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• Tauranga welcomes over 770 international students

  Anne Young, Regional Manager of Education Tauranga, said it has run a welcome ceremony for new international students for many years but due to space restrictions of venues, this has previously only included a select group of 200 participants.

  “This year we wanted to include all students to show the whole Bay of Plenty community how large our international student cohort is. We secured a large convention space (850 seats) and invited all of our new students to the welcome!”

  The new students, who range from five years old to tertiary students in their twenties, and represent 25 countries, were treated to dance and musical performances from Indian, Chinese and Korean cultural groups, as well as a rousing kapa haka performance from Tauranga Intermediate’s Te Whanau o Te Maro.

  A number of speakers were also on hand to welcome them, including a representative from Immigration New Zealand and Mayor of Tauranga city, Greg Brownless. Mayor Brownless shared his own personal connection with the international community through his Taiwanese wife and children, and said it was great to see so many students from different countries in the region.

  “You help bring the world to our doorstep, you teach our Kiwi students about your life, your country and your culture. This is so important as we grow the values of global citizenship amongst our community,” he said.

  Anne said it was a very important event for the region.

  “We not only want to ensure our international students feel welcome as they embark on their study journey but also showcase the many people across many organisations within our region who are here to support them and ensure that they have a positive experience here.”

  It can be particularly daunting for primary school families to send young students overseas for school, so Education Tauranga runs a special welcome tour for them.

  Held over two days, children and their parents were treated to a powhiri, complete with a chance to mingle over morning tea. They then had a taste of Kiwi cultural activities such as visits to local sites, eating fish ‘n chips and lessons in harakeke (flax weaving).

  “It was clear that the international families were impressed – they were smiling and snapping photos to share with family back home,” said Anne.

  

   

  

• Introducing Tohu, the Study in New Zealand chatbot

  Jamie Crump, ENZ’s Director Business Planning, says Tohu was designed to help prospective students on SiNZ, answering their questions in a trusted, fast and friendly way.

  “The goal for Tohu is to be a virtual assistant for the New Zealand international education sector by helping answer enquiries from students considering New Zealand 24/7.”

  Jamie says currently Tohu can answer more than 300 questions about studying in New Zealand, but this grows with each interaction. While Tohu can only speak English, it is learning other languages, such as Mandarin, in order to service students more comfortable in their native tongue.

  “Themore people that chat with it, the more it learns, making its artificial intelligence smarter every day.

  “Already we’re seeing trends in commonly asked questions, including how to get a scholarship, how to get a student visa, and how to apply to study, and about New Zealand culture and the cost of study.”

  The name Tohu means ‘to advise or provide guidance’ and ‘to be a sign or landmark’ while its appearance is a nod to the word Aotearoa – ‘land of the long white cloud’.

  While Tohu currently lives on the SiNZ website, it will soon answer Messenger questions on the SiNZ Facebook page too.

  ENZ’s next steps are to connect Tohu with ENZ’s database marketing programme and enable it to answer questions on NauMai NZ.

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• From the CE: Our focus for the next 12 months

  Kia ora tātou, 

  "To help providers of international education to build back onshore offerings" is Focus Area One of the New Zealand International Education Strategy. There are nine key short-term actions in Focus Area One. Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao is the lead Government agency in four actions and has an important role to play in eight of the nine. It can be no surprise then that for the next 12 months, and our next financial year starting in June, that the majority of ENZ's energy, time and resources will be focused on attracting learners to study with New Zealand. 

  This is no small challenge. Our borders have been open now for just eight months. And while students are returning, the latest visa application numbers I've seen report in the order of 43,000 applications (offshore and onshore), the recovery is variable at best. Even within the university sector, that on the face of it looks to have recovered better than others, the experience is mixed. Within the PTEs and English Language schools we have a long way to go to reach the levels of 2019 and early 2020. In such a highly competitive market, it is going to take some time to regain awareness with learners and overcome the head start other countries gained. 

  All our budgets are tight. At the very time we need to be investing and getting offshore to renew partnerships and networks, we are all resource-constrained and having to watch every cent. ENZ is no exception. 

  This means that for the next 12 months, more than ever, we need to focus. We need to focus our limited resources to where they have the greatest impact, and we need to be aligned as one with the sector. 

  India is an excellent example of a partner market that is worthy of focus. I have just returned from leading an ENZ delegation to India. India is forecasting economic growth of 6-7% every year for the next three to five years. They know, and their national education strategy makes it clear, they need educated, skilled and talented people to realise this opportunity. I repeatedly heard, "They want their people back".

  That five Deputy Vice Chancellors joined the 23 sector representatives tells you how important India is. As one of the five said to me, "India today is what China was 15 years ago".

  To be successful we need to agree that India is important. It is. We need to go there together. We will. We also need to work with our colleagues in other Government agencies to ensure they are aligned. This is what success looks like for me. And this is the level of focus on building back, and the level of partnership with the sector, that I expect from my ENZ teams over the next 12 months.

  I will also work with them to secure the many gains we have made in government-to-government relationships, scholarships, diversity, equity, and inclusion, social licence, and in building a sustainable future. All the good work of the past two years remains important for the long-term future, set out in Focus Area Two: Building a new future for international education. 

  We are all very passionate about international education and its ability to transform lives. In 2023/24 when the sector is stronger than today, all of us will be better placed to address the short term and the medium to long term. Today our focus must be the immediate needs.

  He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te waka

  A choppy sea can be navigated

  This proverb acknowledges the changing and challenging environment that we currently find ourselves in and how it can be navigated by collaboration and innovation.

  Ngā mihi nui,

  Grant McPherson