Search

Showing 10 of 4599 results

Scholarships open for students from Europe
A new scholarship programme designed to increase awareness of New Zealand as a study destination to students in Europe is open.
The “Dream NEW” scholarships target confident, adventurous European university students who are competent enough in English to undertake study at a New Zealand university. The scholarships will appeal to students who like to travel and experience different cultures, while improving their English language skills.
Jointly funded by Education New Zealand and Universities New Zealand, “Dream NEW” offers eight scholarship places – one at each New Zealand university.
The scholarships are valued at up to NZD$ 12,500 (approx. 7,500 €) and will cover tuition fees for eight students undertaking a Study Abroad programme in Semester One, in February and March 2017.
More information on the scholarships can be found on the Study in New Zealand site here.
Information and application details are available in English, French, Italian, Spanish and German.
Learn more about global edtech opportunities
Are you interested in making connections or forming partnerships with education publishers, game developers, ICT companies and educationalists?
Do you want to showcase your edtech tool and learn about how and why teachers and their students are using technology in the classroom?
If the answer is yes, then register now for the Education Technology Summit on 5-6 July at Massey University’s innovation hub in Albany, Auckland.
For those of you from edtech companies outside of Auckland we have 20 heavily discounted tickets to give away. The money you save will get you to Auckland!
Just tell us how much you think educational exports ($ million) contribute to GDP by 31 May. The closest answers will get you a ticket to the two day summit for just $100 – a prize valued at $295. Send your answer to adele.bryant@enz.govt.nz.
Following feedback from previous annual Edtech for Export (et4e) conferences, this year ENZ is supporting the New Zealand Technology Industry Association in bringing educators and edtech businesses together at the same event.
This year’s more collaborative approach – bringing creators and users together – will provide a platform for the growth and development of sustainable and relevant edtech tools for the domestic and export markets.
The Education Technology Summit programme offers separate Edtech for Export and Tech and Pedagogy streams, and plenty of opportunity for interaction between the two.
The programme includes export capability building sessions as well as the chance to hear from local and international speakers on global edtech trends and tips for exporting.
Presenters include:
- Betsy Corcoran, CEO of EdSurge, an award-winning US news and information source on edtech, will speak on “Mind sets and the future of educational technology”.
- Dan Milward of Gamefroot, a provider of online game creation software that teaches programming code in a fun and interactive way
- Graeme Cosslett, CEO of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER)
And, if you’re still wondering whether or not to make the Summit a ‘must attend’ event in your calendar, here’s a success story that had its beginnings in the et4e conference in 2013:
Gamefroot and NZCER are a great example of the power of deep collaboration between educational researchers and game makers. Gamefroot’s Dan Milward and Rachel Bolstad of NZCER worked in the same Wellington building but did not realise they shared a common interest in educational games until they met at et4e 2013. Since then, they have worked together to develop and launch a unique online game for teachers and policy makers called Curriculum for the Future: the Digital Game.
If you have any queries about the Education Technology Summit, contact Business Development Manager, Adele Bryant at adele.bryant@enz.govt.nz.
Otherwise, see you in Auckland in July!
Thinking regionally, acting globally, at ANZA
Education New Zealand (ENZ) extended its presence this year by creating a New Zealand pavilion, featuring 11 regional international education organisations hosted by regional representatives. The Immigration New Zealand team, lead by Celia Coombes, joined the pavilion along with the ENZ team.
In addition to the pavilion, ENZ organised additional wrap-around events to both create a spirit of collaboration amongst the regional representatives, and maximise the networking with agents, New Zealand education providers and the team from ICEF.
ENZ’s Regional Project Managers, Jo Keane and Sarah Gauthier, believe the regional approach boosted the profile of New Zealand education as a whole, with Sarah commenting, “Each New Zealand region has its own distinctive characteristics and it’s important to raise awareness of these to agents so they can, in turn, promote them to international students.
“ANZA was a great forum to showcase the diversity of our study options and the regional learning, living and working opportunities, and share the New Zealand Story with our agent audience” said Greg Scott, Programme Manager for the Regional Partnership Programme.
This year’s innovative approach to ANZA was regarded as a great success by the regional representatives, with Learning Hawke’s Bay’s Business Development Manager, Stephanie Kennard, commenting, “The Pavilion made a huge impact and was a talking point amongst many of the agents. The stand, the ENZ presentation on the Wednesday afternoon and the networking event on Friday night were all brilliant!”
Susanna Leisten, an ANZA attendee from Thames High School, says, “I felt so proud to be a Kiwi and am very grateful and appreciative of all your efforts and really enjoyed the ENZ Friday evening networking event. I have made some very useful contacts and am positive that the event you hosted made a big difference.”
“We think that these types of collaborative platforms are essential – to strengthen the New Zealand education story with regional input and opportunities. We hope to do more of this in the future,” said Greg Scott.
ENZ is now considering ways to incorporate regional international education organisations into other events and activities, demonstrating so effectively the learning, living and working opportunities for international students across all of New Zealand.
US students experience tikanga Māori on the high seas
Staff and students from the University of Auckland and the Auckland University of Technology enjoyed a day out with local Māori tourism operators Waka Quest Tours and Te Haerenga, which included sailing on the waka Haunui to Motutapu Island where they tasted a delicious hāngī and did some exploring.
ATEED’s International Product Development Manager, Keri Edmonds, says, “This sort of activity is designed to enhance the international student experience. A key focus for our team is to raise the awareness of our cultural offering to international students, and provide greater opportunity for them to connect with Auckland’s people and landscapes.”
“While it’s still early days for this pilot project, it was great to have the opportunity to test out some ideas, which was made possible by funding support from Education New Zealand’s Regional Partnership Programme.”
ATEED’s Māori Tourism Development Manager, Koro Carmen joined Keri on the day and commented, “It was an incredible day of engaging with locals, taking part in tikanga Māori activities and exploring some of Auckland’s iconic landscapes. This is a great example of Māori operators connecting and collaborating with our colleagues to enhance the visitor experience. We were even lucky enough to see several of the endangered takahē wandering around the island!”
Symposium on offshore delivery, Wellington, Thursday 9 June
Do you deliver education products and services offshore? Are you considering venturing in to this aspect of international education and want to know more? Then come along to a one-day symposium in Wellington on Thursday 9 June to explore the opportunities, challenges and value offshore delivery presents.
Jointly hosted by Education New Zealand and Victoria University of Wellington, the symposium will be an opportunity to learn from local and international presenters about their experiences, and engage and share with colleagues in this specialised field. The programme will cover critical success factors, sustainable and collaborative models, quality assurance, explore markets and partners, and consider an online future.
Offshore delivery is a broad church, and includes the delivery of education through offshore campuses or partners, or via online courses.
Global opportunities for offshore education delivery abound, and a good number of New Zealand institutions and businesses are committed to developing their offshore ventures, especially in markets and niches where New Zealand is well-regarded.
In spite of this, it is estimated that only 3 percent of international students enrolled at New Zealand institutions are offshore, compared to 30 percent for Australia and over 50 percent for the UK.
If you are interested in coming along to the symposium please contact Business Development Manager Adele Bryant for a programme and registration details at: adele.bryant@enz.govt.nz or phone (04) 830 0810.
Cities bid international students haere mai
Students from all over the world who are taking the first steps in their New Zealand education journey were extended a warm haere mai in Christchurch and Wellington recently.
A warm Wellington welcome
Around 600 new international students were welcomed to Wellington on Wednesday 16 March at a lively event at Pipitea Marae.
While the weather was cool, the Ngāti Pōneke pōwhiri was warm. The students – some wearing their national dress – were treated to a rousing kapa haka performance followed by a traditional Kiwi barbeque, and were given the chance to capture the moment in a Wellington-themed photo booth and take part in poi lessons.
The Mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown, welcomed the international students to the creative capital and promoted the opportunities for both study and work in the city.
The arrival of this most recent cohort boosts the international student population in Wellington to more than 5,600, injects an estimated additional $17 million in to the Wellington region’s economy and brings enormous cultural and social benefits to the region’s education institutions and communities.
A colourful Christchurch greeting

Students who have chosen Christchurch as their education destination were embraced in a similar style, at an event hosted by Christchurch Educated on Thursday 7 April.
A pōwhiri at the Te Puna Wānaka marae at Ara Institute of Canterbury set the warm and welcoming scene and was followed up by a greeting from Mayor Lianne Dalziel. During her address, Ms Dalziel acknowledged the important role played by Christchurch’s International Student Ambassadors; and referred to success of the Indian Skills Scholarships.
As in Wellington, the international students had the opportunity to pick up some kapa haka and poi skills.
Canterbury welcomes more than 9,500 international students each year, contributing an estimated $253 million to the regional economy.
Market insights from Saudi Arabia
The most notable changes have included restrictions to the Saudi scholarships programme, and a renewed focus on increasing the provision of private education to meet future growth in demand. As a result, opportunities ahead will be found in in-country education provision, while changes to the scholarship programme provide an opportunity to position New Zealand well for favoured specialist disciplines.
Saudi Arabia is a ‘promote’ market for Education New Zealand. In 2014, 3,246 Saudi students enrolled with New Zealand providers. Saudi students often progress through English language, foundation courses, bachelor degrees and postgraduate qualifications here. Many New Zealand organisations also offer education services in-market.
Scholarships changes
Saudi Arabia has implemented the largest study-abroad scholarship programme in the world, with up to 180,000 Saudi students being sponsored at any one time.
Students have traditionally entered the scholarship programme either by undertaking three to four months privately funded English language study and then receiving a scholarship from the in-country Cultural Mission (the private-entry pathway), or by receiving a full scholarship in Saudi Arabia (the Saudi-entry pathway).
- Private entry pathway changes: In February the Saudi Government announced restrictions on the private entry pathway, which had accounted for the majority of scholarship students globally. This restriction requires students to attend a top-100 university (Shanghai JiaoTong rankings) before being admitted. This route had been paused since 2015 – a factor reflected in New Zealand’s first time student visa statistics, which show a reduction in first-time student numbers from March 2015 onwards (brown versus blue line below).
- Saudi pathway changes: The Ministry has also reformed the Saudi pathway in 2015 by establishing 'your job your scholarship' which links the scholarships to future employment. The timeframes for this scholarship allocation process has been extended to provide for the central management of scholarships by the Ministry of Education (which merged with the Ministry of Higher Education in 2015).
In sum these changes will increase the entry criteria for the scholarships and therefore the overall calibre of Saudi scholarship students, and position New Zealand well for specialist disciplines that are in-demand in the Saudi labour market.
Increasing international and private education within the Kingdom
The recently appointed Minister of Education, Mohammed Al-Isa, has signalled that the Ministry is to review a long-standing ban on foreign universities. The Minister has also signalled in Arabic media that ‘private education will drive growth in the education sector’.
These signals may see growth in the number of private international operators established in the Kingdom. There will also be increasing opportunities for New Zealand providers to meet in-market demand for high quality education provision. Reflecting the importance that the Saudi authorities are placing on international investment, the theme of the April 2016 Ta’leem Exhibition, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, is ‘Investment in Education’.
Education New Zealand’s activities in Saudi Arabia in 2016 include a three-pronged approach to these changing market dynamics:
- Targeting promotions towards private students, e.g. through the English-language promotional campaign which will focus on students studying abroad over the extended Saudi summer
- Working directly with the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Cultural Mission in New Zealand, and sponsor agencies to offer places through the ‘your job your scholarship’ programme, and
- Supporting New Zealand education organisations to increase the delivery of education services in Kingdom, as the Government tilts its investment towards more ‘in-market’ education solutions and delivery.
For further information, please get in touch with your key ENZ contact.
New Zealand School Story released
The New Zealand School Story comprises a video, posters and photography available via The Brand Lab. (Head to the ‘Marketing’ tab and scroll down to ‘Sector Stories’.)
Central to all collateral is the theme ‘Proud Parents’. The video itself tells a genuine, heart-felt and emotive story about how children from all around the world can have the opportunity to flourish in our schools.
It shows we understand the importance of choosing the right study destination, especially for young children, and how much is invested in that the decision. Like the New Zealand Education Story, the School Story has a strong emotional connection, while also reinforcing key messages that promote New Zealand schools. Its target audiences are parents, as key decision-makers, as well as students.
Education New Zealand led the development of this story with guidance from an industry working group comprising the SIEBA Establishment Board and the ENZ School Sector Reference Group. Advertising agency Clemenger BBDO produced the material.
The story was launched at ENZ’s seminar series in March at locations around the country. If you haven’t seen it yet, head to The Brand Lab now and have a look.
New Zealand and Korea: new opportunities
When the Korea New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (KNZFTA) came into force on 20 December it included three education and training-related programmes of interest to New Zealand’s international education industry.
The agreement included three education and training related programmes:
1. The Korea New Zealand Agricultural Cooperation Scholarships (KNZACS) – six postgraduate scholarships, two each in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
2. A schools visit programme – 150 short-term high school scholarships each year for three years.
3. Primary Sector Training Visas (PSTV) - 50 visas allocated each year.
The first two opportunities are scholarship programmes jointly funded by the New Zealand and Korean governments and a Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between ENZ and the Korean Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) to implement the arrangements.
Agricultural cooperation scholarships
This postgraduate scholarships programme will provide for six scholarships to be awarded to Korean students to study in New Zealand. Four PhD scholarships will be awarded in 2016 in the fields of forestry and agriculture. Two further scholarships in fisheries will be awarded in 2017 and are open to both PhD and Master’s programmes.
An independent expert panel has been established to select applicants for the first round of the scholarship, with advertising of the scheme to commence in Korea in April. Applications will close on 8 July.
For further information on the scholarships, please contact Christine Roberts at ENZ.
Schools visits programme
The schools visits programme will see 150 high school students from rural regions of South Korea selected to come to a rural or semi-rural areas of New Zealand for an eight week period from July this year.
Canterbury, Waikato and Nelson-Marlborough have been chosen to participate in this programme. Ten schools in each region will host five students each.
The Schools International Education Business Association (SIEBA) will operationalise the programme on behalf of ENZ. If you are a school in the above regions, a Code signatory, a member of SIEBA, and wish to be involved in this initiative we encourage you to contact SIEBA.
Primary sector training visa (PSTV)
The New Zealand government has established an annual quota of 50 primary sector training visas which allow the Korean government to place students with New Zealand training providers in the areas of agriculture and fisheries.
The training programme will involve three months’ English language and vocational training in relevant courses, followed by up to nine months’ paid internship placement in a New Zealand work place.
ENZ is not involved in the implementation of this programme, however we are able to introduce interested and experienced providers to EPIS for programme development and implementation.
The Korean Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) is currently seeking interested providers for the fisheries programme. Eight students are allocated for this stream. If your institution is able to offer a three month English and fisheries training programme, and have established relationship with fisheries workplaces for a minimum of six months’ paid internship placement, please get in touch with Cecily Lin who can connect you with EPIS.
Preliminary information is provided below:
1. What are the academic backgrounds of these students?
The students will be either current students in fisheries high schools or universities, or recent graduates from these institutions within the last two years. The students’ majors will be directly relevant to fishery studies.
All students will be aged 18 or over.
2. What are their levels of English proficiency?
The applicants will be required to demonstrate an appropriate level of English to communicate with their local employer and teacher. EPIS will grant scholarships to students via international certified English tests e.g. TOEIC, TOEIC SPEAKING, OPIC.
3. What is the intended outcome of the three months’ training programme?
To achieve an appropriate level of job performance skills in their work and improved English language skills.
4. What is the intended length and level of internship?
At least six months immediately after the training.
5. What is the expected level of payment to the students during the internship?
The payment must be at the New Zealand minimum wage or above.
6. What are the requirements for participating education providers?
Providers must be Category One.
Above: The EPIS and ENZ teams.
New approach for Korean middle schools
The Korean government wants to improve levels of student happiness, and move on from students validating their success and self-worth only in terms of academic performance. A priority is to support students to pursue “non-core learning areas” (such as music, arts, physical education, career exploration, club-oriented activities, etc). Each school will now designate a semester that is exam- and test-free to allow students to experience a wide range of these activities.
This approach represents a big change in the Korean education environment. To date these students have relied heavily on simple memorisation and rote learning instead of thinking creatively or critically. The government now expects students to freely discover their competencies and capability, free from the stress associated with exams. Korean President Park Geun-hye describes this initiative as a “key task to fundamentally change Korea’s education system”.
Under this new initiative, schools will teach students using diverse and engaging methods such as discussion, experiments, outdoor activities and team projects. Opportunities for students to engage with activities that may inform their thinking about future career options and/or future subject choices is also encouraged.
The initiative began as a pilot in September 2013 with 42 Korean middle schools (1 percent of all Korean middle schools). It was expanded in 2014 to around 800 schools (25 percent), and to 1,500 schools in 2015 (nearly 50 percent). This year, all 3,204 middle schools – and their 1.5 million students – will implement this approach.
Opportunities for NZ schools
This new way of working not only requires a significant paradigm change in thinking for educators and parents, it also requires Korea to develop new infrastructure outside the classroom. It may therefore take some time to fully develop.
This new initiative presents an opportunity for New Zealand schools; two groups of Korean parents may be interested in sending their children to study abroad during the exam-free semester:
1. Families that wish to take advantage of the New Zealand curriculum, teaching expertise and existing infrastructure in terms of these broader subject areas (especially opportunities to learn outside of the classroom that are available at New Zealand’s intermediate schools); or
2. Families that have a more traditional Korean academic education preference and wish to provide their children with an intensive learning experience (such as significantly develop their English language skills).
New Zealand schools may therefore wish to reframe their marketing collateral for parents to demonstrate the strengths of their school’s programmes to deliver quality educational outcomes for Korean middle school students during these exam-free semesters.
FAQs
What age and year level are Korean middle school students?
Students in Korea start school at age seven, rather than five, the usual age in New Zealand. Korean middle school students are in years seven and eight and aged 13-14 years. The table below compares the age and year of the two school systems.
What are the Korean school semester dates?
Korean school year is divided into two semesters, running from 1 March to mid-July, and from mid/late August to February.
Who decides which semester will be exam-free? Will it be the same semester for all schools in a region, for example?
Individual principals, in consultation with their school staff decide which semester will be selected as the ‘exam-free’ semester. This could be any semester between the first semester in the first year and the first semester of the second year.
Would this be an opportunity for students to spend the whole semester away from Korea, or are we talking about short (say 2-3 week or 4-5 week) programmes for groups?
This will likely be predominately an opportunity for individual students to study for a full semester in New Zealand.
That said, it is possible that schools with MoUs with Korean schools could promote an exchange or short course study abroad programme, but New Zealand schools who are interested in this should carefully canvas existing sister schools first to confirm whether this approach would meet the requirements.
What does experiential learning mean in Korea?
The following four types of activities have been recommended by the Korean Ministry of Education:
- Topic of interest: students choose topic(s) of interest and participate in a programme of activities around the topic, such as: entrepreneurship, design, animation, film, barista skills, smartphone app development, robotics, cooking, science etc.
- Arts and physical education: students undertake activities that are not part of their regular school curriculum such as: participating in a musical or in a band, curating, industrial design, or physical education activities such as sports leisure industry experience or exploring career options around soccer, dancing etc.
- Club activities: student clubs can be organised by students around topics of interest. These could be linked to other activities such as sports, career or volunteering such as a hospital volunteering group of 20 students who go to local hospitals to help out.
- Career: students discover what employment options await; giving a chance for them to begin thinking about the sort of work they would like to do in the future and to gather information that will help them make good decisions about the courses they will undertake when they enter secondary school. This could include going into workplaces to experience, observe etc. and could also include a career counselling component.
The New Zealand curriculum, teaching techniques and education outside of the classroom experience and infrastructure appears to be a good fit with this initiative.