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  • Focus on Regional Growth

    This is at the heart of our Regional Partnership Programme, currently involving 13 active regional groups and supporting a wide range of activity, from development of strategies and implementation plans to innovative collaborative marketing and shared services models.

    Earlier this year, regional coordinators from across the country participated in a workshop to share ideas and identify priorities. Common themes included; strategies for working together with local and regional government, the need for robust regional leadership and governance, and the benefits of developing shared services and resources.

    “Regional collaboration is a natural platform for innovation and adding destination value for our customers,” says Greg Scott, Business Development Manager. “There is an enthusiasm across the country for working together and some exciting new developments.”

    Two examples from the South Island of initiatives funded by the Regional Partnership Programme recently are:

    • a Work Ready Programme being piloted by Study Dunedin, working with Enterprise Dunedin, to offer a six-week seminar based programme at the University of Otago, designed for international students who want to find employment in New Zealand after graduation;

    • an India Skills Scholarship Programme developed by Christchurch Educated, working with the Canterbury Development Corporation offering graduate tertiary qualification pathways to employment. One of the first successful graduate engineers has just finished with an A-grade average and is working for construction company, Ganellen, on the Christchurch rebuild.

    Enquiries about the Regional Partnership Programme are welcome at any time, and can be made by emailing greg.scott@enz.govt.nz.

  • Introducing ENZ’s new Board member, Victoria Spackman

    Victoria is Chief Executive, Director and co-owner of the screen and visitor experience company, the Gibson Group. You can read Victoria’s bio here but E-News put a few questions her way when she was in the office last week.

    How did you come to know about the world of international education?

    I worked with Education New Zealand on a Mandarin language TV series called Dragons in a Distant Land, which was all about Chinese students studying in New Zealand.  The series was launched by the Prime Minister in Beijing in April 2013 during the celebrations of the 40-year relationship between China and New Zealand, and screened on several TV channels around China. 

    What interests you about the sector?

    I am particularly interested in the fact that there are so many advantages to be had from a well-functioning international education system – advantages to the students visiting NZ, to the NZ students they learn with, to the schools and other providers, and to the wider economies in both NZ and, potentially, in the country that the student is from.  The strong personal and professional connections that are made through international education can help fuel lifelong relationships and opportunities. 

    What excites you most about your appointment to the Board?

    I’m looking forward to the opportunity to help the sector grow and help New Zealand take full advantage of its strong international educational reputation. 

    What challenges do you expect to face? 

    New Zealand is not the only country competing for international students and we are not the best resourced or the most famous.  So we have to differentiate ourselves and help what New Zealand has to offer stand out.  My personal challenges will include understanding the complex ecology of the sector as quickly as I can so I can make a full contribution. 

    What parts of your study/work/life experience do you think is most relevant to your role on the Board?

    I started my school life in the UK and, although I don’t think about it much, I expect that it has impacted on the person I am very much.  The company I own has pushed into several new export markets in recent years, including China, the US and Denmark.  The experience of persisting to reach those goals has taught me a lot about exporting and doing so in challenging markets.  I hope that that experience, as well as my broader experience, can help me be of the most assistance to the organisation and the sector. 

    As well as announcing Victoria’s appointment on 9 July, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce also announced the reappointment of Board Chair Charles Finny for an eighteen-month term, and Board members Philip Broughton, Richard Leggat and John Morris for three-year terms.

  • Canterbury launches Strategy Leadership Accord

    The Accord represents a commitment to grow the social, cultural and economic value of international education in the region over the next 10 years.

    The strategy vision is that Canterbury is a “a globally connected region for international education with education and training that leads to enhanced student opportunities and outcomes with enduring benefits for the community”.

    This will be achieved through:

    • Strong industry leadership via the Accord

    • Building partnership with government, iwi and other sectors

    • Building a regional value proposition and strong international partnership in key markets

    • Developing flagship programmes in areas of regional strength

    • Developing pathways through school, higher education and employment in areas of regional strength

    • Enhancing the student experience through developing a regional qual-mark for international education providers

    At the launch function this week, Michaela Blacklock, General Manager for Business and Sector Development at Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC) noted:

    “CDC believes that Christchurch’s international connectedness is critical to growing a strong economy which contributes to a better quality of life for people living in the region.  We recognise both the economic and social benefits to Christchurch and Canterbury from a strong international education sector.”

    The Leadership Accord has appointed Murray Strong as the Independent Chairperson, charged with overseeing the implementation of the strategy.  

    “It is important that we build on the industry cohesion and momentum gained during the post-earthquake period, which may be lost if there is no medium-term strategy to provide focus -  the real work starts now.”  says Murray Strong.

    The strategy development process was funded by Education New Zealand and facilitated by Canterbury Development Corporation, the Christchurch City Council economic development agency.

  • NZ education making headlines across Asia

    Key coverage since then has included feature articles in target publications in China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand and the Philippines.

    "Carving a name for themselves in the land of Kiwis”, “Open spaces, open hearts invite ASEAN minds to think new” and “Engineering options in New Zealand” – these are just a few recent headlines about New Zealand education featuring in media across Asia.

    From March to June, 21 media from seven target markets visited 20 different education providers throughout the country on Education New Zealand’s visiting media programme.Key coverage since then has included feature articles in target publications in China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand and the Philippines.“ENZ invites overseas media to visit New Zealand to report on our world-class education experience – filming, writing, blogging and tweeting about their experiences,” says John Goulter, General Manager, Government and Partners.“ENZ developed programmes that saw the journalists visit a wide range of education providers from across all sectors and get a real taste of New Zealand’s education strengths most relevant to their audiences.”“The impressions these visiting journalists form, and the coverage they give New Zealand as a result, relies on the rich experiences they have and the engaging students they meet. Thank you to those involved earlier this year for the effort and time you invested in delivering a great experience.”

    Highlights include:

    • A two-page feature on the front of the ‘Learning’ section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “Open spaces, open hearts encourage ASEAN students to ‘think new’” reached over 2.7 milion readers through the stories
    • of two students studying IT and cooking. The article compared New Zealand’s work-relevant programmes, choice of subjects, strengths in niche areas such as Computer Science with those offered in the Philippines, and praised New Zealand’s diversity and equality.
    • A story on New Zealand’s rising prominence as a high-quality, value-for-money destination for international students, published in the Bangkok Post as part of an ASEAN 40 visit to celebrate four decades of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and ASEAN nations. The newspaper has a daily circulation of 75,000. You can read the story here.
    • Multiple-page features in Malaysian newspapers the New Straits Times (average daily readership 240,000), Sin Chew Daily (500,000 readers) ande  Berita Harian (983,000 readers). Articles highlighted New Zealand’s strengths in a variety of subject areas, the student experience in NZ, and qualifications that equip students with work-ready skills.
    • Full-page features in India pointing out the advantages of studying media design and hospitality and adventure tourism in New Zealand (New Indian Express, circulation 335,616).
    • One-page profiles on each New Zealand university in the Indonesian youth magazine High End Teen, which reaches a targeted youth audience aged 13 to 18. Each profile highlighted the university’s distinctive strengths and included a student profile.

  • Introducing Misako Pitt, Tokyo

    We are delighted to announce that we have recruited Misako (Misa) Pitt to step into the role for a 13 month assignment.  Misa joined the team at the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo on 3 August.

    Misa was born in Los Angeles, USA and grew up in Australia and Japan.  She graduated with a BA in economics from Stanford University and went on to complete a Masters at Columbia University.  Misa is a Certified Public Accountant and has worked in a range of finance roles with US corporates.  Her most recent role was Executive Director of the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ANZCCJ) where she was accountable for the operation of all organisational activities of the ANZCCJ, including event management, public and media relations, programme initiatives, membership recruitment and financial and staff management.

    As the co-Chair of the Stanford University OVAL (Outreach Volunteer Alumni Link) in Japan, Misa has been passionate about promoting international education to the Japanese educational community.  Misa also has a passion for film and worked on promoting an American/Japanese medical documentary called ‘The Power of Two’, an official selection at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2011.

    Both Fiona and Misa will be at NZIEC 2015 in Hamilton this month.  Please take the opportunity to introduce yourself to the ENZ Tokyo team! 

  • Agent engagement in Thailand

    Delivering his welcome speech, H.E. Mr Reuben Levermore, New Zealand’s Ambassador to Thailand, emphasised the niche strengths of New Zealand education; how we can best stand out from crowd and the importance of agents as key partners in raising awareness.

    The workshop included speakers from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Immigration New Zealand, Thai government partners and local New Zealand alumni, to help give agents a good understanding of the value of New Zealand’s education offering and to provide them with a range of tools to sell New Zealand as an education destination.

    Chortip took a new approach to the workshops – presenting on market trends and statistics, while also showcasing niche courses offered in New Zealand such as film, animation and sports management. The workshop topics included: cyber security and health IT in Thailand; labour market information; overseas engineering programme accreditation and approval by the Council of Engineers Thailand; criteria for establishing equivalence for New Zealand education qualifications by the Bureau of Education Testing under the Thai Ministry of Education; and ‘Apply on Behalf’ online visa application training by Immigration New Zealand.

    This was the first full day workshop delivered in this style offered to Thai education agents and was well received by participants. ENZ will continue to support agents in Thailand in promoting New Zealand as a study destination, with further activities planned in the coming year.

  • New Zealand’s agriculture training pique’s interest of Moroccan delegation

    The delegation was led by Amine Mounir Alaoui, who is the head of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Executive Vice President of the OCP Foundation. The university was set up by Moroccan phosphate exporting company, Office Chérifien des Phosphates. During their visit the group visited Waikato, Auckland, Massey and Lincoln universities, as well as meeting with government agencies, Universities New Zealand and research partners in the new Lincoln Hub.  Education New Zealand facilitated the visit. 

    The main purpose of the visit was to explore the potential for cooperation in the agriculture and agri-tech area for the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University’s new School of Agriculture.  They were impressed with the capability and applied/industry-based approach of the New Zealand universities, and were especially interested in research cooperation and the potential for student exchange, study abroad, PhD study and teacher training. 

    Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is less than three years old, but it has ambitious plans to be the leading institute in Africa with 10,000 students enrolled by 2025.  It is a state of the art university located in the new city of Benguerir, close to Marrakech, and hosts three living labs – the new green city itself, a local phosphate mine and an industrial plant. 

    The delegation promoted Morocco as a secure gateway to Africa and a bridge to western countries. 

    Now that links have been made, the focus will be on identifying some key areas of research collaboration and gradual expansion of the education partnerships – perhaps more simmer than spice, but still warmer than a zero degree Lincoln day!

  • Meet MoE’s new Director, International Emily Fabling

    The new Director role leads the Ministry’s wider international education engagement strategies, international education policy development, and key country-to-country and multilateral education engagements.  The Director is in front of Ministers on a regular basis, and works closely with other parts of the Ministry, other government education agencies such as NZQA and TEC, ENZ, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT) and Immigration New Zealand to develop and support international education.  Having strong working relationships with education and research professionals, education providers and sector & community groups is also essential to Emily in working effectively in her role as Director.

    You can meet Emily at the New Zealand International Education Conference in Hamilton this week, but in the meantime, E-News caught up with the Ministry’s busy new Director and asked her a few introductory questions.

    You’ve been in the job three months now – tell me about the path that led you to your new role as Director, International Education at MoE.

    I grew up in Waipukurau, central Hawke’s Bay.  I studied the only foreign language available to me, French, and hung out with the only ‘international students’ at the time – Rotary Exchange students from Australia.  I actually started my government policy career in the Ministry of Education back in 2001 (when there were 79,000 international students in New Zealand), after having worked at Parliament and for MFAT in the APEC Taskforce, and some typical Kiwi overseas experience in the UK and through Asia.  I moved into Immigration Policy in the then-Department of Labour (DOL) in 2004, where I was responsible, among other things, for developing the licensing regime and legislation for immigration advisers and agents. 

    Emily20Fabling20220small2

    I became Deputy Director, International for DOL in 2009 and focussed my international engagement efforts there on the International Labour Organisation and bilateral labour agreements with Thailand, the Philippines and China, before taking on the role of National Manager, Recognised Seasonal Employment for almost three years (bringing Pacific Island workers to New Zealand’s horticulture & viticulture sectors for temporary seasonal work).  This role was an amazing opportunity, where I travelled to far-flung developing countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati, and experienced, first-hand, the life-changing impacts of time spent in New Zealand on individuals and communities back in the Pacific Islands.  I then spent six months back at MFAT (in the Asia Pacific Regional Division), before returning to the immigration fold and the Immigration New Zealand leadership team, as Executive Director in the Office of the Deputy Chief Executive for two years.  And now I am here!

    What study/work/life experiences do you bring to the role?

    At Victoria University, I studied Politics and Modern Languages (French & Japanese), and then combined these into an Honours degree in International Relations.  My public service career has followed an underlying thread of “international people mobility” – be it through skills and knowledge, or work and the labour market.  I’ve grown into broader public sector leadership roles from jobs in pure policy analysis and development.  I’m an extrovert, so enjoy presenting policy ideas or strategies to others – I’m also an eldest child and heavily results-focussed, so I like getting things done and working with others on the challenge of turning policy ideas or problems into pragmatic, sensible solutions.

    Outside of work, I live in Wellington’s northern suburbs with two cricket and PlayStation-mad sons (aged 10 and 7), two Labradors (aged 12 ½) and a husband (age undisclosed), a large garden and similarly-sized mortgage!

     Emily20Fabling203

    What’s on your ‘to do’ list for your next three months?

    In no particular order – supporting Ministerial engagements overseas and the International Education Senior Officials’ Group; giving practical effect to the Ministry’s own International Engagement Framework (which helps prioritise MOE’s international activities); finishing consultation on the new Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (submissions close on 30 August!) and developing the new International Student Contracts Dispute Resolution Scheme; completing the Annual Report on the Export Education Levy; working with sector bodies to think about how to better enable New Zealand students to study overseas and New Zealand providers to deliver programmes offshore; looking at ways to commercialise New Zealand education agency know-how and intellectual property; two weeks in China on the ANZSOG China Reciprocal Program hosted by the Chinese Government... and participating in the NZIEC 2015 in Hamilton on 20-21 August, of course!

  • New General Manager for ENZ

    Paul will shape and develop ENZ’s international marketing strategies and New Zealand education’s global brand, and oversee our channels to international markets, helping to realise ENZ’s business plan and strategy.

    An experienced General Manager, Paul joins ENZ from advertising agency FCB Wellington, where he has led the Wellington office for the past three years. He has more than 15 years’ experience in marketing strategy, digital marketing, international marketing and team management.

    Some of Paul’s recent award-winning campaigns at FCB include Inland Revenue’s Overseas Based Borrowers student loans campaign and the Electricity Authority’s What’s My Number campaign. He worked with the Ministry of Education to launch the inaugural Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards, and with the Open Polytechnic on their ‘Learning for an Open World’ brand repositioning campaign. Prior to these New Zealand-based roles, Paul worked for the Economist in London and then Asia, setting up the marketing department in Singapore and growing revenue from their publishing products. 

    ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson says Paul will work closely with ENZ’s international team and the industry in New Zealand to continue growing awareness of, and preference for, a New Zealand education in our target markets.

    “With the latest student visa dashboard showing first-time student visas are up 11% to date, Paul joins us at a time of continuing strong growth in international education.

    “His long-standing marketing experience will build on this momentum, taking our Think New education brand from strength to strength.”

  • Improving ENZ’s agent programme

    ENZ’s agent programme has enabled agents recommended by both education providers and our in-market teams to become part of ENZ’s ‘Recognised Agencies’ programme. Now that it’s been underway for a year, we’re reviewing the way the programme operates and is administered to make sure it can:

    a)  Add more value from our work with agents to increase international student numbers; and

    b)  Protect New Zealand’s reputation as a high quality education destination.

    Martin Jenkins & Associates Limited have been appointed to undertake the review, and will interview a range of agents, providers, government agencies and ENZ staff. The review is due to be completed by the end of September.

    ENZ staff will continue to manage the programme during the review. However, while the review is underway no new applications for ENZ Recognised Agency status will be processed.

    If you have any queries, please contact us at agenthelp@enz.govt.nz.

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