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International Education Conference reveals new pathways to success
The conference is an annual part of Study Auckland’s international education programme and featured speakers from throughout the industry including Ministry of Education, Education New Zealand, NZQA, The Mindlab, The University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology, Howick College and Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design.
International Education Manager Debbie Chambers says the conference provided some interesting insights and direction for the industry.
“There’s some incredibly exciting things happening in the international education sector in Auckland with more institutions doing innovative things and thinking outside the box than ever before. It was great to be able to share some of these ideas and best practices throughout the day.”
The conference also presented the chance for ATEED to highlight its new structure and focus for international education emphasising the strategic importance of the industry to Auckland.
Part of this work to help grow the sector includes working in conjunction with Education New Zealand’s through its Regional Partnership Programme.
This exciting partnership will see ATEED deliver three key projects:
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Telling the Auckland Story – Pathways to success: ATEED will work with the Futures Group to provide institutions and stakeholders with multi-lingual and multi-media collateral and case studies to enable them to tell Regional Auckland’s education, employment and experiential pathway success stories.
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Enhancing the Student Experience: Facilitate a series of events that help international students, education institutions, and employers to connect and engage in order to match their respective needs
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Building Capability – New Product Development: Increase the capability of Auckland’s international education sector by helping them to identify a particular customer need and then develop a new education, tourism and cultural product, which will then be taken to a specific market to be sold.
Debbie says this year’s event really highlighted what an exciting time is to be working in the international education.
“It was heartening to see the support we have from the sector with such a great turnout of attendees and there was a real buzz throughout the whole day. You could see people were hungry for information, new ideas and ways they could work together and share best practice,” she says.
“It was awesome to have our student ambassadors on stage. Hearing their stories about their lives in Auckland and knowing that their lives have been changed for the better as a result of studying here makes all the work we do worthwhile.”
The Director of Marketing at ACG, Kim Harase, says, “The best Study Auckland Conference to date. It had the right mix of presentations, ranging from government agency updates to industry best practice and student experience. There was something for everyone and the Study Auckland team did an excellent job with the organisation of the event."
Diocesan Director of International Students Simone Clark says, “It was a terrific opportunity to hear from those who are passionate about International Education and appreciate its importance to Auckland. Student satisfaction is key; it is vital that their expectations are met – not only at their chosen educational institution but in their overall experience of Auckland. The panel of current International students and their candid, honest feedback was a highlight for me.”
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Diverse New Zealand experience on show at the symposium on offshore delivery
Dr Rob Griffiths, Programme Director of Occupational and Aviation Medicine at the University of Otago summed up the mood of over 70 participants from across the university, Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITP), Private Training Establishments (PTE) and educational services sector that attended a symposium on offshore delivery organised by Education New Zealand (ENZ) in partnership with Victoria University of Wellington on Thursday 9 June. Senior education professionals shared their experiences - both the good and bad – in delivering education services offshore. Sessions covered quality assurance, sustainable models, collaboration and the power of partnerships, critical success factors and explored a variety of markets from Singapore to Russia, the Middle East to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The future of digital and online learning technologies to transform and disrupt higher education was discussed with examples ranging from early childhood training, software development, and aviation medicine to training in wildlife rescue after an oil spill. ENZ’s General Manager Business Development Clive Jones said that the day “created a network bringing together a diverse group at different stages of development who were keen to stay together”.
One of the keynote speakers on international trends was Boston-based Richard Garrett from The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, an education think tank with a focus on transnational education (TNE). Garrett was positive about the huge global opportunity and the TNE potential for New Zealand. In particular, the opportunity to learn from the main TNE providing countries - UK and Australia – and take a strategic approach in partnership with destination countries. His view that offshore delivery was like a permanent start up resonated strongly with participants.
“With around 3,500 offshore international student enrolments there is quite a way to go to achieve the target of 10,000 by 2025 set by the Government’s Leadership Statement for International Education. But the diversity of providers, markets and projects showcased at the symposium confirmed that New Zealand has the products, range of capability and interest in moving forward together. ENZ has been challenged to keep the conversation we started in Wellington going” said Adele Bryant, Business Development Manager at ENZ.
For more information contact Adele Bryant.
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Koreans land safely into New Zealand schools
They are in New Zealand for an eight-week programme that includes English language provision. The programme is a direct result of the Free Trade Agreement signed in December 2015 between New Zealand and South Korea.
Peter Bull, ENZ General Manager International, said the Korean students are the children of farming or fishing families, and are all high performing students.
“The opportunity to study in New Zealand and to represent their family, school and Korea in this inaugural year of the scholarship scheme saw students go through a selection criteria that whittled down over 2,000 applications to the 150 selected.”
ENZ partnered closely with the Schools International Education Business Association (SIEBA) to implement the scholarship scheme in New Zealand through its member schools, and to help manage the logistics involved in coordinating such a large group of students at once.
Peter paid tribute to SIEBA for also delivering orientations in the three regions to ensure that the transition into New Zealand life was as seamless as possible for the Korean visitors.
A highlight of the orientation programme occurred at Canterbury’s Pudding Hill Lodge, near Methven. The students were welcomed with a waiata from some talented Mount Hutt College students. This was followed by a very warm welcome from Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce that was then reciprocated by the Korean students.
The other welcome ceremonies were held at St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton, which was attended by the Korean Ambassador, and President of EPIS, the Korean agency responsible for the implementation of the programme, and at Garin College in Nelson.
As agreed under the KNZFTA, 450 students will be granted scholarships to study in New Zealand over three years.
The arrival of the students has made the headlines in the local press. Here are just some of the stories which have been published so far.
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Otago Chemistry lecturer attracts a crowd at Kuching fair
Jane Goh, ENZ’s Marketing and Strategic Relations Manager, Malaysia, said that around 150 students, parents and teachers in Kuching met with representatives from higher learning institutions, high schools and polytechnics from New Zealand at the fair.
These included Riccarton High School, UC International College (UCIC), University of Canterbury, Lincoln University, The Ara Institute of Canterbury, University of Otago, The University of Auckland, University of Waikato, New Zealand Tertiary College (NZTC) and Academic Colleges Group (ACG).
During the fair, Dr David Warren from the University of Otago gave a lecture on the relevance of chemistry today to teach students how best to study and excel in the subject.
Dr David Warren delivers a lecture on ‘Chemistry and its relevance in today’s life’ during the New Zealand Education Fair 2016 held at Kuching Hilton Hotel.
After the lecture, all participants were given a chemistry quiz contest. Rebecca Chen from Lodge International School won the main prize.
Rebecca Chen from Lodge International School – the top winner of Chemistry Lecture and Quiz.
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Charles Finny's address to the India New Zealand Business Council
Charles Finny
India and New Zealand have been friends and trading partners for a long time, and thanks to our Commonwealth heritage, our democratic tradition, and our shared love of cricket, we have much to celebrate.
The Indian community here adds richness and vibrancy to New Zealand life, through great food, music, art and sport, diverse business ties, and annual festivals such as Diwali.
New Zealand’s economic future is very much tied to our key trading partners. India is currently our 10th largest trade partner, and the Government’s vision is for India to become a core trade, economic and political partner. The importance of the relationship is reflected in the visit in April of the President of the Republic of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and, of course, our Prime Minister John Key will visit India later this month.
We have been negotiating a Free Trade Agreement bilaterally for several years and we are both part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
One of the strongest parts of our relationship is in international education. Last year international education was probably the largest single item exported from New Zealand to India.
India is, and will continue to be, an important part of New Zealand’s international education strategy.
Every day, tens of thousands of Indian international students, alongside other international students, are helping New Zealand to build our research capability and global linkages, to fill skill shortages and enrich New Zealand culture.
The India New Zealand Business Council is a valued partner in our international education strategy. A number of education providers and immigration and education consultants are Council members, and all members play an important role in ensuring Indian international students have a positive experience in New Zealand. You do this not only through recruiting and employing them in your businesses, but also in providing leadership in upholding high standards when it comes to their treatment and welfare.
Many members of our Indian community have come to live in New Zealand after studying here. If we can continue to work together on skill development (and I’ll touch more on this later), then the transfer of knowledge, innovation and best practice will not only benefit the individuals involved but also our respective countries.
Countries that have innovative and skilled workforces prosper and it is the education system of a country that nurtures those skills.
The education experience that New Zealand offers is first rate. Our universities are world-class – all eight are rated in the top 3% globally, and we offer quality qualifications and hands-on vocational learning through our institutes of technology and private providers.
This quality has clearly been recognised by the Indian student audience, as we have experienced significant growth over the last three years – from 13,000 to 29,000 students between 2013 and 2015.
Such growth has demonstrated New Zealand’s strength as a world-class education destination, but it has also created some challenges as we adjust to manage this demand. I will spend some time outlining how the Government is ensuring a sustainable education sector – particularly for our Indian students and stakeholders.
Our education system has strong government oversight, a commitment to continuous improvement and we place student success and wellbeing front and centre.
We do this through a comprehensive framework of support, and many of us have a role to play here. These include the main government agencies, Education New Zealand, Ministry of Education, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, Tertiary Education Commission and Immigration New Zealand.
Other key players include education providers and the agents they use, employers and businesses, community and ethnic groups and other support services.
This extends also to our bilateral relationship – we have regular catch ups with the High Commissioner of India to New Zealand, Mr Sanjiv Kohil.
All of us have a collective responsibility to ensure the experience of our international students is a positive one and results in positive outcomes for them and ultimately for our businesses and New Zealand society and economy.
We welcome international students who come here with genuine intent and means. But New Zealand, like any sovereign country, will take steps to protect our borders and deal decisively with fraudulent or unlawful behaviour when we see it.
Immigration New Zealand has invested heavily in intelligence gathering and verification support resources for immigration officers in India. As a result they have become more aware of risk and fraud in the market.
The visa decline rates from India are evidence of a significant effort by Immigration NZ to manage students and agents who submit false and misleading information in visa applications.
Immigration New Zealand is doing a lot of work to educate providers about student selection, and the need to manage their agent networks.
Immigration New Zealand and the Immigration Advisers Authority also ran a campaign in India earlier this year encouraging people to use a New Zealand licensed immigration adviser if they are seeking assistance to come to New Zealand.
I think it’s important to acknowledge at this stage too that New Zealand is not alone in facing issues of student visa fraud and dishonest agent behaviour. The United States, Canada, Australia and other countries all face the same challenges.
New Zealand government agencies are committed to acting in a fair and reasonable manner when dealing with students affected by issues of provider quality, or when students’ personal circumstances are, for a variety of reasons, less than straight-forward. Each student is dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority, for example, is working with a group of former IANZ Level 6 students who were required to undertake reassessment to confirm their preparedness for study at another provider, EDENZ. More than 210 students will need extra support and assistance to get them to a standard where they can continue their studies. This is being provided to students at no additional cost so that they can move on from this period of change and continue their studies.
And, throughout this process, advice, support and counselling is being made freely available to all of the affected students.
Some of the issues that international students are experiencing are an important reminder that the majority of our international students are young adults, not only crossing geographical divides, many for the first time, but more often than not, cultural divides, away from the familiarity and care of family and friends.
The New Zealand government agencies I mentioned earlier are working closely together on these issues, to ensure all international students are treated fairly and are well cared for – that they feel welcome, are safe and well, enjoy a high-quality education and are valued for their contribution to New Zealand.
This joint-agency work on international student wellbeing has focused in recent months on Auckland where the majority of international students are located. It has involved a wide range of community meetings and student focus groups to ensure student needs and concerns are being heard and addressed.
We must maintain high standards across our international education industry. Equally, we are determined not to let the actions of a small number of individuals damage the reputation of an entire community, nor devalue the contribution that students from India and elsewhere, and our education providers, make to New Zealand.
Most providers are doing a very good job for their students. Satisfaction rates among students surveyed by the International Student Barometer in 2014 and 2015 ranged from 88% to 94% as being satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience at their New Zealand institution.
Government agencies are working with providers to address any issues with quality, including insisting they work with reliable education agents in India.
Agents play a key role at the beginning of a student’s international education journey in ensuring that the students are informed and make the right choices, and know what to expect as a student in New Zealand.
The reality is, the seeds of what will be a positive or negative international student experience are often sown before the student has even left India.
Education agents are central to the Indian market, with more than 90% of Indian students using agents when applying to study in New Zealand. There are thousands of agents in India, and the Government is promoting the use of high-performing agents through:
- Education providers having a responsibility for agent performance and advice under the revised Code of Pastoral Care, which I’ll talk more about shortly
- Education New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand providing more information on agent performance to education providers and students, including through the Immigration New Zealand website
- Education New Zealand revising the ENZ Recognised Agencies programme, to ensure we better support and promote the use of high-quality agents in markets such as India.
I’m interested too in your thoughts as to what we can do together – at both a government and business level – to ensure that Indian students are working with genuine agents? Perhaps that’s something we can discuss at the end of this address.
The onus is also on students to ensure they have the financial means to support themselves in their study, and to take responsibility for understanding the requirements to study in New Zealand, including the immigration requirements. When students apply for a visa, they must sign their application as a true and accurate record and have the documents to support their application.
The cross-agency wellbeing work I mentioned earlier complements the pastoral care Code of Practice which New Zealand was the first country to introduce and which was recently strengthened with effect from 1 July.
Only education providers who are approved signatories to the Code are allowed to enrol international students. To maintain this privilege, they are expected to meet high standards of service delivery, in accordance with the Code.
The strengthened Code now means that providers are directly accountable for the behaviour of their agents. Expectations include carrying out reference checks of agents, having a written contract with agents, actively monitoring agents and terminating contracts where there is evidence of misleading, deceptive or illegal behaviour, or where an agent is breaching the Code. The focus is on creating sustainable growth by prioritising higher value, higher quality students.
Tough sanctions are now available to deal with providers who fail to manage their agents, including the removal of the right to enrol international students. Enforcing the Code is the responsibility of NZQA who are working closely with Immigration New Zealand to ensure providers proactively comply with the Code.
At the same time, as I mentioned earlier, international students also have an obligation to come here with genuine intent – that their primary purpose is to study, and they have the means to do so.
Working in New Zealand while studying is a way to complement the classroom skills they learn and to really engage with New Zealand’s everyday life. It is not intended as a lifeline to cover living costs.
Not having enough money to support themselves creates vulnerable students who are easy to exploit. This is the reason why Immigration New Zealand has a minimum level of fund requirement for international students to cover their time here.
And of course when students do get jobs, New Zealand employers have a legal and moral responsibility to uphold New Zealand employment law, to pay for hours worked and to honour the minimum wage. Everyone in New Zealand has the right to protection through minimum work rights.
I urge Council members to show leadership in modelling and upholding these rights in the Indian community, in your businesses and through your wider networks.
We continue to encourage individuals to come forward if they have specific examples of exploitation. This is the only way we can address these issues.
The support and input of the New Zealand communities of our international students is also vital to good outcomes.
INZBC has a crucial role to play in helping to bridge the gap that may exist through differing cultural contexts, where, for example, some international students aren’t aware that their rights in New Zealand are protected.
I’d like to applaud the contribution of INZBC members who acknowledge the opportunities that a New Zealand education can offer Indian students in terms of skills and knowledge transfer.
To be truly successful we need to attract students who have the best potential for positive outcomes to New Zealand. These are the students coming to New Zealand to study high-value programmes that can put them on the path to further study, or to work in high-demand areas in New Zealand, India or across the world.
Our ‘target South’ India strategy focuses on attracting genuine students interested in pursuing high-level qualifications in our education market.
As part of this strategy we established a presence in Mumbai in early 2015 and have since focused our promotional activities in the south and west of India where students have higher levels of visa approval rates and student mobility.
This strategy involves promotion across a variety of channels, including digital, social and traditional media, promotional events and scholarship initiatives, academic exchanges, and education fairs.
Education fairs continue to be a strong recruitment channel for us in India, providing outreach to students and families so they can discuss the benefits of New Zealand as a study destination. These fairs are well supported by industry, with more than 30 New Zealand providers attending each of our fairs this year.
We will continue to adjust the locations and formats of fairs to anticipate local market conditions, and they remain an important part of ENZ’s India promotional strategy.
We are trialling new initiatives in-market too. In August, ENZ partnered with New Zealand universities and Indian institutions to host a series of guest lectures by eminent New Zealand academics in cities in South India.
The lecture series was extremely successful in raising awareness of New Zealand’s technical expertise in the areas of engineering, science and business, and building institutional partnerships between our countries.
We have also boosted the numbers of scholarships aimed at Indian graduates interested in pursuing post-graduate study here. The New Zealand Excellence Awards, announced mid-year, offer scholarships to 35 Indian scholars at all eight of our universities. There is also the Christchurch Educated Skills Scholarship for India which targets post-graduate students studying courses in skill shortage areas that are directly related to the Canterbury earthquake rebuild.
In closing, I’d like to repeat how much the social, cultural and economic contribution of Indian students to New Zealand is valued. I want to acknowledge again the Council’s part in that, as well as its important role in demonstrating leadership to the Indian business community when it comes to recruiting, employing and supporting Indian international students.
While we all play a role in the welfare and outcomes of our international students, we also have a collective responsibility to share and promote the positive contribution that international education makes to our communities.
As a result of the policy changes that we have already introduced you will notice that the number of Indian students coming to New Zealand will have reduced to levels similar to that we achieved in 2013. As we solve some of the problems I have discussed today that number may slow further before starting to grow again.
Can I end by emphasising that over the longer term we look forward to welcoming as many high quality Indian students who want to come to New Zealand to study higher end qualifications who meet our entry criteria. We look forward to working in India and here with stakeholders such as the INZBC to ensure that we have a sustainable level of Indian students in New Zealand and that this vital part of the bilateral relationship is not put further at risk by the actions of a few.
Thank you.
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The EAIE 2016 builds partnerships
The EAIE conference took place last month in Liverpool, with more than 5000 participants from over 80 countries in attendance. This included ENZ, which coordinated a branded New Zealand pavilion that showcased six universities and four Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics.
ENZ’s Regional Director Americas and Europe, Lisa Futschek, says that partnerships such as NMIT’s confirm how important EAIE is for New Zealand providers wanting to work with overseas institutions.
“Face-to-face relationship building is invaluable in this industry, allowing providers to discuss opportunities in a friendly but focussed environment,” she said.
“Each year EAIE brings together not just European, but global key industry players. It therefore provides a perfect platform for New Zealand industry to establish new and develop existing international partnerships.”
In light of its new partnership, NMIT will begin on-campus promotion of the exchange opportunity to Kiwi students in 2017.
The EAIE is not a student-facing event, similar to its North American counterpart, NAFSA (Association of International Educators) but an important business to business event on the annual international education calendar.
Left: Will Tregidga, International Development Manager from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) with Silke Bochow from Cologne Business School.
On the eve of the EAIE conference, ENZ hosted a New Zealand networking function, A Taste of New Zealand in the heart of Liverpool, for New Zealand institutions along with their existing and potential European partners. The New Zealand High Commissioner in London, Sir Lockwood Smith, officially opened the event, delighting guests with his passionate promotion of New Zealand as an international education destination. He shared with the crowd his pride at having introduced the world-leading integrated Qualifications Framework as Education Minister in the late 1980s.
Sir Lockwood brought the evening to a fitting close by leading Ngati Ranana Kapa Haka group in a spontaneous and rousing rendition of “Now is the Hour”.
Sir Lockwood Smith at A Taste of New Zealand in the heart of Liverpool
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Education New Zealand has another successful year in Japan
The series began with a reception for the 30th anniversary of the Auckland-Fukuoka sister city relationship. Sir Bob Harvey from Auckland Council and Mr Soichiro Takashima, Mayor of Fukuoka City, were among the 120 guests who attended to celebrate the friendship and education exchange. The group also enjoyed a powerful haka performance by 20 students from Fukuoka’s Seiryo High School, who visited Auckland Grammar School in August this year for the Game On English Rugby programme.
While in Fukuoka, ENZ held an education fair with exhibitions from 30 New Zealand providers and organisations. The fair had more than 300 visitors – many of whom queued to speak to New Zealand representatives about their study options. ENZ’s Senior Market Development Manager – Japan, Misa Pitt, said the interest was not surprising, given the variety of New Zealand education programmes on show.
Education fair in Fukuoka
A second fair was also held in Tokyo, with a record number of over 600 visitors, followed by an education seminar with over 100 Japanese agents, schools and tertiary institutions.“While our competitors’ fairs tend to focus on one particular sector, we have an advantage by offering a wide range of innovative programmes from all sectors,” said Misa Pitt.
The interest in the seminar reflects an increase in engagement from Japanese institutions in international education – as well as the Japanese government’s internationalisation policy, intended to support their forthcoming sports hosting duties.
“With the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Olympics coming up, more Japanese students are interested in programmes that combine English and professional training in sports, tourism and hospitality,” said Misa Pitt.
Misa also revealed that the debut involvement of the Schools International Education Business Association (SIEBA, the peak body for schools in the international education space) in Japan increased New Zealand’s credibility in market, particularly in relation to pastoral care.
“With the new Code of Practice introduced in July this year, I believe SIEBA will play a key role in connecting New Zealand secondary schools with Japanese agents and institutions.”
Japan’s event series concluded with an alumni reception in Tokyo, with special guests including New Zealand Ambassador to Japan, Stephen Payton, and Michael Leitch, a Christchurch native who, after studying in Japan, now plays for the Japanese national rugby team. Michael gave a moving speech on the similarities between New Zealand and Japanese culture, as well as the importance of overseas education in building character for young people.
Education fair in Tokyo.
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Work begins on plan to grow offshore delivery
Education New Zealand is developing an international delivery plan to provide a clear and comprehensive rationale for New Zealand's involvement in the international delivery of education and training. Its findings will be integrated with the International Education Strategy, currently underway.
ENZ Industry Development Manager Adele Bryant said the plan will be comprehensive.
“It will identify and prioritise opportunities, approaches and models that will be competitive and build the best long-term value proposition for New Zealand,” Bryant said.
The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE), in partnership with the International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate) have been selected by ENZ to develop the plan.
OBHE is a higher education think tank with a unique remit focussed on ‘borderless’ education. Richard Garrett, Director of OBHE will lead a team of 8-9 based in the USA, UK, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Some of the team members will be well-known to the New Zealand education sector including Stephen Connelly, Director of GlobalEd Services in Australia and Kyla Steenhart, Director of i-Graduate in New Zealand.
The views of interested education providers will be sought over the next three months. The plan is due to be published in May 2017.
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Korea and New Zealand sign historic agreement
On 23rd February, New Zealand hosted a Korea-New Zealand education Joint Working Group (JWG) in Wellington, where a delegation of Korean education officials met with officials from the Ministry of Education (MOE), the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and ENZ to exchange policy updates and sign a Joint Recognition Statement – a landmark document regarding senior secondary school qualifications in both countries.
The statement follows the Comparison of Senior Secondary School Qualifications, a joint research report which concluded that the Korean High School Certificate and the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 3 are broadly comparable.
New Zealand Secretary of Education Iona Holsted said the signing of the statement will support higher education institutions in both countries to make decisions about these qualifications, with the potential to open up study opportunities for young Kiwis and Koreans.
“The joint statement is a step towards our students being able to have previous qualifications more easily recognised abroad and will provide access to further study that has traditionally been difficult to access.
“While there is still more to do, I’m looking forward to seeing the shared benefits for both countries,” Ms Holsted said.
NZQA Chief Executive Dr Karen Poutasi said the Recognition Statement and research report are a result of the two countries’ collaborative work under the Education Cooperation Arrangement, signed in 2009.
“The statement is the first of its kind signed by Korea and is a sign of confidence in the quality of education in both countries,” said Dr Poutasi.
“The joint research report has helped to promote a shared understanding of the Republic of Korea and New Zealand’s education systems and curricula. We look forward to further dialogue between our two countries.”
Poutasi now hopes to see more Korean students coming to study in New Zealand, and vice versa.
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US students: Adventurers and Future Makers
When talking to American students, Lewis found that most held positive views of New Zealand, but lacked any specific details of what study in New Zealand involved. It got him thinking about the four international student personas and, for the most part, Lewis said US study abroad students fall into two categories – Adventurers and Future Makers.
The Adventurer persona
“Adventurers are students who see study abroad as an opportunity to experience new things and places, and to have fun while learning more about themselves,” explained Lewis.
“Most of my time with these students was spent mapping out the closest mountains to their university of choice, or explaining how to road trip around the country.“Adventurers are students who see study abroad as an opportunity to experience new things and places, and to have fun while learning more about themselves,” explained Lewis.
“They’re an easy sell for New Zealand but there were a number of other students who weren’t as convinced.”
Lewis believes this second group of students are in the Future Maker category. For them, career outcomes are top of mind, and education is seen as the road to get there. Lewis said these students were concerned that New Zealand’s appeal to thrill-seekers meant that the academic components wouldn’t be up to standard.
“For these students, study abroad is a serious opportunity. Beautiful pictures of Fiordland aren’t enough – they need cold, hard facts of New Zealand’s high quality education.
The Future Maker persona
“Because of the perception of New Zealand as a place for outdoor adventure, many students were surprised to hear that they could study subjects like mechanical engineering, IT or physiotherapy in New Zealand, and that all universities ranked in the top 3% in the world.
“They also had many enquiries about internship opportunities and programmes that combine study and work experience.”
Lewis also saw that alumni play a powerful role in this market.
"At one fair, alumni from the University of Southern California were key in piquing the interest of their fellow students, sharing that their courses in New Zealand were cross-credited, and that the Tongariro crossing was just as beautiful as the pictures.
“That’s the balance needed – students who are able to attest to both the academic rigour of courses in New Zealand and the adventure opportunities.”
