From the CE: Putting NZ back on the map in 2022-23

With relatively low numbers of international students currently in New Zealand, the primary focus for Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) over the 2022-23 year will be on rebuilding the sector. The rebuild will have an emphasis on quality and long-term sustainability. We will be working closely with our key sector partners here and around the world to put New Zealand back on the map.  

This focus is reflected in the draft refresh of the New Zealand International Education Strategy 2022-30, in our recently published Statement of Intent 2022-26 and Statement of Performance Expectations 2022-23, and in our internal business planning for the year ahead.  

The high impact global marketing campaign, I AM NEW, launched at NAFSA in late May, provides a strong starting point for the rebuild. As well as raising New Zealand’s profile by attracting significant international media coverage, the campaign has so far reached over 115 million users. This is a unified, overarching promotion on behalf of New Zealand’s international education providers – an essential approach for us to be heard in this extremely competitive sector. We have focussed the promotion on ten partner countries: Brazil, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, United States, and Viet Nam. The current phase of the campaign includes highlighting individual student stories.  

Travel to partner countries to support the work of locally based ENZ staff and our NZ Inc agency partners is also an important part of promoting New Zealand’s education. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s visit to Singapore and Japan in April, and Education Minister Chris Hipkins’ travel to the United States, Brazil and Chile in May-June have delivered the clear message that New Zealand is open for business, raised awareness of our quality education offering, and progressed our relationships in these countries. You can read more detailed reports about the trip to North and South America in this month’s E-News, and we’re currently planning our forward schedule of travel to other key partner countries.  

After discussions with education providers, we have finalised the programme of in-market events where New Zealand will be represented through until the end of 2022, and this is now available on our website here.  

The reopening of New Zealand’s borders has also enabled the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia and Latin America to restart this year, so New Zealanders have the opportunity to learn from international experiences and develop their global citizenship competencies and networks. Decisions were recently announced on the first round of group applications, while applications for individual scholarships are open until 31 August 2022.  

This month we also formalised a new partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ENZ that will see ENZ take over operational management of the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme from November 2022. This is an excellent example of ‘NZ Inc.’ cooperation that plays to each agency’s strengths. You can read more about the partnership in this issue of E-News.  

He ora te whakapiri, he mate te whakatāriri – Unity is strength 

Grant McPherson