, connect with the programmes available to you, and put yourself out there. It’s a great place to follow your passion.” 

    Wellington proud of its international student community 

    Grant is proud of the way Wellington embraces its international student community, even with closed borders.  

    “We are ready to welcome back students when we can and believe that we do provide a unique experience and the opportunity to really get connected with the local community, businesses, and institutions. 

    “In return, the students make Wellington a more dynamic and interesting city.” 

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