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  • Education features at Mayoral Forum

    Held at Te Papa in Wellington, the forum comprised business seminars, “matching” sessions and presentations from notable authorities including Sir Richard Taylor – all interwoven with banquets, cultural performances and a welcoming powhiri.

    Ten Mayors and Vice Mayors from China and 38 New Zealand Mayors attended.

    Charles Finny, Chair of the ENZ Board and moderator of the Education Exchanges, said the forum was a great way to put key insights in front of New Zealand regions seeking partnerships with China.

    “This forum is now a well-established part of our New Zealand – Chinese partnership and provides a useful platform for regions to advance their education objectives in China,” he said.

    “Chinese Mayors hold overall responsibility for education in their regions, so the forum was an opportunity to connect them with New Zealand regions, and to show them the strength and consistency across New Zealand’s education system.”

    Education featured on both days of the forum. This included an ENZ-led breakout session for some 50 delegates, during which panellists Jason Cushen (University of Otago), Michael O’Shaughnessy (Massey University), Jan Fitz-Gerald (Institute of Global Engagement) and Dan Milward (Gamefroot) spoke about innovation in New Zealand education before an engaging Q&A session with the audience.

    In addition, a number of New Zealand and Chinese Mayors and Vice Mayors engaged in formal exchanges, with New Zealand Mayors presenting on education partnerships, sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurialism in their respective regions.

    Ross Fisher, ENZ’s International Market Manager – China, said the variety of presentations was impressive.

    “The presentations provided a fascinating cross-section of the specific initiatives New Zealand regions were championing to prove New Zealand’s standing as a high-quality education provider,” he said.

    “Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese stood out for her particularly insightful articulation of how her region offers ‘holistic education’ opportunities that fuse sustainability with innovation, science and technology, and investment.”

    In turn, Chinese Mayoral representatives presented on their cities’ respective education priorities.

    • Chen Zhiying, Vice Mayor of Guangzhou, highlighted his city’s interest in student exchange, sister-school relationships and vocational education.  
    • Gao Zimin, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, spoke to the city’s priorities for cooperation in higher education, bio and marine science, sister schools, vocational education and opportunities focused specifically on urban development. 
    • Pei Weidong, Mayor of the Municipal Government of Liaoyang City, emphasised Liaoyang’s interest in vocational education, adding that a specific area of interest is modern agricultural education cooperation.

    After a busy two days of bilateral exchanges, a closing banquet at Shed 6 on the Wellington waterfront showcased the capital city.

    The forum was organised by Local Government New Zealand in collaboration with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

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  • New Zealand Geothermal training expertise powers Indonesia's renewables journey

    Indonesia has vast capability to generate geothermal power but has looked to New Zealand to provide targeted technical training in order to capitalise on its natural resources and support its renewables journey.

    For the past three years, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) has been providing that practical training through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s aid programme.

    The programme builds on long-standing relationships with the Indonesian geothermal industry which date back to the 1980s.

    New Zealand boasts an innovative and world-leading workforce

    Geothermal New Zealand Executive Director Mike Allen says Aotearoa New Zealand boasts an innovative and world-leading workforce in geothermal science, engineering, and plant construction, and that there is obvious mutual benefit in sharing our skills and expertise.

    “Students who have undertaken training in New Zealand always have a positive experience and when they return home, they are great ambassadors for us.”

    “The geothermal industry is good at maintaining contact with those who have received New Zealand training, and many of them come back and work in the industry here.”

    Mr Allen says the MFAT aid investment in the renewable energy space has also benefitted New Zealand in consultancy contracts, new business, research collaboration, and valuable long-term relationships. “The training we provide is very good for Brand New Zealand.”

    How Wintec’s international education programme is helping Indonesia

    What Indonesia specifically needed from Wintec’s international education programme was training in practical operational skills for their geothermal technicians and operators.

    Since 2018, Wintec has been working with technical institutes and universities to incorporate practice-based learning into their courses and has also provided staff training directly to the geothermal operators.

    “New Zealand has a strong history of apprenticeships and operator and technician training programmes,” says Jo Douglas, who manages the project for Wintec.

    “We took the raw material from our curriculum and repackaged it to meet their needs. We have been involved in curriculum change, training the trainers, and changing their approach so inquiry-based learning and problem-solving is encouraged. We are delivering technical short courses on a range of subject matter in order to fill skills gaps.”

    The programme has been hugely successful for Wintec. It has provided a range of technical training to over 700 participants. But Covid has forced changes to how the content is delivered.

    Staff developed blended online modules which have seen students doing some online learning and then coming into digital classrooms to observe practical demonstrations by tutors. “We even had a tutor who built a model geothermal cooling tower in his living room and students had to interact with the demonstration online.”

    And it is not only the students who are benefiting. “It gives our tutors the chance to teach in entirely different situations, to take their core knowledge and adapt it to new circumstances and with different expectations. It challenges them and gives them the opportunity to see another perspective.”

    This geothermal education story is one of many instances where New Zealand’s education providers are sharing their research, experience and education expertise with sectors or industries around the world. Facilitated by respective governments, a New Zealand education is helping other governments to help their people by addressing the country’s challenges or opportunities.

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