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• World-class fusion cuisine and culinary skills at Viet Nam gala dinner

  The three teams, each consisting of two Vietnamese and two New Zealand students, showcased their culinary skills on stage in front of 170 guests, including New Zealand Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Steven Joyce.

  The event was the outcome of two months’ hard work for the three teams, who initially worked together online to develop their menus under the guidance of culinary mentor and 2013 MasterChef New Zealand finalist, Vanessa Baxter. The teams met face-to-face in Ho Chi Minh City on 3 June, and then spent the following three days visiting Vietnamese markets to collect their fresh local produce before finalising their menus at the Caravalle Hotel kitchen.

  At the gala dinner, the guests were treated to a selection of dishes from the students’ three-course fusion menus. Meanwhile, the three official judges – Haike Manning, New Zealand Ambassador to Viet Nam; Le Xuan Tam, Executive Chef, Caravelle Hotel and Brendon Partridge, Executive Chef, JW Marriott Hanoi – sampled all of the student’s dishes throughout the evening.

  Decision making was tough and competition was high. Team 1 narrowly missed coming first, and Team 2 won the guest vote.

  Minister Joyce announced Team 3 as the overall winner. Their braised lamb shanks with pickled cabbage, potato rosti and reduced jus proved most popular. This team included Jamin Gibson (Auckland University of Technology), Emma Waser (Otago Polytechnic), Phan Văn Lâm (Viet Giao Tourism School), and Nguyễn Ngọc Quân (VATEL International Business School Hotel & Tourism Management).

  

  “It is so amazing that we won the competition,” said Emma Waser. “We gelled so well as a team throughout the whole competition but we worked especially well together on the night.

  “We had to delve into each other’s cultures and traditions to come up with our fusion menu. I have learned how important it is to mix it up – to use different flavours and borrow from other traditions and cuisines. 

  “It has been amazing to come to Viet Nam and see what else is out there in the world – to find out more about different cultures, different people and different food.”

  Said Jamin: “I have really enjoyed the food, the friendliness of the people and their hospitality. I definitely want to return to Viet Nam with my wife.”

  Nguyễn Ngọc Quân enjoyed learning how to cook lamb the Kiwi way. “I learned to cook lamb the way that is more traditional in New Zealand. Typically the Vietnamese dislike the smell of lamb but our slow cook method and flavours in the lamb shank proved really popular.

  “I admired my New Zealand team mates’ techniques and knowledge as well as their ability to think innovatively and creatively,” he said.

  The gala dinner was the result of the New Zealand – Viet Nam Culinary Collaboration, an initiative that came out of the New Zealand – Viet Nam Strategic Plan on Education signed in November 2015. The plan is designed to deepen the level of engagement between the two countries and enrich students’ learning.

  “The New Zealand – Viet Nam Culinary Collaboration is yet another example of the growing education relationship between our two countries,” said ENZ Chief Executive, Grant McPherson.

  “While it has been fantastic to see the outstanding teamwork between the students, the gala dinner was also an opportunity to showcase New Zealand institutions’ vocational expertise and our education system’s world-renowned practical application of skills which prepare students for the working world.”

  Grant emphasised that everyone involved in the collaboration was a winner.

  

  Team 1 included Ryan Prouting (Ara, Institute of Canterbury), Tuainekore Taringa (NZMA), Trịnh Xuân Hoàng (Viet Giao Tourism School), and Nguyen Thuy Tra Giang (VATEL International Business School Hotel & Tourism Management).

  Team 2 included Ella Ritson-Jones (Southern Institute of Technology), Jamie Bell (Wellington Institute of Technology), Dương Nhật Huy (Viet Giao Tourism School) and Phan Trong Bao Chau (VATEL International Business School Hotel & Tourism Management).

• Think New in translation

  The Brand Lab online marketing toolkit run by Education New Zealand (ENZ) for industry users now includes over 200 individual pieces of marketing material in these languages: Chinese, Thai, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese. 

  That means there are translated versions of 11 posters, 3 brochures, various advertisement templates and the ‘New Zealand education story’ videos (subtitled).

  ENZ International Marketing Director Rachel Winkel says the translations truly internationalise the Think New brand, introduced in 2013. 

  “The brand and its supporting materials were designed to better promote New Zealand education internationally. The idea behind developing these resources is to build awareness of New Zealand education internationally – who we are and what we offer as a country – which paves the way for you to introduce your school, university, business or institution and its distinctive strengths in more detail.”

  Rachel Winkel says the translation project was “quite a big” undertaking that is expected to markedly strengthen the value of the free marketing toolkit to industry users. 

  “The Brand Lab is already proving really useful to education organisations. We have over 1,100 registered users now, and that is steadily rising every month, along with the number of downloads of materials from the site.

  “It is great to see lots of the ‘Think New’ material in use at fairs and in other recent marketing initiatives by industry – it means we are building a shared foundation of awareness of New Zealand as a ‘go to’ education destination.”  

  Having translated material available was the obvious next step for The Brand Lab, she says. 

  “It’s all about making it easy for education institutions and agents to reach out to audiences in their own languages.”

  Phase two of the translation project is underway, involving the creation of digital assets for different markets, in the form of web banners in a range of popular sizes.

  The Brand Lab use is free for organisations involved in New Zealand international education. 

  You can access the translated marketing collateral, as well as the existing English versions and hundreds of photos, on The Brand Lab.

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• Hong Kong happenings

  Regional Director for Greater China Alexandra Grace reports Hong Kong has recently received heightened attention from Education New Zealand’s China team, particularly following Secretary for Education Peter Hughes’ visit with a sizeable delegation last October. Minister Steven Joyce also met with Hong Kong’s Secretary for Education Eddie Ng in Wellington in March (at the time of the International Summit on the Teaching Profession), and education was also discussed during the Prime Minister’s visit to Hong Kong in March – the first visit by a New Zealand head of government since 2006.

  Discussions between Minister Joyce and Secretary Ng focused on ‘doing more in education’, including sister-school relationships, study abroad options in New Zealand for Hong Kong students, and joint programmes between education providers. 

  In addition to these high-level discussions, officials have been working closely together on the ground. This includes a delegation from the Hong Kong Education Bureau visiting New Zealand to learn about school-based management, and a formalised arrangement between the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the Hong Kong Education Bureau for the development of qualifications frameworks. This sits alongside a broader education cooperation arrangement between our Ministry of Education and the Bureau. 

  On the profile-raising and student recruitment front, Guangzhou-based Education Manager, Felix Ye, attended a key education and careers expo in February. Enrolments at New Zealand education institutions by Hong Kong students have dropped in recent years – a trend also reported by Australia, which ascribes the decrease to the high exchange rate. Immigration New Zealand worked alongside Felix at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Education and Careers Expo (800 exhibitors from 18 countries)  – providing a ‘one stop shop’ for students inquiring about study and employment options. 

  Felix reports many of the students were seeking study opportunities that included internships and other employment options. “Their inquiries reflect a broader interest expressed by students across Greater China and is a key driver that New Zealand institutions will need to address.”

  The China team will be talking further with the Hong Kong Education Bureau and Hong Kong education providers about opportunities for stepped-up collaboration. Alexandra Grace also says they will be doing more work to raise awareness of New Zealand education in the market: “people need to know about us to consider us, and awareness is not currently that high in Hong Kong”.

  She adds the team would be glad to hear from New Zealand institutions about their relationships in Hong Kong, and how they would like to strengthen and expand these -- email china@enz.govt.nz.

  You can see the wider overall China market overview here.