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50 Malaysian educators experience New Zealand’s interactive early childhood education
On 9-10 May 2024, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ), the Ministry of Education Malaysia, and the University of Auckland co-hosted a two-day workshop for Malaysian educators. The theme of the workshop was "Engage, Explore, Excel: Interactive Play Strategies for Effective Preschool Education".
The workshop gave approximately 50 Malaysian preschool educators the opportunity to see and experience for themselves some of New Zealand’s innovative and interactive approaches to education that start in early childhood education facilities. The workshop was also an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties between our two countries.
Workshop participants discussing learning techniques used in New Zealand early childhood institutions.
Professor Marek Tesar, a distinguished early childhood education expert from the University of Auckland led the workshop and shared his expertise with the group. He highlighted innovative approaches to implementing interactive outdoor play and used practical insights with theoretical foundations to enhance the educators' skills and knowledge. This included leading the group through experiential activities and thought-provoking discussions, including how outdoor play can instil a sense of environmental stewardship among teachers and children.
Malaysian early childhood educators at the workshop on "Engage, Explore, Excel: Interactive Play Strategies for Effective Preschool Education".
Ben Burrowes, ENZ’s Regional Director Asia (excluding China) and Acting General Manager International, and Emma Verry from the New Zealand High Commission in Kuala Lumpur attended the session and extended warm welcome remarks, underscoring the importance of international collaboration in advancing early childhood education in both countries.
From left to right: ENZ’s Ben Burrowes, Juraida Binti Umat Bidin, Deputy Director of Preschool Sector Curriculum Development Division and Nooraini Binti Kamaruddin, Senior Deputy Director Curriculum Development Division from the Ministry of Education Malaysia, Emma Verry from the New Zealand High Commission, ENZ’s Market Manager for Indonesia and Malaysia Naluri Bella, and University of Auckland’s Professor Marek Tesar. They are pictured here after the exchange of commemorative gifts in recognition of the occasion.
Ben said that the workshop gave a wonderful opportunity for educators from Malaysia to come together to hear from Professor Tesar and explore the multifaceted benefits of interactive play.
“Our two countries recognise the critical importance of the formative years in a child’s development and the profound impact that quality early childhood education can have on their future success and well-being.
“Participants were all very enthusiastic about discovering new ways to engage and empower their students. We hope this will lead to more collaboration and sharing of ideas between our two countries that educators and students alike can benefit from,” said Ben.
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PIF Recipient: Virtual Medical Coaching
In the United States alone, approximately 800 women die each year during pregnancy and within 42 days after delivery. More than 60% of those deaths are believed to be preventable. In developing countries, the rate of pregnancy-related deaths is up to 300 times higher.
An important part of the solution is education. Globally, midwives are in high demand, with the UK’s NHS increasing their places for student midwives by 3000, starting this year. Australia is also planning to increase numbers, while in New Zealand, a funding boost will increase the number of Māori and Pacific students training in midwifery.
While the demand for midwifery training is growing, education offerings haven’t kept up. Childbirth is deeply personal, and feedback from mothers – validated by hospital staff – is that they do not wish to have extra staff or students in the room for training. With no effective opportunities for face-to-face learning, there is a global need for a realistic and scalable childbirth simulation.
That’s where Virtual Medical Coaching’s vision comes in, supported as a recipient of the International Education Product Innovation Fund. Virtual reality (VR) software will provide a safe and controlled environment for students to see and assist in childbirth simulations, both with and without complications and in a range of different scenarios. As the student improves, the simulations they encounter increase in difficulty. A machine-learning algorithm enables fast and accurate feedback to both the learner and any tutors.
The simulation will be interactive and responsive, meaning that any action taken by a student creates a life-like consequence and reaction. The outcome is that learners are taught to effectively make decisions and problem solve.
Existing options for midwifery training include a physical mannequin simulator, but this can be prohibitively expensive, out of reach of many training providers, and doesn’t offer students maximum learning hours. In addition, existing options don’t include the ability to witness mechanisms like rotations/restitutions or the ability to have back and forth conversations. By contrast, the VR simulation will be available to students wherever they are, and whenever they need to practice. The nature of the VR experience means that modern learning styles, such as asynchronous and remote learning, are well catered for.
With support from the International Education Product Innovation Fund, Virtual Medical Coaching’s childbirth simulation is on track to become fully released by the end of 2024. A beta-version is already used by some educators globally. The Product Innovation Fund is a New Zealand Government-funded initiative to reimagine what a New Zealand education can look like and mean for global learners.
Managed by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ), New Zealand’s government agency for international education, the fund is supporting a range of pilot projects from existing and emerging New Zealand education providers. Together, the projects rethink how an education experience from New Zealand can be delivered, and create impact, for global learners.
For Virtual Medical Coaching, it’s about finding a better solution to a serious issue. Like many other innovative Kiwi education technology companies, Virtual Medical Coaching is designing technology that will create positive impact around the world. It’s already successfully developed an x-ray simulation for healthcare professionals which has won multiple national and international awards. Now, with the support of ENZ through the International Education Product Innovation Fund, Virtual Medical Coaching is set to respond to a clear need for better midwifery training options and develop another cutting-edge learning product for both New Zealand and offshore markets.
More information:
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From the Chief Executive: Importance of international students to New Zealand
Just before Christmas, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao filed its submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into immigration policy settings.
ENZ has taken a strong stand in the detailed 15-page submission, refuting some statements made about international students in the Commission’s preliminary report, and pointing out that international students are different to other temporary migrants included in the inquiry.
In the submission we say international students should not be characterised as coming to New Zealand to seek employment, invest or run a business. Rather, international students coming to New Zealand support the achievement of the Government’s broader goals and objectives, as well as contributing to NZ’s economic development. More than two thirds of international students fund their studies through their families and their own savings and most international tertiary students have left New Zealand within five years of completing their studies.
The submission also discusses the broad benefits international students deliver for New Zealand, including regional development, research output, and strengthened bilateral relationships with other countries.
The Productivity Commission aims to present its final report to the Government in April 2022.
In other recent news, our international teams have recently completed several partnership agreements that will continue to sustain international education while our borders are closed. These include a research exchange agreement with DAAD (a major German academic exchange organisation), a science research agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and digital classroom cultural exchanges with South Korea. We also highlight the growing success of the NZ Global Competence Certificate during 2021. These items are covered in more detail in this issue of E-News.
He rā ki tua – Better days are coming!
Grant McPherson
Chief Executive, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao -
ENZ seals exchange deal with Germany for early-career researchers
DAAD is the world's largest funding organisation for the international exchange of students and researchers, and is a key partner for ENZ in Germany.
Early-career researchers from New Zealand universities and Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology will be able to take part in the DAAD’s Programmes for Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP). In the future, young German researchers will also be able to travel to New Zealand under the programme.
The programme covers all subject areas and is open to students who are close to completing their doctorate, as well as to academics who completed a doctorate within the last five years.
ENZ will support the New Zealand institutions involved to fund the costs and living stipend for New Zealand researchers to travel to Germany, while their German counterparts will be funded by the DAAD. ENZ would match the contribution from local institutions to a maximum of NZ$12,500 per year per project. Projects would normally be funded for two years.
New Zealand-German Academic Partnership Event
ENZ will host a virtual New Zealand-German academic partnership event on 23 February 2022, from 8:00-9:00 am New Zealand Time (22 February, 20:00-21:00 pm CET). This will be an opportunity for New Zealand and German institutions to learn more about the programme, share their ideas and identify opportunities for joint research projects. The call for proposals opens on 6 April 2022 for the funding period from 2023-2025. Those interested in attending the partnership event can register here.
The exchange agreement was signed in Berlin on 25 November 2021 and builds on our strong education and science links with Germany. It was one of the key actions arising from a visit to Germany in January 2020 by a delegation from New Zealand’s Centres of Research Excellence, led by ENZ’s Chief Executive Grant McPherson.
For more information on the DAAD's PPP programme or the partnership event please contact ENZ’s Market Development Manager Europe, Olga Elli, at olga.elli@enz.govt.nz
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New Zealand top of the world in university sustainability stewardship
New Zealand universities have come out on top of the world for sustainability stewardship in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024.
New Zealand universities’ approach to sustainability and equality has been announced as world-leading by Times Higher Education (THE) in its most recent Impact Rankings (2024). The stewardship rankings saw New Zealand score an average of 85.3 to come out ahead of Australia (84.4) and Hong Kong (81.9). All eight New Zealand universities participated in the rankings.
Now in its sixth year, the Impact Rankings is the only ranking system in the world that measures universities’ contributions to the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals (UN SDG’s). The Rankings assess the commitment made by universities to sustainability across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching.
In topping the table for sustainability stewardship, New Zealand’s universities have scored well against indicators such as tracking food waste and having sustainable food choices on campus (SDG 2), the proportion of senior female academics (SDG 5), having water reuse policies and measurements (SDG 6), ensuring energy efficiency with renovations of buildings (SDG 7), and guaranteeing a living wage (SDG 8).
New Zealand universities also came second equal in the world against sustainability outreach, meaning high scores were achieved for contributing to policies addressing poverty (SDG 1), collaborating with health institutions (SDG 3), providing programmes for the local community to learn about energy efficiency (SDG 7), participating in cooperative planning for climate change disasters (SDG 13), and providing expert advice to government (SDG 16).
ENZ’s Acting Chief Executive Dr Linda Sissons welcomed the results and said the global recognition for New Zealand’s universities working hard to make a positive impact in the face of pressing environmental and social challenges world-wide was significant.
“New Zealand’s education system is guided by Kaitiakitanga (the Māori concept of guardianship). This principle instils a deep sense of connection to our land and a commitment to ensuring its health and vitality for future generations.
"Kaitiakitanga informs the approach taken by our universities to resource management, conservation, and sustainable development that all contribute to the UN’s SDGs particularly in the areas of food security, bioenergy, sustainable urban development, and climate change,” said Dr Sissons.
Dr Sissons added “It is incredibly positive to have our approach to sustainability stewardship and outreach recognised as world leading. This is particularly important to us as we know that students around the globe are increasingly prioritising environmental and social responsibility and choosing to study at institutions that align with their personal values.”
In this year's Impact Rankings, a record 2,152 universities from 125 countries/regions were assessed. Progress is measured for each of the individual 17 SDGs, and across the goals as a whole. View the full Impact Rankings 2024 results here.
Top countries/regions for sustainability stewardship in THE’s Impact Rankings 2024
Country/region
Number of ranked universities
Average stewardship score
New Zealand
8
85.3
Australia
21
84.4
Hong Kong
5
81.9
Ireland
8
81.4
Canada
24
80.5
United Kingdom
68
79.7
United States
46
69.1
South Korea
24
67.9
Belgium
5
65.2
Netherlands
6
64.5
Note: Table only includes nations with five or more ranked universities. Credit: Times Higer Education Rankings 2024
Top countries/regions for sustainability outreach in THE’s Impact Rankings 2024
Country/region
Number of ranked universities
Average stewardship score
Hong Kong
5
81.4
New Zealand
8
80.4
Canada
24
80.4
Australia
21
80
Ireland
8
76.4
United Kingdom
68
75.6
Belgium
5
71.9
Germany
8
68.1
South Korea
24
67.9
Netherlands
6
66.2
Note: Table only includes nations with five or more ranked universities. Credit: Times Higer Education Rankings 2024
For further information
Stephanie Morison, Senior Communications Advisor,
Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao
Stephanie.Morison@enz.govt.nz | +64223020104
Notes to Editors:
About Education New Zealand (ENZ) https://www.enz.govt.nz/
Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) is the government agency dedicated to helping Aotearoa New Zealand realise the social, cultural, and economic benefits of international education. Our role is to promote New Zealand as a high-quality education destination offering excellent education and students experiences and to encourage New Zealand students to study overseas.
With approximately 110 staff in 16 locations around the world, ENZ works closely with New Zealand’s diverse education sector which includes schools, English language providers, Private Training Establishments, Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (Te Pūkenga), and universities. Internationally, we work with a range of education stakeholders, including government agencies and education providers to identify and encourage sustainable growth opportunities for New Zealand’s education sector.
