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• International Students Support Framework

  I-graduate surveys show that we do a good job with supporting international students, exceeding the international benchmark in many areas.

  But we also know that international students are at times overloaded with information which can be inconsistent and are looking for a more coordinated, thorough, and targeted approach to the information they receive.

  The Ministry of Education is leading a cross-government agency initiative to develop an International Students Support Framework to ensure that government information and support for international students is well coordinated with the support which providers deliver.

  Government agencies provide a wide range of information to international students and services where necessary, helping communities, sectors and other relevant bodies to create a good support network for international students in New Zealand.

  A variety of organisations including education agents, education providers, community bodies and local government also provide support and we need to work together to ensure we are meeting international students’ information needs.

  Once government agencies have shaped what the Framework may entail in terms of government initiatives, wide consultation is planned with sector bodies, education providers, international students, student bodies, local governments, community organisations, and other stakeholders.

  Consultation will seek feedback on:

  • government roles and responsibilities, including proposed initiatives

  • current practice outside of government departments

  • developing a directory of information and support services for international students throughout New Zealand

  • what is missing or could be done better.

   A process and timeline for feedback on the draft framework will be advised in the coming months.

• Stephen Fleming flies New Zealand education flag in India

  Taking advantage of the former Black Caps captain’s massive profile in India, ENZ organised several awareness raising events fronted by Stephen Fleming to encourage Indian students to come to New Zealand.

  “Stephen has legendary status in India with the country’s love of cricket and Stephen’s own connections through the Indian Premier League where he is coach of the Chennai Super Kings. He is a very well-known and highly regarded personality and working with him to convey New Zealand’s education story has enabled us to reach a volume and quality of audience that might not have been as readily accessible otherwise,” said Ziena Jalil, ENZ Regional Director for South and South East Asia.

  “As a passionate advocate for quality education with a strong belief in the New Zealand education system, Stephen does a great job in exciting students, teachers and parents about what we have to offer.”

  Stephen was at all three Education New Zealand fairs in India in late August to interact with students and answer questions about studying in New Zealand. School and tertiary education institution visits in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi attracted more than a thousand potential students.

  We also secured a huge volume of quality media coverage as a result of Stephen’s promotional activities – one media briefing drew more than 50 journalists including several TV channels.

  An online campaign challenged students who were already thinking about study abroad options to take the next step and actively consider New Zealand as a study destination.

  Visitors who registered their interest in studying in New Zealand on the Education New Zealand campaign website were contacted by an education agent who provided them with more information about the courses, the criteria and support with the application process.

  By expressing interest, prospective students were automatically in to win an exclusive dinner date with Stephen Fleming. The lucky winners enjoyed a once in a lifetime experience with the cricketer who is regarded in India as one of the best captains the Black Caps have ever had.

  You can find photos of Stephen, the students and the fairs on our facebook page.

  While this campaign in India is over, New Zealand’s co-hosting the 2015 Cricket World Cup (CWC) also offers additional opportunities in India from an education perspective.

  If you are interested in learning more about the Stephen Fleming or CWC programmes for India should contact ENZ at: india@enz.govt.nz.

• NZIEC in review

  “Attendees welcomed the inclusion of market specific presentations from our offshore staff,” says Clive Jones, General Manager Business Development.

  “Think New in Action is all about matching the strengths of our education system with the needs of students looking for an international study destination. To do this effectively we have to understand our key markets and how students make their education choices.”

  Conference feedback shows that people highly valued the presentations by the two keynote speakers, Frances Valintine from the Mind Lab and Jeff Lehman from NYU Shanghai.

  Frances challenged the audience with her look into the future of education from the perspective of the upcoming generation of global digital citizens – generating a buzz of discussion over lunch and many references back to her presentation in the afternoon sessions.

  Jeff shared his first-hand knowledge of establishing international partnerships in China which seemed to resonate with the audience.

  “A particular pleasure was NYU Shanghai Vice Chancellor Jeff Lehman’s presentation. The China team had identified Jeff as a speaker, and it was rewarding to see industry colleagues respond so positively to his insightful presentation on the “four waves” involved in China relationships – and to hear the chuckles as people recognised their own experiences of working in China,” says Alex Grace, Regional Director Greater China.

  All of our international staff presenting at the conference agree that the opportunity to talk to so many people from across the industry was one of the major benefits of the conference.

  Fiona Haiko from our Japan office says: “It was a great chance to hear from different institutions about their aspirations for Japan and to get a feel for how the New Zealand industry perceives the Japanese market.”

  The benefits of getting more than four hundred industry participants together in one place also has a positive effect on our own people.

  “Coming back to New Zealand is always great – even in winter. It is sort of a reality check for the job you keep doing over the year from far away,” says Ute Haug, our Senior Market Development Manager in Berlin.

  “It is most important for me to come to New Zealand, to get a direct feel of the country, link back to headquarters and take new impressions back to Berlin.”

  Back in Riyadh, John Laxon describes the conference as “a great platform for getting organisations interested in the Middle East region and considering new ideas and initiatives” and adds that the industry seems to be on a roll after some hard work over the last couple of years.

  Thanks must go out to all the industry presenters who generously shared their professional knowledge and experience in workshops and sessions.

  “The strategic roadmaps development process has showed us that increased collaboration and cooperation is key to growth across all sectors and around the country.”

  “I am looking forward to the next year as the industry steps into the driver’s seat and begins to put some of the strategic choices and actions into operation,” says Clive.

  You can download the presentations from the conference here.

  The New Zealand International Education Conference is scheduled to be held again in August 2015.

• Bold gaokao reforms announced

  The changes will see the removal of streaming – a policy which has been in place since 1957 – allowing students greater flexibility in subject choices to count toward their final score. Higher education admission processes are also slated to change.

  Common subjects remain

  Under the current gaokao system, students must study Chinese language, maths and a foreign language (usually, but not exclusively, English). Students will continue to study these common subjects.

  While the three common subjects will be tested at a ‘unified date’, many provinces will allow students to take two separate exams for English and submit their best result.

  Streaming abolished

  The reforms will remove the policy of streaming students into the arts stream or the science stream in their second year of senior high school. Instead, students will study a mix of arts and science subjects.

  More subjects introduced

  As well as the three common subjects, the reforms will see students study 11 others. The 11 subject areas will likely vary between provinces.

  While students must study all 11 subjects, only three results from six identified subjects – history, geography, politics, chemistry, biology and physics – will count toward their overall gaokao score. The three results may be a student’s best results and/or be from subject areas which align well with their future study plans.

  The 11 subjects will be assessed based on a ranking system, with students awarded a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ grade. How the rankings will be converted into scores for the overall gaokao score is an area that will be clarified through implementation plans.

  These changes will likely see students prioritise particular subjects based on their future study plans.

  Change in admission processes

  The admission processes of China’s higher education institutions will also change. The reforms encourage institutions to adopt a multidimensional enrolment system; to look beyond a singular focus on gaokao results to include ‘academic performance’ and ‘overall qualities’ in their assessments.

  With the removal of streaming, it is likely that Chinese higher education institutions will provide students with greater clarity as to the subject requirements they must meet to apply for specific fields of study – for example, a higher score in politics may be more important for students seeking to study law than biology.

  Another change relates to the ‘extra points’ policy. This policy saw students with strengths in sports or artistic pursuits awarded bonus points for the gaokao and thus a better chance of entering top universities. This policy will be removed from 2015.

  Implementation

  The China Ministry of Education has designated Shanghai municipality and Zhejiang province as pilot areas for the reforms. Implementation will begin later this year for first year students at senior high schools.

  Both Shanghai and Zhejiang are expected to publish implementation plans in the coming months which will outline in greater detail how the reforms will be implemented.

  The reforms will be rolled out nationwide from 2017 and are expected to be fully implemented by 2020.

  Rationale for the change

  The reforms follow the significant debate across China about the education system’s ‘fitness for purpose’ in an era where innovation is essential for the next phase of China’s economic development.

  The reforms seek to address common criticisms of the gaokao. As Vice Minister of Education Du Yubo said, “to put it simply, we are trying to solve the problem of yi kao ding zhong shen (one exam determines one's entire life)”.

  Greater international recognition likely

  The reforms will likely stimulate an increase in the number of tertiary institutions around the world accepting gaokao for admission into degree programmes. A growing number of institutions already accept gaokao results, including seven of Australia’s Group of Eight universities.

  Education New Zealand has been working with Universities New Zealand on the acceptance of gaokao results for direct entry. We are interested in hearing from all New Zealand providers which do currently or are considering direct entry on the basis of gaokao. Email us at china@enz.govt.nz.

• Brazilian university professors visit

  Last month Education New Zealand and MFAT joined forces with Latino New Zealand to host representatives from top Brazilian universities on a visit to New Zealand. The visit aimed to establish institution to institution links between universities of the two countries, to increase the Brazilian institutions’ understanding of our universities and to raise our profile in the Science Without Borders programme.

  Eight Brazilian universities participated in the visit, including State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Paulista State University (UNESP), all ranked in the top 500 in world.

  The visiting professors met with representatives from all eight of our universities as well as with ENZ, UNZ and the Brazilian Ambassador in New Zealand. 

  This is the first significant contact between the universities of the two countries and all of the participating universities were very keen to establish long-term research linkages with New Zealand institutions. Most of the Brazilian universities represented are well resourced in various areas of research, particularly in areas such as agriculture and plant and animal sciences.

  As a result of the visit, ENZ has received invitations to present to some of the universities and one of the professors also offered to join the New Zealand SWB presentation at his university to share his positive experience in New Zealand. Most of the visiting professors have also uploaded photos of their trip on Facebook and their university pages where they will be widely viewed by their contacts and university communities.

  Brazil is New Zealand’s largest source country for international students in Latin America. Traditionally Brazilian students come to New Zealand for short-term language courses, but in recent years we have seen an increase in the number of students from the school sector, mainly due to the Pernambuco state’s Win the World scholarship programme.

  Since New Zealand joined the Science without Borders (SWB) scheme in 2013, more than 170 Brazilian students have studied in New Zealand under the undergraduate sandwich programme.

  Although the undergraduate sandwich (study abroad) awards take up the majority of the SWB funding, the programme also funds full PhD and sandwich PhD studies. A new Masters programme has also been established and ENZ and UNZ are currently working on New Zealand’s inclusion in this programme.

  SWB also provides the following awards:

  • Inbound Fellowships which aim to bring early-career researchers and senior scholars to Brazilian universities and research centres.

  • Young Talent awards fully fund one to three year research stays in Brazil with an attractive package including round-trip tickets, relocation expenses, a tax-free highly competitive lecturer-level monthly allowance, a contribution toward research costs and funding for research assistantship.

  • Special Visiting Researcher Programme for joint projects with research groups in Brazil and work in the country for up to three months every year over two to three years. A generous grant is available to researchers including round-trip tickets for every annual visit, a tax-free highly competitive senior-level monthly allowance, a contribution toward research costs and funding for a sandwich PhD at home and a Post-doctoral Fellowship in Brazil.

  • Offshore Technological and Innovation Development awards that support the participation of Brazilian researchers, specialists and technicians in development and training activities overseas.

• NZ agricultural innovation on show in Colombia

  Tru-Test, Gallagher, ISL Animal Health and Livestock Improvement Corporation showcased their world-leading pasture-based farming technologies, while we talked about the opportunities for agricultural training available in New Zealand.

  “It was another great opportunity for the NZ Inc team based in Santiago to work together,” said ENZ’s Market Development Manager Javiera Visedo.

  “I was able to talk with prospective students for the agriculture sector who were thinking about where to study and having New Zealand companies and technology there really answered the question of ‘why New Zealand?’."

  “Now that I have participated in this event for the first time, I hope that next time we can have a couple of institutions along that can talk with students face-to-face,” said Javiera.

  NZTE’s Trade Commissioner responsible for Colombia, Rhianon Berry said the goal of the expo was to show local producers how New Zealand’s agricultural innovation can be an important ally to increase productivity and efficiency in Colombian pastures.

  "In recent years, Colombia has aroused the significant interest of New Zealand companies due to its great potential for doing business in the agricultural sector, in particular in the conversion of pastures into proteins, an area in which New Zealand has extensive knowledge," explains Berry.

  New Zealand is experiencing a significant period of growth in numbers of Colombian students coming here to study. In the year to date student visas issued have increased by 120 percent, with the majority of the increase occurring in the PTE sector which accounts for 79 percent of all Colombian students who come to New Zealand. 

• INZ support invaluable

  The active participation of INZ staff in offshore international education marketing events is particularly appreciated, enabling the latest immigration and visa information to be provided to prospective students, their parents, education agents and members of the general public. 

  We were very well supported recently by Cat Beach, Immigration Manager based in Shanghai, at a series of international education marketing events in Japan and South Korea. Cat travelled with ENZ staff and New Zealand institutions to September events in Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Busan.

  She presented immigration updates to Japanese and Korean education agents, immigration seminars to attendees at the Seoul Korea Study Abroad Fair, and fielded enquiries from students, parents, and New Zealand institutions participating in the fairs and marketing events. 

   “Visas are at the front end when it comes to enabling a student to study in New Zealand. People often think that visa processes are difficult, so it’s really great to outline to them how easy it is to apply,” says Cat.

  “I also enjoy connecting with the New Zealand providers, as it makes the work INZ does very tangible. And of course whenever I participate in ENZ’s marketing events, it always reminds me of how beautiful New Zealand is and what we have to offer.  It makes me completely homesick!”

  ENZ Regional Director Lisa Futschek says: “Working seamlessly with INZ at our recent Japan and Korea marketing events was mutually reinforcing. Our international education sector was able to benefit from Cat’s extensive knowledge on visa and immigration matters, and INZ was able to experience first-hand the preoccupations of Japanese and Koreans considering a move to New Zealand.  A surprising number of guests to the fairs enquired about emigration to New Zealand under the skilled migrant and skills shortages categories.”

  

• OECD education report out

  Education at a Glance provides comparable national statistics measuring the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of the education systems in the 34 OECD member countries, as well as a number of G20 and partner countries. Most of the recent data in the report relates to 2012.

  Key findings for international education globally

  • In 2012, more than 4.5 million students were enrolled in tertiary education outside their country of citizenship.

  • The United States has the largest market share of foreign students with 16.4 percent and the United Kingdom is second with 12.6 percent.

  • Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States together receive more than 50 percent of all foreign students worldwide.

  • Students from Asia represent 53 percent of foreign students enrolled worldwide. The largest numbers of foreign students from this continent are from China, India and Korea.

  • Europe is the top destination for tertiary level students enrolled outside their country of origin (48 percent).

  • The number of foreign students in Oceania has tripled since 2000, although this region hosts less than 10 percent of all foreign students.

  Key findings for New Zealand

  • International students make up 16 percent of the New Zealand student population which is double the OECD average and ranks New Zealand fifth in foreign student enrolment as percentage of total tertiary enrolment.

  • New Zealand has the 13th largest market for foreign students in absolute market share terms (at 1.6 percent), about the same as last year but much higher than its share in 2000 (0.4 percent).

  • Three percent of New Zealand tertiary students study abroad.

  • Investment in education has risen to 7.5 percent of GDP which is the fourth highest in the OECD

  • Twenty two percent of all public expenditure is invested in education, the highest percentage in the OECD.

  You can read the full report and examine the data and findings in detail at http://www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm

• Celebrating our education ties with Thailand

  Students and their families were able to explore a variety of international study options available in New Zealand with 50 New Zealand institutions providing high-quality representation and advice on the New Zealand education offering.

  Ziena Jalil, Education New Zealand Regional Director South – South East Asia, said: “The fact that New Zealand education institutions have visited Thailand every year for 20 years to demonstrate the benefits of studying with them in New Zealand, illustrates our long-term commitment to Thailand and to our Thai partners.”

  “This year’s theme for the fair was “New Experiences, New Ideas” and it was important to have the full range of New Zealand institutions and sectors to show the true spirit of New Zealand where new thinking is celebrated and where there are multiple opportunities.”

  “With more than 3,000 Thai students studying in New Zealand this year, we are already providing high quality education and life-changing experiences for many Thai students” said Ziena.

  Over 400 people attended the fair representing an increase of seven percent from last year, with pre-event publicity including media releases and a media briefing to encourage student registration and boost awareness of the fair.

  The fair was the peak event for New Zealand education in Thailand following our August roadshow to Thai secondary schools in Bangkok, promoting New Zealand study opportunities and particularly English language courses. As part of the roadshows ENZ visited three schools and participated in an exhibition held by a network of Thai public schools offering English language programmes.

  Education New Zealand also takes this opportunity to provide you with a resourcing update for Thailand. Recruitment is well underway for a new Marketing and Strategic Relationships Manager to be based in Bangkok. Sarah Stabler, ENZ’s Lead – Public Relations/Marketing (SSEA) is your contact point for all ENZ activity in Thailand so please contact Sarah if you have any Thailand related queries sarah.stabler@enz.govt.nz. We wish to thank Gewalin Lertrasameewong, known to most of us as Nan, for her work over the years with ENZ and the former trust. Nan finished with ENZ on Friday 26 September and we wish her all the very best. 

  

• EAIE and Erasmus+

  The annual event combines conference sessions with an exhibition hall, and a rare opportunity for institutional partners to meet face to face. This year was the biggest yet, with over 5,000 attendees from 90 countries.

  For the first time, Education New Zealand hosted a networking reception which was attended by over 100 guests from European institutions. New Zealand wine and a gorgeous venue with a balcony overlooking Prague’s Wenceslas Square created a real kiwi vibe. One New Zealander commented “it made our partners feel really valued”.

  Over the week in Prague, our institution representatives were kept busy meeting existing partners, while the ENZ team responded to a steady flow of enquiries from institutions seeking New Zealand partners. Our high-ranking institutions, English language teaching, exotic location and participation in credit recognition arrangements such as the Lisbon Convention make New Zealand institutions highly desirable partners.

  One hot topic was the international opening of Erasmus+. Some of the key features of the programme are:

  It will provide living cost and travel funding for both European and non-European students and staff exchanges. 

  • Over the seven year programme, a total of 135,000 grants are planned for international student mobility

  • Periods of study could be between 3 and 12 months at any level from bachelor to doctorate degree, and from 5 days to 2 months for staff. 

  • Principles of the Erasmus Charter including credit recognition and fee waiver must be followed. 

  For New Zealand institutions the programme provides an opportunity to build brand awareness, and give students and staff an international experience.

  A call for applications from European institutions is expected in early October, closing 4 March 2015 for mobility in the 2015/16 academic year. New Zealand higher education institutions interested in taking part in credit mobility should contact a partner university in a European Programme Country, which will be able to apply for funding from their National Agency. 

  If you would like to discuss the Erasmus+ opportunities you can contact Shelley Robertson in Brussels

  Further information about Erasmus+ is available free from the EU Bookshop.