28 May 2015 at 9:00 am
INAKL ambassadors welcome
Auckland has selected the first four INAKL International Student Ambassadors to represent the region’s international student community.
It is an exciting milestone for the INAKL programme, which is a key project for Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development – which drives the growth of the international education through its specialist team Study Auckland.
The ambassadors will regularly blog about their experiences as an international student in Auckland on a new site which went live this week.
Ketaki Khare was among the ambassadors who were formally announced by Auckland Mayor Len Brown at an international student function held at Auckland Zoo last month.
As well as being a student ambassador, Ketaki is among 10 Indian students awarded the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sports Scholarships for 2015. She is a member of the Indian women’s rugby team, is India’s first female rugby referee and the first Indian woman to pursue a professional career in rugby.
Ketaki Khare says: “Being an INAKL International Student Ambassador is an amazing opportunity to view this magical city in all its glory and it gives me immense pleasure to be able to write about all my experiences.”
Birgit Hermann, Project Manager – International Student Experience, says: “The ambassadors’ role is to experience everything Auckland has to offer and talk about them to international students who are here or may come here.”
The event at Auckland Zoo was the second in a series of INAKL events organised by Study Auckland for the region’s international student community. Some international students also enjoyed an INAKL group attendance at an Auckland Blues rugby game last month, and a recent Immigration New Zealand seminar about how they could potentially make Auckland their permanent home.
The programme kicked off with the resoundingly successful International Student Welcome held at The Cloud in March, which attracted about 2,400 students.
“The recent immigration seminar was fully subscribed within 10 hours and the INAKL Facebook site reached more than 2000 likes this week. The programme is achieving great results, but we would like to see it continue to grow and benefit students,” says Birgit.
For further information please visit aucklandnz.com/inakl or contact inakl@aucklandnz.com.
