20 September 2019 at 12:00 am
Global initiatives show the benefits of collaboration
New Zealand Ambassador to Thailand, Taha Macpherson, at the opening of the AUT/RMUTT Thai-New Zealand Centre.
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is celebrating two new transnational educational initiatives.
Designed to share New Zealand’s unique education offering with the world, these new projects are the result of years of relationship-building.
AUT joined with Thailand’s prestigious Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) to open the AUT/RMUTT Thai-New Zealand Centre earlier this month.
Based at RMUTT’s Bangkok campus, the centre is dedicated to English language learning – for students, entrepreneurs and the general public. Eventually, this will enable more Thai students to study at English-speaking providers overseas.
Secondly, in early August, AUT became the first New Zealand university to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education. This makes AUT the official institutional partner for the board’s new learning platform to promote inquiry-based learning to both students and teachers.
ENZ General Manager International, Lisa Futschek, describes these collaborative efforts as “significant milestones”.
“Transnational education initiatives like these ones not only raise the profile of New Zealand education overseas, but are crucial steps in New Zealand’s internationalisation journey,” she says.