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  • ENZ Marketing Calendar

  • Smart cities and AI technology key focus for KIWI Challenge 2023

    The competition is designed to inspire youth across Indonesia to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities that address societal issues.

    The 2023 theme is “Reforming Indonesia’s mobility and smart cities using AI technology”.

    Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) organises the competition in collaboration with a New Zealand university and Kopi Tuli (Deaf Cafe), a deaf community in Jakarta. This year, ENZ is partnering up with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) to co-host the initiative.

    School groups are required to submit video entries to a judging panel made up of AUT academics and ENZ representatives. Submissions are reviewed by the panel and finalists selected. The students will then be supported through a number of workshops and mentoring by the AUT academics.  

    The participating academic from AUT is Senior Lecturer International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Dr Taghreed Hikmet, who has expertise in smart cities and is passionate about mentoring and inspiring young future leaders. She has had close involvement in multiple programmes like YES, where she mentored young entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas. 

    Dr Hikmet says she is honoured to be involved this year.   

    “It is a delight to have the opportunity to inspire Indonesian students to think creatively about what the future can look like. The development of smart cities is about improving sustainability, creating opportunities for economic development and enhancing the quality of life for people, I’m looking forward to seeing the ideas students put forward,” she says. 

    ENZ Director Asia Ben Burrowes says that this initiative showcases New Zealand’s world-class education and academics in a meaningful way. 

    “Now entering its fourth year, KIWI Challenge has grown into a unique platform for New Zealand and our top academics to remain connected to Indonesian students in a way that is in touch with what matters to them. We continue to work with partners in Indonesia to identify the themes that resonate with students” he says.

    The winners of the competition will be announced on Saturday 25 November, the top three groups will be awarded vouchers worth IDR 2,000,000 – 10,000,000. 

    To date, the competition has attracted more than 1,000 Indonesian students through the programme and each year has showcased a New Zealand university and a particular theme. Previous university partners were Massey University (Tourism), Lincoln University (Agribusiness) and the University of Canterbury (Education Technology).  

  • NZ EdTech’s taking a diversified and leading message to the Australian digital education market

    ENZ had a stand at NZTE’s pavilion with six of the eight EdTech who had expressed an interest in attending EduTech as part of an ENZ delegaton, showcasing their products alongside NZTE’s five customers. The companies in the ENZ delegation included Pacific Kids' Learning, Nutriblocks, PipiLearning, Jix Reality,  PolyMath and Code Avengers and the Student Volunteer Army were also part of the wider ENZ delegation. This diverse group of technology providers from K-12 to Vocational Training and Education (VET) and Higher Education (HE) provide a range of digital education solutions including numeracy, literacy, financial literacy, STEM, programmes for neuro diverse learners, Pacific based and culturally responsive digital tools, immersive digital education experiences and health and wellbeing educational games.

    PolyMath Co-Founders Sophie and Christian Silver (second and third from left) talking with attendees at their EduTech Melbourne 2023 stand.

    ENZ’s participation supports Focus Area Two of the New Zealand International Education Strategy which is to ‘Build a new international education future’. In taking NZ EdTech offshore, ENZ’s goal is to show how Aotearoa New Zealand is leading in education innovation while also helping NZ EdTech companies explore and understand the export opportunity in Australia in a low-risk and low-cost way.

    ENZ’s Business Development Manager | Kaiwhakawhanake Pakihi, Alana Pellow, said that having a stand on NZTE’s pavilion gave ENZ’s delegation profile and extra visibility during the Expo. This included the opportunity to promote their products, a presentation slot to pitch their products, visibility of their collateral and the opportunity to engage with expo attendees over the two days of the event.

    “All six EdTechs on our stand generated a total of 80 prospective customer and partner leads, with one company signing a contract with a local university while there.

    “All met with decisions makers and government education officials, explored opportunities to partner with other NZ EdTechs and refined their thinking and business planning on the opportunities presented by the Australian market. They all referenced the significant value of being ‘in market.’”

    Nutriblocks Co-Founder Dr Claudia Leong and Tech Programme Developer Tim Kern presenting at EduTech Melbourne 2023.

    ENZ also sponsored the NZTE networking dinner for the combined 13 EdTech businesses. Invited guests included representatives from the Victorian Department of Education and Training, Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals, Matterworks/Board Director and the NSW Department of Education. Both Education Departments set the scene for the education technology landscape in NSW and Victoria and the journey both states are on in digital adapting and adopting specifically in K-12. 

    ENZ also supported giving broader visibility of Aotearoa New Zealand’s expertise in digital education and secured two speaker sessions for the EduTech VET conference stream.  Norie Ape, Digital Product Manager for Te Pūkenga, presented on ‘Collaborative Innovation: Transforming Vocational Education through Technology and Work Based Learning’ while Elizabeth Asbury, Director of Pipi Learning  also spoke on ‘Cultural responsive and designed for neurodiversity in the Vocational Education and Training sector’. Both sessions were well attended and Norie and Elizabeth have been approached for further discussions involving contracting their EdTech services.

    Norie said it was a huge privilege to spend time together connecting on our shared passion for better outcomes for our learners, employers, and our colleagues.

    “We had two incredible days of meeting, learning, and collaborating in person with awesome humans using Tech 4 Good in Melbourne.  Time now to recover and setup all those post conference connections to further the new relationships forged and consider how to embed new ways of collaboration in and beyond.’’

    Norie Ape, Digital Product Manager for Te Pūkenga (second from left) with Code Avengers Founder, Hamish Day (far right) and Bradley Hansen (left) plus Karl de Borst (second from right) of Amazon Web Services.

    At the conclusion of EduTech Melbourne 2023, Alana shared here top three takeaways from the conference.  

    “Firstly, nothing beats being on the ground in market, to understand the needs of educators and the opportunity that exists. 

    “Secondly, there is power in the collective ‘we’ when Aotearoa New Zealand turns up en masse, in market. Collaborating and having deep relationships with other NZ Inc agencies adds greater support to the sector and provides one door to our government, truly putting the customer at the centre. 

    “My last takeaway is how the Australian education ecosystem is embracing all that technology offers without throwing learners or indeed educators to the kerb. We could learn more from our Australian education colleagues and how they are using digital to create competitive advantage that supports their international education success alongside building their domestic market citizens ‘fit for future’ capability”, said Alana.  

    Next stop for NZ EdTech companies with ENZ is EduTech Asia in Singapore this November. Any NZ EdTech and Education publisher companies or education providers looking to be involved in education technology related Conferences and Expos can contact Alana Pellow on alana.pellow@enz.govt.nz    

  • International photo round-up 

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  • Lincoln visit (1)

  • New Zealand-trained astrophysicist receives top honour in Malaysia

    She was awarded the prestigious Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia, by Sultan Abdullah at his annual Honours ceremony. It carries the title of Tan Sri, one of the highest federal titles, and is only held concurrently by 250 living recipients. 

    Dr Othman studied physics at the University of Otago in the 1970s and returned for post-graduate study in the 1980s, becoming the first woman to graduate from the university with a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics. She then went on to forge a remarkable career in the male-dominated space industry.  

    Colombo Plan Scholar 

    Dr Othman came to New Zealand on a Colombo Plan scholarship. The Plan, a forerunner to our modern development assistance programmes, aimed to promote economic and social development in Asia through education and training.  

    Having fallen in love with physics as a teenager in the 1960s, Dr Othman didn’t discover astronomy or astrophysics until she arrived in Dunedin to study for her PhD in 1974.   

    “There were very few books available at that time and there was not much interest here in Malaysia, but it was very different in New Zealand,” she says. “Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon in 1969 was a very significant event, but I didn’t think at that time that I would have space as a career. Not in a million years.” 

    Studying in New Zealand opened a world of opportunity for the young, Muslim scholar. Not only did she make a career in the space industry, but she became a leading authority, being appointed the Director of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs in 1999, and the founding director of Malaysia’s National Space Agency in 2002. 

    She acknowledges it has been challenging at times. “It’s been a hard road because I’ve had to start everything from scratch. There was no set path to get to where I am today.” 

    Working to promote science and technology 

    She says her role at the UN was less about science, and more about diplomacy and politics. “How to balance one country’s requirements against another’s. Bringing people to the table together, even if they don’t agree, to try and agree on how to proceed. The other aspect of the job was to see how we could use space to enhance the development of developing countries, especially in science and technology.” 

    It is mostly her work at home for which she has been recognised by the King. As Malaysia’s first astrophysicist, Dr Othman was instrumental in introducing astronomy and space sciences into school and university curricula, advised the Government on space matters, was the driving force behind the National Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur, initiated the country’s National Microsatellite Programme, and headed Mega Science 3.0, the ambitious project to transform Malaysia into leading global player in science and innovation by 2050. 

    Justice and fairness in New Zealand education  

    But it all started as an international student in New Zealand, a time Dr Othman remembers as being both liberating and rewarding. “I particularly loved the egalitarian environment of the university, and that reflected wider New Zealand society.”  

    “There will always be a role for New Zealand in supporting education internationally through its cultural perspective on science,” she says. “There is no hierarchy in New Zealand science – professors treat their students as equals and encourage them to challenge and ask questions. That approach has stayed with me through my career. 

    “New Zealand education also instils a deep sense of justice and fairness.”  – Malaysia alumna and astrophysicist Dr Mazlan Othman. 

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