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PIF Recipient: Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is one of New Zealand’s three wānanga - publicly owned tertiary institutions which provide education in a uniquely Māori cultural context. Awanuiārangi has been engaging internationally for over a decade, delivering postgraduate programmes to Indigenous communities in Washington State and Hawaii, and establishing networks and alliances with Indigenous communities and education providers across the United States.
Now, a new project led by Awanuiārangi is set to accelerate Indigenous education outcomes globally and build on New Zealand’s position as a global leader in postgraduate Indigenous education. ‘Iwi taketake’ (Indigenous people) is a project that will see the development of an international Indigenous curriculum for postgraduate study, covering master’s degrees, postgraduate certificates and diplomas, through to doctoral qualifications.
The target audience for the programme is Indigenous college graduates based at Hawai’i, Washington State, Canada and Australia, with Indigenous college graduates and tribal communities across the United States also in focus. A key objective of the new model is to design an education offering that fits the learner, rather than requiring learners to fit the programme.
Awanuiārangi will take its model of working with local hapū, iwi and their representative organisations in Aotearoa to the four focus areas in the Unites States, where it has already established networks. Iwi taketake will be the result of a co-construction process with Indigenous organisations and potential scholars, with an in-person wānanga (symposium) taking place at each delivery site in the United States.
After the curriculum is developed, endorsed and approved by key stakeholders, Awanuiārangi aims to run Iwi taketake for its first cohort of scholars in 2024, through a blended mix of in-person and online learning across the four sites. The programmes that form the Iwi taketake curriculum may be co-badged - awarded jointly by Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and partners offshore, such as the University of Washington Tacoma and the University of Hawai’i Maui College.
Awanuiārangi’s model will affirm the notion that postgraduate education can provide Indigenous scholars with pathways for purpose-led careers that benefit people, place and planet. The subject areas and kaupapa (initiatives) covered by the curriculum will be delivered in a culturally safe environment, respecting Indigenous research ethics and methodologies. Scholars will draw learning directly from their own communities with the support of Awanuiārangi and their local delivery partners, ensuring that programmes are highly relevant to learners’ cultural and social contexts.
The collaborative, co-constructed programme will also serve to strengthen Indigenous links and alliances between New Zealand and the United States more generally, and open further opportunities for collaboration and improving educational success in postgraduate study.
Iwi taketake is one of the initiatives supported by the International Education Product Innovation Fund, a New Zealand Government-funded initiative to reimagine what a New Zealand education can look like and mean for global learners. Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao is New Zealand’s government agency dedicated to international education, and is the kaitiaki (guardian) of the Product Innovation Fund.
The Fund is supporting a range of pilot projects that develop and test new education products and services for global learners. Awanuiārangi’s pilot project explores how New Zealand’s strengths in Indigenous education can be delivered to international learners, tailored to Indigenous communities in other countries, and delivered in a blended medium, while uplifting all parties and helping strengthen Indigenous connections and cooperation across the Pacific.
More information:
Learn more about Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
*Image at top of page: TWWoA's Professor Mera Penehira with Big Island of Hawaii cohort of doctoral students: Katie Benioni, Nancy Levenson, Noekeonaona Kirby and Taffi Wise.
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PIF Recipient: Tokona te Raki
Tokona te Raki has already led some brave pioneering work, such as challenging streaming in schools based on evidence it has a largely negative impact on Māori students, more often perpetuating inequity, rather than reducing it. They are working on indigenous youth pathways into digital futures, understanding future tribal skill needs and honing tribal innovation models.
With global challenges like climate change, shifting population demographics and the impact of technology all combining to create both uncertainty and opportunity, the future is there for the taking – or rather the shaping.
Tokona te Raki is an indigenous social innovation lab operating under the mana of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. With over 76,000 registered tribal members and a territory covering over 80 percent of New Zealand’s South Island /Te Waipounamu, Ngāi Tahu is the largest iwi / tribe in Te Waipounamu.
With Māori youth being the fastest growing sector of the Aotearoa New Zealand population, Tokona te Raki is on a mission to tackle inequities they face in their journey through education and into enterprise and employment. Through projects with whānau, communities, and external partners, rangatahi are equipped and empowered with the tools and support to shape and be inspired by their futures, succeeding as Māori.
Their latest project is an ambitious one: to reimagine international education. With support from Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) as a Tiriti partner, through the International Education Product Innovation Fund, this vision to reshape indigenous education is moving closer over the horizon with a view towards a future where youth are confident, competent, and connected both tribally and globally.
‘Indigenous Future Making’ is a pilot project to reimagine the future of international education towards an indigenous vision of a tribal and global learning network. Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) and its knowledge systems create an identity unique to Aotearoa and sees the future as an opportunity rather than an inevitability.
To frame the project, Tokona te Raki has identified several ‘shifts’ that transform what international education can deliver for indigenous communities and learners. From colonial and Euro-centric to diverse, indigenous, and global; from physical, site-based delivery to place based and virtual delivery; from fixed-duration courses to lifelong learning; from rational (IQ) intelligence to emotional, cultural, and digital intelligence; and from narrow credentialling to flexible and adaptive credentialling.
Instead of framing international education through an economic lens and thinking of international learners in terms of revenue extraction, the pilot project imagines values-based value generation, a reciprocal, two-way street of learners travelling both into and out of Aotearoa New Zealand, education contributing to global challenges and collective action, and Aotearoa New Zealand being recognised for its unique value proposition: a caring, safe, secure, innovative and culturally relevant education provider.
The project will deliver an indigenous future-making framework, backed up with a toolkit and a curriculum. An online platform will be explored to serve as an indigenous knowledge exchange, facilitating the transfer of knowledge between and within Māori and other indigenous cultures.
Tokona Te Raki is among a range of pilot projects supported by ENZ’s Covid Response and Recovery Fund funded product and service diversification workstream. This New Zealand Government-funded initiative to encourages the development of new products and services in the international education sector.
The project explores how Aotearoa New Zealand can offer indigenous solutions to global challenges, such as climate change and social inequality. More than a funding contributor, ENZ is working with Tokona te Raki to explore what being a good Tiriti partnership should look like to best support and realise the full potential of an Iwi led project, leveraging each other’s networks and capabilities. The learnings from Indigenous Future Making, and the other pilots, will be shared for the benefit of Aotearoa New Zealand’s wider international education sector, encouraging other education providers and organisations to keep innovating for the future.
Learn more:
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PIF Recipient: Virtual Medical Coaching
In the United States alone, approximately 800 women die each year during pregnancy and within 42 days after delivery. More than 60% of those deaths are believed to be preventable. In developing countries, the rate of pregnancy-related deaths is up to 300 times higher.
An important part of the solution is education. Globally, midwives are in high demand, with the UK’s NHS increasing their places for student midwives by 3000, starting this year. Australia is also planning to increase numbers, while in New Zealand, a funding boost will increase the number of Māori and Pacific students training in midwifery.
While the demand for midwifery training is growing, education offerings haven’t kept up. Childbirth is deeply personal, and feedback from mothers – validated by hospital staff – is that they do not wish to have extra staff or students in the room for training. With no effective opportunities for face-to-face learning, there is a global need for a realistic and scalable childbirth simulation.
That’s where Virtual Medical Coaching’s vision comes in, supported as a recipient of the International Education Product Innovation Fund. Virtual reality (VR) software will provide a safe and controlled environment for students to see and assist in childbirth simulations, both with and without complications and in a range of different scenarios. As the student improves, the simulations they encounter increase in difficulty. A machine-learning algorithm enables fast and accurate feedback to both the learner and any tutors.
The simulation will be interactive and responsive, meaning that any action taken by a student creates a life-like consequence and reaction. The outcome is that learners are taught to effectively make decisions and problem solve.
Existing options for midwifery training include a physical mannequin simulator, but this can be prohibitively expensive, out of reach of many training providers, and doesn’t offer students maximum learning hours. In addition, existing options don’t include the ability to witness mechanisms like rotations/restitutions or the ability to have back and forth conversations. By contrast, the VR simulation will be available to students wherever they are, and whenever they need to practice. The nature of the VR experience means that modern learning styles, such as asynchronous and remote learning, are well catered for.
With support from the International Education Product Innovation Fund, Virtual Medical Coaching’s childbirth simulation is on track to become fully released by the end of 2024. A beta-version is already used by some educators globally. The Product Innovation Fund is a New Zealand Government-funded initiative to reimagine what a New Zealand education can look like and mean for global learners.
Managed by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ), New Zealand’s government agency for international education, the fund is supporting a range of pilot projects from existing and emerging New Zealand education providers. Together, the projects rethink how an education experience from New Zealand can be delivered, and create impact, for global learners.
For Virtual Medical Coaching, it’s about finding a better solution to a serious issue. Like many other innovative Kiwi education technology companies, Virtual Medical Coaching is designing technology that will create positive impact around the world. It’s already successfully developed an x-ray simulation for healthcare professionals which has won multiple national and international awards. Now, with the support of ENZ through the International Education Product Innovation Fund, Virtual Medical Coaching is set to respond to a clear need for better midwifery training options and develop another cutting-edge learning product for both New Zealand and offshore markets.
More information:
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Statement from Linda Sissons, Acting Chief Executive
We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of international students in a road accident near Lake Tekapo on Saturday.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, the campus communities at the University of Canterbury and Victoria University of Wellington and the wider Malaysian student community in New Zealand.
We hope those injured in the crash make a full recovery.
We are grateful for the community of support that has emerged around the accident in New Zealand and Malaysia to aid the victims and their families during an extremely distressing and challenging time – heartfelt thanks to our emergency response teams, the Malaysian community in Ōtautahi Christchurch, universities, and locals who responded to the scene.
Linda Sissons
Acting Chief Executive, Education New Zealand
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ENZ responds to international education commentary on NBR
ENZ Acting Chief Executive Dr Linda Sissons rebuts an economics commentary published on National Business Review (NBR) on Monday 25 March 2024. The rebuttal is published here on NBR and is reproduced below.
In response to your piece “International education: wrong horse to back for export growth?” my answer to the question is a hard “no”. Here’s why. Students are returning to New Zealand. In the first eight months of 2023 international student enrolments topped 59,000 with all sectors experiencing growth except wānanga. Accepting that it is from a low base, comparing 2023 to 2022, Universities have bounced back strongly reporting a 15% increase from 24,040 to 27,535.
It is true that we have not yet returned to 2019 numbers. In my opinion, this is not a bad thing. During the pandemic years the sector lost people and capability. The recent moves of some of our competitors tell you what a sudden return to those numbers of students brings.
I want to address your correspondent’s concerns about the lack of a plan and competition within amongst universities. There is a plan. The New Zealand International Education Strategy, revised in 2022 in discussion with the sector and across Government, sets out the plan to develop a high-value, resilient and innovative education sector for both international and domestic students.
I can also assure you that the sector is working together to achieve its goals, that all eight universities participated in a recent ENZ-led delegation to India, is just one example of the co-operation.
International education is more than universities. In the first eight months of 2023 English Language Schools saw the greatest percentage increase in international enrolments, increasing by 347% from 1,565 to 7,001. Schools reported a 114% increase from 5,925 to 12,662. NZIST Te Pūkenga, a 32% increase from 4,955 to 6,560 and Private Training Establishments (funded and unfunded), a 13% increase from 5,000 to 5,671.
Immigration New Zealand tell us that international student visa applications for all forms of study have increased by about 20 per cent in the peak application period. Between 1 October 2023 and 8 March 2024, they received over 31,800 applications for an international student visa.
Today we have a base of international students in the country and the pipeline for the coming academic year has strong growth.
Our own research shows that the experience international students have while studying in New Zealand is a good one. In our Student Experience survey of 4,755 international students from more than 70 nationalities, 84 percent rated their overall experience positively, while another 83 percent said they would recommend New Zealand as a study destination.
When these students return to their home, and 75% of international students return home after three years, they will be our word-of-mouth advocates – an advocacy we didn’t have during the COVID years.
New Zealanders also appreciate the benefits of international students. In an ENZ survey of 1,100 New Zealanders conducted in December last year, 75 percent of respondents believe that international students benefit New Zealand. The Ipsos Fast Facts survey, which drew responses from all regions of the country, saw 80 percent of respondents highlighting economic benefits, particularly in local communities, as a key reason for their positive view.
The results of the 2023 survey highlighted the continuing growth in support for international students and their positive impact on New Zealand since 2016 when only 57 percent believed international students helped the New Zealand economy and economic growth.
We have students in New Zealand; a strong pipeline; students having a positive experience and advocating for New Zealand; and New Zealanders appreciating the benefits having of them in our communities.
International education is highly competitive. Your correspondent rightly recognises that there are new competitors emerging and Singapore is a good example. We’ve also seen countries like South Korea, a core market for New Zealand, become competitors.
This is not new. We have, and will always have, to compete to attract international students to New Zealand – that they are returning tells me our reputation is good and we remain an attractive option.
Globally the number of international students has grown significantly over the past two decades from around two million in 1998 to over 6.4 million in 2020, according to UNESCO data. New Zealand only needs a very small proportion of what is effectively a supply-driven market to return to pre-pandemic levels of economic contribution and value.
While I am confident that international education is not the “wrong horse”, achieving double the export earnings is going to require a lot of hard work and there is much to do. My point is, that in less than two years since the borders reopened in August 2022, the recovery has well and truly commenced, the progress made to date is significant, and as a sector we can be rightly proud of what we have achieved together.
Linda Sissons
Acting Chief Executive, Education New Zealand
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Meet the team: Marie Clark, Director Insights
Tell us about your role, the team you lead, and what your team does at ENZ for the international education sector.
I’m Marie, Director Insights for Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao. I lead the research and market analysis to provide insights that underpin ENZ’s work. This includes student experience, brand health, economic value, and New Zealander’s perceptions of international education.
We are a small team of five analysts and researchers but pack a lot of punch if I do say so myself. We are lucky enough to work with a range of teams across ENZ as well as the wider sector. Our findings are shared with our stakeholders and our education partners so that they can use this to make informed decisions about the future delivery of their international education products and services. Much of our work is on an annual basis, meaning that each year we are looking for any small changes that might turn into long-term term trends. For example:
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in the international student experience survey, we want to look more at the people and connections and mental health. If we spot changes, providers may like to adjust their support for students.
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through our perceptions work we want to understand, as international students return to New Zealand, if the way New Zealanders perceive the challenges and benefits of international students is changing. If we spot changes, we will work with providers to bring those benefit stories to the forefront.
Where were you working before joining the ENZ team?
I am a returning New Zealander, having spent the last 15 years in the United Kingdom, working in a range of insights, marketing, and communications roles in higher education. My most recent UK role was at Independent Higher Education, the representative and lobbying body for independent higher education, professional training and international pathway providers. Previously I worked for a policy communications consultancy, Hobsons, now QS Enrolment Solutions, and The PIE.
Tell us what the team has been working on since you joined and how the sector can access this?
I joined ENZ in October 2022 and since then have led the delivery of several key pieces of research and reports. Some recent highlights for me are releasing our insights on the 2013 – 2023 (part year) International Student Enrolment data, 2023 International Student Experience Survey and the 2023 New Zealanders Perceptions of International Students 2023.
We share all of our research, data and insights on ENZ's Intellilab and I would encourage anyone to sign up, if you haven't already. We also post links to past webinars that we have held in which we share our latest research and insights.
For those that are interested in being able to take a closer look at the data, we do share some data that has been officially released to Tableau Public.
What can the sector expect to see from the Insights team in the next 12 months?
Our team will be very busy over these next 12 months as we undertake a range of surveys and then following the fieldwork will be diving into the data and compiling insights reports, presentations and hosting webinars for the sector to take them through this. To name just a few taking place over the next two quarters, we will be working on the: International Student Experience Survey 2024, Brand Health 2024, a sector survey, agent survey, and the New Zealanders perception of International Education 2024 survey. Phew!
So, watch this space here on E-News, via our Sector Engagement Team, or Intellilab where we will share our insights with the sector. If anyone in the sector has a query about past or future research opportunities or wants to organise an insights session with your organisation or stakeholders, then feel free to reach out to me and my team – insights@enz.govt.nz.
Tell us what you like to do when you’re out of the office and not nose-deep in international education data...
I am still enjoying settling back into New Zealand. It’s a period of both discovery and rediscovery. Weekends are spent catching up with old friends and spending plenty of time with family, adjusting my two young children to the kiwi lifestyle. I am a convert to cycling for transport and can be seen zooming all over Wellington, and sometimes further afield, on my electric cargo bike.
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We want to hear from you!
This survey is important to gauge ENZ’s performance and importantly, let us know how we’re doing, what services you value and what you’d like to see more of.
In last year’s survey, you highlighted several themes that we’ve been working to address. We heard that you need more advance notice of our global events to allow you to plan better. In response, we published our event calendar in November, covering events to be held in the last half of 2024.
You also said you wanted to see closer alignment between government agencies and the sector. As a result, we have worked with peak bodies and key government agencies to refresh the purpose of the quarterly Peak Body Forum and built a closer working relationship with the Alliance of Peak Bodies.
Other important themes included improving our engagement and integrating views of the sector in our planning, while providing more clarity on our range of services and support. We have provided more webinars ranging from showcasing the regions to the global agent network, through to leveraging research, data and analysis to provide you with targeted market insights.
Peak body and sector representatives were involved early in our business planning, including market prioritisation, to ensure that we walk in step with the sector.
While we may not always get it right, you can rest assured that we are listening and continually striving to deliver the products and services that you value and help you to grow.
A survey link will be sent out in early May. We look forward to hearing your thoughts to enable us to improve our support to the New Zealand international education sector. Thank you in advance for your participation.
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Applications for the 2024 PPP New Zealand-German academic exchange programme are now open!
An information session is being held on Tuesday 23 April and is open to all New Zealand and German academics (graduates, doctoral candidates, doctorate holders, professors and lecturers). Click here to register for the information session and click here for more information on the PPP programme.
Please share this information with your networks.
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Around the world in five
Australia
Risk ratings could 'damage' long term health of Australian education sector
The latest release of immigration risk ratings for international education providers in Australia has raised questions about the best approach to ensure the sustainability of the sector.
Brazil
The Brazilian outbound market is continuing to grow after a post-Covid boom with increases across several products and new destinations emerging, while the role of the agent has become even more important.
Canada
Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced an official national cap allocation of study permit applications for this year.
United Kingdom
But what do international students think of these proposed policy changes, and to what extent is it really having an impact on their interest in studying in the UK?
Global
Is the drive for internationalisation grinding to a global halt? Entry to major HE providers is getting tougher just as pressure rises within universities to attract ever greater numbers of international students.
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ENZ Agent Seminars in China make a strong impact for rebuilding connections
China is the largest source of international students for New Zealand with agents being the leading channel for student recruitment in this market. Building strong connections between providers and agents in China is critical to recovering student mobility, improving awareness of New Zealand as a study destination and strengthening New Zealand's market position. ENZ's Agent Seminars in China are a well-recognised and impactful way of building relationships with a range of key agents.
Education Counsellor and ENZ’s Regional Director Greater China, Michael Zhang, (far left) at the Beijing Agent Seminar with representatives from New Oriental Education Agency and H.E. Grahame Morton, New Zealand Ambassador to People’s Republic of China.
In addition, Agent Seminars also help to keep agents informed with the latest official information and is an important tool that Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) and other NZ Inc agencies use to share such information. According to recent Immigration New Zealand (INZ) data, agents in China have a high approval rate for student visa processing.
Currently, ENZ runs its Agent Seminar series twice a year in this region and this latest series of events held in Chengdu, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing were supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and INZ. INZ’s China-based representatives gave in-person presentations, an initiative which was well received with 88% of agents reporting its inclusion as “very or extremely important to their attendance” in a post-event survey.
Participants at the Hong Kong Agent Seminar discuss New Zealand education offerings.
Kevin Wang from the International College of Auckland presenting at the Shanghai Agent Seminar.
To leverage the visibility of New Zealand education providers in the China market, ENZ facilitated media interviews and social media recordings for participants at the Shanghai and Chendgu Seminars. New Zealand providers and ENZ representatives in Chengdu conducted interviews with 13 journalists, the highest response rate for media attending Agent Seminars to date. As a result, three million views were achieved from 58 stories published by 27 local media outlets, with New Zealand university representatives quoted in a media story and an exclusive interview and story for Te Pūkenga on the uniqueness of New Zealand's vocational education in a separate article.
Joyce Zhang, University of Otago, is interviewed by a journalist from local media in Chengdu at the ENZ Agent Seminar.
In Shanghai, the ENZ Shanghai team delivered a China marketing insights session for sector representatives. The presentation titled “Unlocking China’s Education Market: Insights and tools for success” covered:
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The key drivers of the consumer
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China’s media/digital/social media landscape
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The big four – WeChat, Little Red Book, Douyin and Bilibili (case studies included)
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ENZ’s China local marketing plan.
Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the Marketing Presentation can access this here on ENZ’s Intellilab.
ENZ collaborated with Shinyway, the largest agent in the eastern region of China to produce short videos for the agency to promote online. The online promotion aimed to leverage brand awareness of a New Zealand education showcasing New Zealand providers attending the Shanghai event. A big kudos goes to the 18 brave New Zealand representatives who accepted the invitation to participate in the filming. Education Counsellor and Regional Director Greater China, Michael Zhang, was also interviewed to present the advantages of a New Zealand education and our institutions across all sectors.
Shinyway has published all the videos on their consumer-facing social media platforms, including WeChat, Little Red Book, and Weibo. The collaboration enhances New Zealand providers’ market exposure by leveraging Shinyway's influence across their digital platforms and reaching prospective audiences in China elevating our brand profile within a highly targeted audience group.
Mary Nixon, Principal of Takapuna Grammar School participating in the recording for sharing on social media. The first trial video published on Shinyway's WeChat received over 300 engagements including likes, shares, favorites and comments.
87.5% of New Zealand education providers also said that “attendance at the seminars was either “very valuable” or “valuable” for their organisation.”
The dates and locations for the next round of Agent Seminars in China will be announced soon. These details will be posted on the ENZ Events page along with the link for registering.
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