From the CE: China, the GCC, and a warm welcome

Recently I arrived back to New Zealand after a whirlwind visit to Beijing to attend the China Annual Conference and Expo for International Education (CACIE).  

While there, I was delighted to announce that New Zealand will be the Country of Honour at next year’s conference in 2025. New Zealand and China share a long and important relationship - it remains New Zealand’s largest trading partner and CACIE is the biggest international education conference in China – connecting professionals, researchers and international education stakeholders. 

Overall, the visit was extremely useful and included engagements with the President of China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), senior Chinese Government officials, opinion leaders and media, as well as visits to education providers and meetings with New Zealand Inc Agency heads. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with ENZ’s China team in market. 

Ed Tuari from our leadership team has also just returned to New Zealand after undertaking a market confirmation exercise in the Middle East region. The purpose of the exercise was to connect with key stakeholders and partners working in the region to establish what opportunities are available in international education, and to explore what level of resource ENZ may need to allocate to the region in the future. His travels took him to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman.  

Some good news to report on New Zealanders’ perceptions of international education and international students in New Zealand. The results from our latest survey show that 72 percent of respondents believed that international education and international students benefit New Zealand.  This is similar to previous years' scores which is promising.  

For the first time this year, the annual survey asked respondents if they wanted to see more or fewer international students in the country. Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they would like to see more, with another 36 percent supporting the same number of students. 82 percent of New Zealanders agreed that international students contribute to our cultural diversity, with 79 percent feeling they help local students learn about other cultures and ways of life, as well as contributing to local businesses during their studies. A thriving and sustainable international education sector needs the support of New Zealanders to create a welcoming environment for international students, so the results are pleasing to see. 

Nau te rourou, naku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri 

With your food basket and my food basket, the visitors will be cared for.