11 June 2015 at 9:00 am
Doing the business
The annual NAFSA event, the largest international education conference hosted each year in the US, has once again hit record attendance.with 11,500 international education professionals registered at this year’s 25-29 May gathering in Boston.
Included in that count were representatives from all eight New Zealand universities, four ITPs, and ENZ Chief Executive Grant MacPherson along with Lisa Futschek (Regional Director for the Americas, Japan and Korea) and Amy Rutherford (International Market Manager for China and the US). Whilst there is a full conference programme at NAFSA each year, the real focus is on the exhibitions’ hall which has been described as a ‘massive speed dating event'. Resembling any large international trade fair, hundreds of upmarket booths house service providers, national umbrella organisations, individual education institutions and agents looking to do deals with one another in the Study Abroad market.
New Zealand institutions had full agendas throughout the week, exploring new business opportunities with partner institutions from the US and around the world and maintaining and developing existing relationships.
ENZ met with a range of organisations keen to work with us in promoting New Zealand as a study abroad destination, including the US Department of State, Education USA, Institute of International Education, STA travel, GoOverseas and a number of third party providers (akin to agents).
The New Zealand networking function was once again a highlight on the NAFSA agenda, with more than 200 of our closest partners enjoying an evening rich with New Zealand wine, food and culture, including an impressive haka performed by Laken Whitecliff, a young New Zealand artist based in New York, who was displaying his work at the venue. It was an evening to be proud of and an excellent way to thank our many partners in the US and globally.
The US Study Abroad market is buoyant, with much untapped opportunity for New Zealand. A range of government agencies have substantial budgets to assist US students on Study Abroad experiences in support of a government goal of doubling to 600,000 the number of US undergraduates studying abroad by the end of the decade. New Zealand has a very positive image in the US, although our profile as a high quality study destination remains comparatively low. But US students choose us rather for lifestyle reasons, our outdoor adventure, incredible landscapes, lord of the rings legacy and being a ‘bit different’ and off the beaten track.
On the back of profile-raising campaigns ENZ led in conjunction with IIE and GoOverseas in the latter half of 2014, there has been considerable growth in the number of US students seeking visas. The first quarter of 2015 is 25% up (221 visas) on the first quarter of 2014. A great start to the year!
If you’d like more information about the US market, please email Lisa.Futscheck@enz.govt.nz or Amy.Rutherford@enz.govt.nz
