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An update from ENZ’s international teams
Instead, they’ve been taking proactive steps to support and connect with the international education sector safely, in line with local COVID-19 restrictions.
Communicating with stakeholders
For ENZ, ensuring the wellbeing of international students who remain in New Zealand over this lockdown period is a key priority. A factsheet outlining New Zealand’s support for international students has been developed and translated into the languages of key priority markets.
Our teams overseas have been communicating with a range of stakeholders from local government and institutions to providers and agents, and in some cases directly to students and parents to ensure they have the latest information.
ENZ staff have been recommending students enrol on NauMai NZ and asking international partners to pass SafeTravel information on to New Zealand students they may have on campus.
The International team is able to tap into these networks for market-specific insights to help inform the New Zealand international education industry’s next steps during this rapidly-evolving and unprecedented situation.
Anecdotally, the response in New Zealand has been well received overseas. New Zealand’s proactive approach to communications has been noted by partners.
Doing it digital
For our teams offshore, fairs, conferences and other international education events have had to be cancelled or postponed. As a result, they’ve ramped up their online activities.
To share best practice advice and take advantage of the pause in promotional activity, they’ve developed educational webinars for sector stakeholders.
1. On 24 March, ENZ Market Development Manager Shelly Xu teamed up with the General Manager of UMS (a China media specialist agency), Jordi Du, to deliver a webinar for New Zealand international education staff on Chinese social media. Over 30 people attended.
The Chinese digital space looks very different to ours. The platforms WeChat and Weibo rule, rather than Facebook and Twitter. Shelly and Jordi aimed to demystify Chinese platforms by taking providers through the Chinese social landscape and discussing what kind of posts would stand out to their target audiences.
2. On 17 March, ENZ Team India delivered a webinar especially for Indian agents and counsellors focused on business courses available in New Zealand.
An incredible 177 people tuned in to hear from ENZ staff as well as guest speakers: Associate Professor Lincoln Wood from University of Otago; Dr Jens Mueller from Massey University; Ashish Suri from The University of Waikato and Andrea McLeod-Karim from Victoria University of Wellington.
3. On 16 April, Senior Market Development Manager for Chile and Colombia, Javiera Visedo, was the guest on a Facebook Live session with the Blue Studies agency (who have over 21,000 followers) for the Latin America Spanish-speaking audience.
She also presented at Colfuturo (a Colombian scholarship-loan non-profit organisation) for a Study in New Zealand webinar on 17 April. This week, she will participate in a virtual fair organised by Colombian agency Estudiar.
For the chance to attend future webinars, keep an eye on E-News and the ENZ LinkedIn and Twitter pages.
Beginning to test market sentiment
As ENZ moves into the next phase of supporting the international sector, a new priority for our international teams is testing market sentiment.
For example, a survey was sent out to agents in Spanish-speaking markets in March. Of the 18 responses received, most of the agents have English language students in New Zealand and 68 percent are from Colombia. The agents set out their students’ main concerns at the moment: work situation while studying, uncertainty of the global situation, and visa expiration.
This fits with what we are hearing across all markets – agents and other institutional partners need information about New Zealand’s response to the current situation.
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From Russia to New Zealand: "I've lived two different lives"
Home was Petropavlovks-Kamchatsy, on the far eastern seaboard of Russia, almost 7000km from Moscow, and the decision to leave was a relatively spontaneous one. “The whole experience was pretty surreal.”
He was introduced to the possibility of an education experience in New Zealand by ACG (Academic Colleges Group), which held a fair in his hometown back in 2008. “I had never heard of them visiting Russia before, let alone my hometown as it’s so remote.”
Andrey admits that at the time he wasn’t keen to stay on in Russia and “jumped at the opportunity” to come to New Zealand for a six-month stint in Year 13 at ACG Parnell College.
“Looking back on it, I really wanted to go somewhere far from home and different. I placed all my hope on it being a better place and it turned out that it was. That internal drive to explore took over and I followed my intuition.”
Student life provides connections
Having improved his English, Andrey went on to study for his Bachelor of Commerce in finance and economics at the University of Auckland, where he found his tribe. “Life in Russia did not resonate with me in the way that life in New Zealand did,” he says. “I think what was missing for me at home was the kind of openness and connectivity which is so apparent here.”
Coming to New Zealand I was exposed to other people’s perspectives and backgrounds, and I really connected with that.
"I felt a sense of belonging and that I could be who I am without judgement. Breaking away from being expected to fit a certain mould at home was a big thing for me.”
With new-found confidence and his degree completed, Andrey travelled the world on modelling contracts before “returning to the original plan” and establishing a career in e-commerce and project management.
And he has the perfect credentials for his current role at The Mind Lab, helping to launch Mission New Zealand, an online education portal aimed at international students. “It provides short courses and micro-credentials as a taster of what education in New Zealand is like and what it can provide. It’s a full circle moment for me.”
Mission New Zealand highlights what makes an education experience in Aotearoa unique through the lens of creativity, sustainability, tech innovation, and culture. “I think it puts us on the map in terms of global education.”
Looking back, Andrey says he would have loved the opportunity to access a platform like this as a student travelling to a foreign country, “to really get an understanding of what it’s like on the ground”. He says he is excited to see what impact Mission New Zealand can have.
Life-changing move
The decision to leave Russia for New Zealand has been life-changing for Andrey. He is now a citizen and knows his future lies here. “There is so much social and career mobility here and that’s exciting for me.”
He arrived determined to carve out a new path in life and he has certainly achieved that. “I have grown into a person who is more confident and assured, and not afraid to explore new opportunities.”
He now has plans to explore and better understand the significance of te ao Māori. “I want to immerse myself in that space. I love that in New Zealand there is more than one way of seeing the world. It is so important that there is an alternative perspective,” he says.
“I would like to get a deeper understanding of the tenets of te ao Māori, to see the challenges we are facing and the potential solutions through a different lens.”
His advice to students considering coming to New Zealand is to get fully immersed in the culture “and absorb it all”. “Don’t come to recreate what you had at home. If you do, you’ll miss huge opportunity for personal growth.”
Andrey says his life now looks nothing like his old life. “It’s like I’ve lived two different lives.” And he’s not done yet.
“Coming to New Zealand has drastically changed how I view myself in the world,” he says.“ Through international education you realise that your actions do matter, that you do have the potential to make a real impact. You start seeing yourself as an individual in a connected system.”
“Keep exploring is my motto for the future.”
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Around the world in five
AUSTRALIA
Australia to consider July entry for international students
International students may be the first cohort of international travellers that will be exempt from Australia’s current travel ban according to the latest three-step process for exiting lockdown that PM Scott Morrison has outlined.
GLOBAL
Early lessons from moving ELT online: start with what makes your school special
Students – and agents as well – are now faced with a wide range of new online language programmes, and are still measuring the quality of instruction and student experience on offer.
CANADA
Canada: new flexible post-grad work rules
Canada’s government has announced “flexible” post-graduation work permit rules for international students studying at a distance, while individual institutions have introduced millions of dollars in support funds to help students struggling financially as a response to Covid-19.
JAPAN
COVID-19 hits student finances, amid calls for wider reforms
Many students in Japan have been forced to give up university studies for financial reasons, after the country’s coronavirus emergency and lockdown resulted in the loss of part-time jobs and problems with family income.
CHINA
China's top universities cancel entrance exams for overseas students
Universities in China have begun canceling entrance examinations for overseas students, citing coronavirus concerns, as the central city of Wuhan reported a new cluster of cases for the first time since its lockdown was lifted.
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Agents key to NZ’s international education recovery
Education agents have been playing a crucial role in ensuring that international students and their parents have accurate information about the impact of COVID-19 on New Zealand. Many international students will approach their agent for support and advice, ahead of their study provider.
Looking ahead, agents will play an even more important role in the recovery of our international education sector and visibility of New Zealand as a study destination.
ENZ’s General Manager – Partnerships & Marketing, Paul Irwin, says our partnerships with education agents will be essential for the international education sector’s recovery.
“Education agents play an important role in students’ New Zealand education experience and are key information sources for both prospective and current international students. In most cases, they are the main interface between international education providers and students. Working with agents is a significant focus for ENZ and most providers as part of our COVID-19 recovery phase.”
This view is shared by the sector. For example, at a recent SIEBA (Schools International Education Business Association) webinar, 77 percent of participating SIEBA members said recognised that education agents would be more important to the sector through the post COVID-19 recovery phase, while 33 percent said agents would be important.
In response to COVID-19, ENZ has upped the frequency of communications and engagement with agents have the information they need to advise current and future students and their families.
A key tool is AgentLab, ENZ’s special resource for education agents. Over 3500 agents around the world are registered to use AgentLab. It supports agents with regular COVID-19 updates, and a dedicated COVID-19 FAQs section to answer agent queries.
In addition ENZ has held 11 well-attended COVID-19-specific webinars since February, reaching over 2000 agents. Topics have included measures taken by New Zealand in response to COVID-19, the importance of education agents in a post COVID-19 world and a Schools sector update on the support available to international students during this time.
Agents also receive a fortnightly update from ENZ’s Chief Executive Grant McPherson, and a monthly electronic newsletter to ENZ’s 305 Recognised Agencies.
Agents are also supported with market-specific webinars and live social interactions by ENZ’s internationally based teams, who are the first point of engagement for overseas agents.
ENZ’s Manager – Education Agents, Geneviève Rousseau Cung, education agents are highly engaged with COVID-19-specific resources and communications to date.
“We have seen 1081 new education agents register on AgentLab since late March (when New Zealand moved to lockdown under Alert Level 4). This is a huge 30 percent increase in registered agents in just seven weeks.
“We are seeing high attendance for our COVID-19 specific agent webinars, which have emerged as one of our key communication channels with agents as they facilitate direct interactions and let us respond to a range of market-specific queries.”
Agent webinars are also a good opportunity for to run quick polls to measure agent sentiment on key topics.
In a recent webinar, poll results showed that the perception of New Zealand’s COVID-19 response in agents’ countries or regions was overwhelmingly positive (84 percent). Just over 51 percent of agent participants said that their prospective students (with an offer of place to New Zealand institutions) were willing to defer their start date to 2021 (and 38 percent were undecided as yet).
“At such a critical, unprecedented time, it’s great to see education agents playing a crucial role in ensuring that international students and their parents have access to the necessary information and advice regarding COVID-19,” Geneviève says.
ENZ is planning a series of webinars involving ENZ teams, other New Zealand government agencies and the international education sector. If you would like the ENZ team to engage with you regarding a potential agent webinar, please get in touch with us at agenthelp@enz.govt.nz.
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