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Around the world in five
Asia
South Korea outlines plans to host 300,000 international students - StudyTravel Network
The South Korean Government announced the Study Korean 300k Project in August, which aims to have 300,000 international students at South Korean universities by 2027 as part of its goals to secure more high-skilled workers and boost global competitiveness. A fast-track scheme to permanent residency in South Korea for international students with advanced degrees in key fields will also be established.
North America
The international education sector in Canada has expressed concerns about potential reforms, with the Housing Minister suggesting that a cap on international students should be considered while the Immigration Minister has referred to concerns about integrity in the system. This comes amid an emerging housing crisis that has been described as complex and multifaceted, and with Canada projecting to host 900,000 study permit holders by the end of 2023.
South America
Chile launches higher ed mental health plan
The University of Chile, in collaboration with multiple government entities including Chile’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public health, have launched a comprehensive plan to help domestic and international students take care of their mental health. The plan aims to address an “alarming rise” of students impacted by mental health problems in the return to in-person education after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Europe
German chancellor appeals to international graduates
The German Government’s Skilled Immigration Act will create new opportunities to enter Germany, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying that international graduates of Germany’s higher education system will help to successfully develop the country’s economy. Scholz said it was inspiring to see how many students from around the world come to Germany and wish to work there afterwards.
Africa
2022 US visas 'broke records' in India, Ghana and Nigeria
The US state department reported that it is issuing more student visas to applicants from African countries than anytime in the past six years, with more visas for students from Nigeria and Ghana being issued last year than any year in the past two decades. This comes after an estimated 92,051 African students were denied US visas between 2018-2022.
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Tapping the undergraduate market in India with High School Career Counsellors Workshops
The interactive He Hui educated the counsellors from Delhi and Bangalore on what makes New Zealand one of the most attractive choices for undergraduate students and breadth of opportunities offered by our universities for international students. It was also an opportune time to socialise the New Zealand Excellence Awards | Study with New Zealand which are partial scholarships curated exclusively for Indian students.
High school counsellors play a vital role in influencing undergraduate students and therefore are considered an important stakeholder in the student journey abroad. He Hui was a follow on from the interaction with High School Career Counsellors during the annual IC3 Conference held earlier this year.
New Zealand universities India representatives at ENZ desk at the IC3 annual conference in Hyderabad on 23 August
The IC3 annual conference is India’s largest forum for school career counsellors and tertiary education providers to congregate, connect, network and deliberate on ethical career counselling practices for students. It provides a fantastic platform for international providers to educate and connect with key influencers for the undergraduate learners. As a gold sponsor at the IC3 conference, ENZ received greater visibility to showcase all New Zealand universities as well as the overall sector.
Ankit Mehta, International Recruitment Manager, Victoria University of Wellington presenting at the Delhi workshop
These initiatives are part of India’s rebuild and reconnect strategy, especially with a focus on the undergraduate market. The range of activities have supported an increased level of interest from premier high schools from across the country.
India is an established market for post graduate students. However, growing the undergraduate market requires a defined strategy as Indian students from the metropolitan cities are inclined to favour competitor countries like Australia, US, UK and Canada.
With the high investment and commitment shown by agents and the New Zealand higher education sectors, India can be a very promising undergraduate market for New Zealand.
ENZ will continue to create awareness of New Zealand among High school students through social media campaigns, newsletters, subject-ready reckoners, and the New Zealand Excellence Awards to regain the reputation and visibility that has been affected over the last couple of years.
For more information, please contact Jugnu Roy, ENZ’s Director of Engagement-East Asia and India, Jugnu.roy@enz.govt.nz
Jugnu Roy, Director of Engagement-East Asia and India interacting with counsellors at the Bengaluru workshop
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Diwali celebrations light up New Zealand campuses
It was a wonderful week of Diwali across New Zealand campuses as students and education institutions came together to celebrate the festival of lights.
AUT lights up for Diwali
The sights, sounds and colours of Diwali were on full display at AUT’s recent Diwali Festival.
With the largest cohort of international students from India in New Zealand, AUT’s Diwali Festival celebrated the incredible contribution Indian students make to life at AUT.
Pro Vice-Chancellor International, Professor Guy Littlefair, said the event enriches their campus culture and showcases the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
“Our incredible Diwali event was a wonderful opportunity for our entire university to celebrate our Indian students and the richness and joy of Indian culture,” Professor Littlefair said.
“We are proud of our growing reputation throughout India for our wide range and quality of study programmes, for being the university of technology in New Zealand, and for our great student support, accessibility to academic staff, employability, and student success.
“India is an extraordinarily important partner country to us, but more importantly our Indian students are an extremely valued part of our AUT family and the unique perspective and rich culture they bring to us are treasured by all our staff and students.”
Students lead Diwali celebrations at Wintec | Te Pūkenga
Diwali 2023 performers, organisers, volunteers, and audience all enjoyed the celebrations at Wintec | Te Pūkenga City Campus, including International Student Services Advisors, Unmesha Veetil (far left) and Li Li (front row with orange sari).
This year, the Diwali celebrations at Wintec | Te Pūkenga City and Rotokauri campuses were completely ākonga (student)-led, making them even more special than usual. Although facilitated by the International Student Support team, the events were entirely hosted by ākonga, from the MCs to all the entertainment.
Unmesha Veetil, International Student Services Advisor, said the events were vibrant and high energy and a real testament to the students.
“The MCs did a great job of engaging the audience and getting them singing along, the dance performances and magic tricks were stunning and there were even talented students doing henna designs. On the request of the audience there was a final open dance floor which got many from the audience dancing too and proved lots of fun.”
A crowd enjoying a Diwali dance performance at Wintec | Te Pūkenga
The true spirit of the festival was also on full display as a diverse, multicultural communities organised the festivities with much generosity and kaitiakitanga.
Members of the Chinese Postgraduate Society who volunteered as ecowarriors for the Auckland Diwali Festival.
The Chinese Postgraduate Society volunteered for the Auckland Diwali Festival as eco warriors, helping make the celebration as eco-friendly as possible.
“It was a great experience for us to immerse in a different culture and make valuable contributions,” Wilson Pan, President of the Chinese Postgraduate Society said. -
Auckland hosts Voice of The Oceans round the world expedition
Just over two years after leaving Brazil on the sailboat KAT to sail around the world, the Voice of The Oceans (VOO) initiative arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, at the beginning of November.
One of the initiative's leaders, David Schurmann, is an alumni from New Zealand – he studied Cinema at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and at the South Seas Film & Television School in the 1990s. And since then, he was inspired by the ecological awareness of Kiwis. Throughout his career as a filmmaker, in addition to fiction films, David produced documentaries about the importance of preserving the environment.
Eloisa and David Schurmann at Viaduct Harbour in front of the Voice of the Oceans sailboat KAT. Photo credit @annupam @withjane
VOO’s mission is to examine and record the environmental state of the oceans including plastic pollution so that this data can raise awareness and inform education, science, and innovation that improves the health of our oceans. It has the global support of the United Nations Environment Programme.
The VOO arrived in Auckland to mark the end of the first stage of their journey, after traveling for two years and visiting more than 100 destinations, recording the levels of plastic pollution they see as they go.
The arrival in Auckland featured the event “Brazil and New Zealand: Sustainability & Innovation” – guest panelists discussed how their businesses are innovating in the sustainable space. The event was organised by the Latin America New Zealand Business Council (LANZBC), the leading organisation focused on promoting business growth opportunities and collaborations in Latin America. Support for the event was provided by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te AO (ENZ), the Latin America Center of Asia Pacific Excellence (CAPES), and Viaduct Harbor Holdings (VHH).
Host and panellists at the at the Brazil and New Zealand: Sustainability & Innovation event included from left to right Guiliana Silveira, LANZBC CEO, Heloisa Schurmann, VOO, David Schurmann, VOO, Colum Rice, Mint Innovation, Phil Matheson, BioFab, Rachel Williams, Viva Expeditions Ltd , and Dhanya Herath, Climate Club. Photo credit @annupam @withjane
David and the VOO crew. Photo credit @annupam @withjane
Giuliana Silveira, CEO Latin America New Zealand Business Council (LANZBC) said that it was a privilege to work with Voice of the Oceans and these amazing NZ businesses to showcase what each of them is doing to innovate in the sustainability sector.
“We have to join forces to fight the climate crisis. We hope events, such as this, help to raise awareness and create a dialogue within the business and education communities to share our kaitiakitanga responsibilities," said Guiliana.
Following the panel discussion, attendees had the opportunity to mingle with the VOO crew and panelists. Photo credit @annupam @withjane
Wendy Kerr, ENZ’s General Manager Sector Engagement, and Ed Tuari, ENZ’s Manukura – Chief Advisor Maori, with David Schurmann, VOO during the event which was supported by ENZ along with the Latin America Center of Asia Pacific Excellence and Viaduct Harbor Holdings. The Latin America New Zealand Business Council organised and hosted the event.
Part of the arrival programme, also included over 70 children from Stanley Bay Primary School joining an environmental afternoon with talks by the Voice of The Oceans crew about the importance of taking care of the marine environment.
Eloisa Schurmann talks to the Stanley Bay School children about the importance of taking care of the ocean. Photo credit @annupam @withjane
As part of the sustainability tour, the children from Stanley Bay School were taken to the Viaduct Harbour Marina to view the sailboat Kat. Photo credit @annupam @withjane
“It's always a special moment to be back in New Zealand! We have a very close relationship with this country, which has been an important stop on all our major expeditions. My youngest sister Kat was born here, and I decided to stay in New Zealand during my families first expedition around the world, to study film making and start my career as a director”, said David Schurmann at the events in Auckland.
The VOO crew will spend the next few months in New Zealand to raise awareness about the state of Earth’s oceans before setting sail again to continue their trip around the world.
More information on VOO and their expedition can be found here - Voice of the Ocean - we turn people's attention to the ocean.
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AUT international students connect with senior citizens
A uniquely engaging initiative supported by New Zealand Police and AUT recently brought together international students and local senior citizens to connect in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
The initiative was an outcome of a meeting of the Auckland Agency Group, of which Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao is a member and enabled international students to understand and start to integrate into local culture guided by senior residents and members of the wider Auckland community.
As the last 12 months have seen the welcome return of international students to our campuses and communities, New Zealand Police Ethnic Services teams around the country, including in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, have been busy engaging with international students in a number of ways.
Around 18 students met with 10 senior citizens at the Northbridge Residential Village.
The event helped international students engage with their local community, establishing intergenerational bonds, helped them access support networks, engage in cultural exchange, and actively participating in community affairs.
The event included a panel discussion involving members of Northbridge Residential Village, AUT international students, and New Zealand Police. The panel discussion unfolded in two key segments: the initial part addressed the dynamics of culture shock, while the subsequent portion revolved around the overarching themes of diversity and inclusion.
AUT Students Association, International Affairs Officer, Yun Ke, said that the AUT international student interaction with local senior citizens event was a great success.
“We have received immensely positive feedback from students about the event, which is exciting.
“This interaction saw double the participation by international students, as compared to a previously held event in September,” Ke said.
San Winkyi, an international student from Myanmar, was grateful to New Zealand Police for the way they supported the event.
“The police’s presence and assistance contributed significantly to the event's success, and we deeply appreciate their commitment to international student safety and wellbeing,” San said.
For Huabiao Xiao, an international student from China, the interaction was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate cultural differences while enjoying communicating with an open and inclusive local community of senior citizens.
“Spending time with local seniors and police officers was an amazing experience, far beyond anything I could have imagined. These elders are simply the epitome of local cultures and society, and I deeply appreciate their differences and uniqueness. At the same time, I appreciated how New Zealand police officers are committed to promoting a community culture,” Huabiao said.
Education providers with international students who are interested in organising a similar event are welcome to contact Faymie Li, faymieli@enz.govt.nz or Ross Crosson, ross.crosson@enz.govt.nz.
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Kiwi students attend Tokyo Experience School
Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) supports a range of international exchange programmes that, as well as attracting international students to New Zealand, also provide New Zealand students with the opportunity to have their own international education experiences overseas. These offer unique cross-cultural learning opportunities that develop our global citizens, serve to plant the seed for future overseas education experiences in our learners, while also promoting New Zealand’s education system on a global level.
One such programme is that organised by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education (Tokyo MBoE), an Education Cooperation Partner of ENZ since 2017. The programme fosters education exchanges between New Zealand and Tokyo and each year, the Tokyo MBoE invites students to attend the Tokyo Experience School through an application process, promoted to secondary schools by ENZ. In 2023, Rangiora High School was selected by the Tokyo MBoE to send four students and one chaperone to Tokyo, joining other students from around the world for ten days in December.
Lachlan Palmer, SeungWoo Jeong, Ariana Ferguson and Oliver Burns are all studying Japanese at Rangiora High School, and were the fortunate students selected to attend on behalf of their school. The four students were accompanied by their school’s Teacher in Charge of Japanese, Jessica Bradley.
The experience proved to be a true immersion in Japanese culture and student life for the Rangiora High School Year 11-13 students with the students staying with local host families, travelling to school in rush hour, attending class and joining club activities such as chalk art, judo classes, and rugby training. The experience also gave students the opportunity to take part in several traditional experiences such as getting dressed in a kimono and attending Sado (tea ceremony).
All four students said that this Japanese exchange trip was one of the most interesting and valuable experiences they had every done and couldn’t wait to go back.
Lachlan said “The real highlight of this trip was with my host family and my time at school there. Seeing the differences and similarities between Japan and New Zealand in person allowed me to enjoy and learn about Japan in a way like no other and gave me the chance to share my own culture from New Zealand. It is safe to say I will be returning as soon as I can”.
One of Ariana’s favourite moments of the whole experience was trying on the kimono. She said "it was amazing to experience what it was like to wear, walk and feel in a Kimono and it is something I will never forget. I also loved meeting students in my class and not only learning about their likes/dislikes but sharing mine too and a New Zealand culture with them. They were so kind and welcoming, and I honestly can't wait to go back!”
Ariana Ferguson with her travel companions; Lachlan Palmer, SeungWoo Jeong, and Oliver Burns, trying on traditional Japanese dress.
Lachlan Palmer and SeungWoo Jeong, tried Judo with their host brothers.
SeungWoo enjoyed experiencing in person the culture that he has been learning so much about at school. He said “my host brother and I went to several famous places in Japan such as Tokyo Tower, Skytree, Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. However, I believe that the highlight of the trip was being able to experience the Japanese food my host family made for us, and the amazing experiences my host brother and I have experienced such as karaoke.’
Lastly, Oliver noted how interesting it was attending a Japanese school and some of the differences. He said “there was a lot of school spirit, much more so than my home high school, and I loved how much the student body supported each other. My favourite parts of school were the friends I made in class (and the bento lunches!).”
ENZ will continue working with Tokyo MBoE on cross cultural education opportunities. If Tokyo MBoE continue the Tokyo Experience School, ENZ will share the EOI with New Zealand schools when it is available, usually around September.
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PIF Recipient: Boma
Christchurch-based Boma is a new kind of education provider, on a mission to support current and emerging leaders to be more intentional, intelligent, and courageous for the future. Boma runs events, workshops, and courses, and has worked with leading organisations in Aotearoa and around the world, from global tech companies Facebook and Zoom to locally based organisations such as Meridian Energy, Stuff, and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise.
But it’s the next phase of Boma’s expansion that’s really set to make waves on the world stage. Thanks to an award of funding from the International Education Product Innovation Fund, Boma is creating a global, cohort-based course for rugby coaches delivered in partnership with The Crusaders – the Christchurch-based professional rugby team and the most successful team in the history of the Super Rugby competition.
Founder and CEO of Boma NZ, Kaila Colbin with Crusaders Coach, Scott Robinson
"We at Boma are so excited to be working with Education NZ and the Product Innovation Fund. We share so many things: a commitment to excellence; an agile test-learn-iterate approach; and a passion for bringing Aotearoa's special sauce to the world. We're honoured to have been chosen as one of the recipients of the fund, and we know we'll be able to go farther, faster by working together".
Kaila Colbin , Founder and CEO, Boma New Zealand
Aimed at rugby coaches from high school teams through to professional level, the Crusaders Coaching Leadership Programme™ will run for the first time in late 2022. Unlike competitors who offer training through on-demand video but generate low completion rates, Boma’s pilot project with The Crusaders combines the flexibility of self-directed learning with the accountability of being part of a real-time cohort of learners.
Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) is the agency behind the Product Innovation Fund. As New Zealand’s dedicated government agency for international education, ENZ is helping shape a broader, more diverse international education sector with built-in resilience to future shocks such as global pandemics.
In total, seven pilot projects have been supported through the Product Innovation Fund. Together, they reimagine what a New Zealand education experience could look like and mean for global learners. Boma’s pilot project, for example, taps into a new audience – rugby coaches around the world looking to learn ‘The Crusaders Way’. Before COVID-19, rugby coaches from around the world would travel to New Zealand to learn what makes the team so successful.
By partnering with Boma, The Crusaders will be able to share their rugby and leadership expertise with learners around the world through a course offering that is high quality, consistent and scalable.
Boma has big plans for the future and sees a logical path for its course offerings to grow from rugby leadership into sports leadership, to business leadership and then into general leadership. Boma’s approach to learning is as much values-led as it is content-led, and this sets Boma apart from its competitors.
The support from ENZ through the Product Innovation Fund for Boma’s first pilot project with The Crusaders may well pave the way for more to follow. With a goal of building the leaders the world needs, Boma sees an opportunity to partner with other well-respected, values-led organisations like The Crusaders to create transformational, immersive learning experiences from New Zealand to the world.
More information:
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Raising the profile of NZ’s PTEs with China education agents
In China, large education agencies play an important role in raising the awareness of a New Zealand education to prospective students and their families. For this reason, 10 director-level representatives from the largest Chinese agencies were invited to join a Famil tour by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) to demonstrate in person how New Zealand offers a modern, high quality and sophisticated learning environment for Chinese students.
In early May, the group visited education providers in Dunedin, Invercargill, and Auckland with a full and varied programme including visits to high schools, a primary school, universities, institutes of skills and technology, and private training establishments. There were also several cultural and tourism activities planned as well as networking events with economic development agencies, private training establishments and English language schools.
A key part of the Famil was the networking function held at the end of the week of activities at Media Design School in Auckland, providing a platform for New Zealand’s Private Training Establishments (PTEs) and English Language Schools (ELS) to engage directly with the visiting agents. Representatives from 24 providers from Auckland, Christchurch and New Plymouth attended the event.
ENZ’s General Manager Māori, Ed Tuari, welcomes the guests to Media Design School with a mihi and welcome.
The event included opening remarks by ENZ’s General Manager Sector Engagement and Innovation, Wendy Kerr, who reiterated to the education agents that New Zealand’s PTEs and ELS play a vital role in New Zealand’s international education ecosystem.
“Our PTEs and ELS are renowned for their innovative programs, real world and practical approach and strong commitment to student success and employability.
These institutions equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive as global citizens in today’s interconnected world.”
ENZ’S General Manager Sector Engagement and Innovation.
On behalf of ENZ, Wendy also expressed her appreciation to the agents for their ongoing collaboration and support, saying that the agents’ promotion of New Zealand PTEs and ELS opens doors for Chinese students to access world-class education and invaluable international experiences.
A panel discussion took place, focusing on the opportunities and challenges in the China market, featuring three directors moderated by Ruth Cooper, Country Director New Zealand of Media Design School and QTI co-Chair.
During the panel discussion, the agents suggested that providers could enhance their promotion efforts in China by highlighting employment opportunities and utilising Chinese social media to share the most up-to-date information.
Ruth Cooper, Country Director New Zealand of Media Design School and QTI co-Chair (left) facilitates a panel discussion on the opportunities and challenges in the China education market.
With the formalities out of the way, our education providers had the opportunity to mix and mingle with the education agents.
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Education New Zealand targets $4.4 billion by 2027
Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) today announced its plan to grow the international education sector over the next three years. The strategy, which aims to build the economic contribution of international education to $4.4 billion by 2027, focuses on growing and diversifying the number of international students studying in New Zealand.
“International education has made a good start to its recovery with more than 69,000 enrolments in the first full academic year since borders reopened and universities returning to 86% of pre-pandemic numbers,” said ENZ Acting Chief Executive Dr Linda Sissons today.
“The government has a goal of doubling the value of export earnings in ten years and international education has its part to play.”
“In the first year of the strategy the focus is putting additional investment into markets we have identified with growth potential. These include India, Viet Nam, and the Philippines, and some specific sectors within markets like Japan and Thailand. We need to start now to grow awareness of New Zealand in these markets if we are to achieve our growth targets. Moving forward, we will continue to seek growth through diversifying markets while maintaining our strength in traditional markets such as China and India.”
“As a small agency with a finite budget, ENZ needs to be very smart and maximise every opportunity for New Zealand,” said Dr Sissons. “We look to use the potential of Scale, Impact, and Leverage as the measuring rods for everything we do, as we commit to the Government’s Export Double goal”.
The strategy is the result of extensive consultation with the international education sectors, partner Government agencies and comes on the back of a productive 12 months for Education New Zealand.
In the past 12 months Education New Zealand student attraction activities have delivered:
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More than two million visits to the Study with New Zealand website
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Added more than 69,000 prospective students to its database
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More than 22,000 individuals have made enquiries to providers regarding study
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Our business-to-business activities targeting education agents delivered 33 webinars to over 1,800 participants
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18 in-country events delivered in five countries (Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, China)
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The New Zealand International Education Conference KI TUA 2023 to 599 delegates
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50 new indigenous to indigenous networks and partnerships
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Sector satisfaction with ENZ topped 77%
ENZ’s offshore team provides significant support to overseas visits by representatives of the international education sector and the New Zealand government, building and deepening relationships said Dr Sissons. In 2024 this included a visit by representatives of all New Zealand Universities to India in February, and ENZ supporting the education component of the Prime Ministerial Trade Missions to Southeast Asia and Japan.
The agency also supports education visits to New Zealand. Very recently this included the visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, which included China’s Education Minister Huai Jinpeng.
It was the second visit by Minister Huai to New Zealand in ten months, and highlighted the strong momentum our bilateral education relationship. In 2023 ENZ also delivered the Prime Minister’s Scholarships to Asia and Latin America (PMSA/LA) which sees New Zealanders travel internationally for learning experiences and administers the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship programme for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). The Manaaki Scholarships offers scholarships to eligible citizens from developing countries to study at a New Zealand education institution or university or at a Pacific university.
In 2023 these important programmes have awarded:
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118 individual PMSA/LA scholarships
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20 group PMSA/LA scholarships
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NZIEC KI TUA 2023 delivered with 599 delegates
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861 Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships awarded
“I am very pleased and proud of the results the team at Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao has delivered alongside the sector. We have more to do,” said Dr Sissons.
For further information:Justin Barnett | Director of Communications, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao
+64 21 875 132
About Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) https://www.enz.govt.nz/
ENZ is the government agency dedicated to helping Aotearoa New Zealand realise the social, cultural, and economic benefits of international education. Our role is to promote New Zealand as a high-quality education destination offering excellent education and student experiences and to encourage New Zealand students to study overseas.
With approximately 105 staff in 16 locations around the world, ENZ works closely with New Zealand’s diverse education sector which includes schools, English language providers, Private Training Establishments, Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (Te Pūkenga), and universities. Internationally, we work with a range of education stakeholders, including government agencies and education providers to identify and encourage sustainable growth opportunities for New Zealand’s education sector.
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NZ EdTech breaks into Middle East market with ‘Play Code Learn’ teaching solution
ByteEd is a New Zealand EdTech company with a mission to empower future generations to become creators of technology rather than just users. The company started out in 2018 by teaching industry-standard programming to high school and university students to create virtual reality worlds. However, a need to start reaching a younger audience was identified due to a lack of foundational concepts.
This led Founder and CE, Peter Dong and his team, to develop a comprehensive solution for students in their early years, using ‘Play Code Learn’ hands on kits combined with augmented reality and artificial intelligence to address this gap.
It is this solution that has been adopted as a core resource by Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in the United Arab Emirates for its new Computational Thinking course. All Emirati graduates from their six colleges will learn computational thinking and then using the Play Code Learn resource will teach this in schools where they will become teachers.
Dr Robert Miles and Haya Al Nuaimi undertaking training on the Play Code Learn kits at HCT Ras Al Khaimah
Peter says that getting to this point has been the culmination of several years of hard work and relationship building, with patience and persistence being key to their success.
“We went into this process knowing that it would take time. We started with a real understanding of our customers’ needs and in particular those of HCT. HCT is a large organisation and we needed to build relationships with multiple key decision makers.
“We are so excited to have made this breakthrough into the UAE and hope it paves the way for more New Zealand EdTechs to do the same;” said Peter.
“As more educators at HCT in the UAE use our solution and collaborate with ByTeEd, then we’ll be building New Zealand’s reputation for our country’s capability in developing innovative and valuable EdTech solutions,” he added.
A student using augmented reality to program while the physical learning kit can be seen in the background.
The opportunity to work with HCT all came about from an introduction that was facilitated by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) at the New Zealand Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo in early 2022. Several New Zealand EdTech companies were invited to be part alongside other New Zealand education providers.
Dr Angela Fitzgerald, Executive Dean – Faculty of Education at HCT commented that the work that her Faculty was doing with ByteEd is powerful.
“Their approach empowers teacher educators through lived experiences of computational thinking to prepare future teachers in equally dynamic ways to equip young children with these very skills and knowledge. This will be necessary as they navigate their future worlds,” said Dr Fitzgerald.
Lecturer Jennifer Filinuk and Senior Lecturer Savita Parashar are using the hands-on learning tools to learn computational thinking before combining it with augmented reality.
When asked what advice ByteEd would give to a fellow EdTech looking to expand their business overseas, and specifically into the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Peter had some nuggets of advice.
He said that taking the first step to explore the market and gauge interest from target customers is key to gaining that initial understanding of the potential, as is gaining a clear understanding of the problem that you’re aiming to solve for this market.
“Show that you’re not just another visitor and be prepared to make multiple visits and build relationships.
“There are many opportunities in the Gulf region for New Zealand EdTech companies, with more funding available here due to a strong focus on education. The region is also one of few where the younger population is growing,” said Peter.
“There is also significant competition in this region however, so make sure to research potential competitors and consider how to position your company and product effectively”, he concluded.
For more information
ENZ, alongside EdTechNZ, recently hosted a Middle East EdTEch market deep dive with a presentation delivered by Nick Sheppard, Trade and Commercial Advisor from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise based in Dubai. Joining him in the session were the Founders of New Zealand EdTech’s ByteEd, Komodo Wellbeing and EDconnect. You can watch a recording of the presentation here with the slides available here.
If you have further questions about the support that ENZ can provide New Zealand EdTechs overseas, please contact ENZ’s Business Development Manager, Alana Pellow – alana.pellow@enz.govt.nz.
