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NZ-Japan Education ties stronger following digital ceremony
Together in an online ceremony with the Hokkaido Board of Education, ENZ strengthened the existing partnership between Hokkaido and New Zealand this week.
The agreement promotes collaborative opportunities in education through shared interests, including indigenous culture, primary industries and rugby. Areas of collaboration outlined in the agreement are student exchanges between high schools in New Zealand and Hokkaido, and the exchange of information on efforts to develop human resources which improves the educational environment and teaching methodology.
Continuing to build our international government-to-government relationships with agreements like this one is a current focus of ENZ, as part of the second stream of the Recovery Plan for international education.
The signing brought together Superintendent of the Hokkaido Board of Education, Toshihiro Kodama, and ENZ’s Chief Executive, Grant McPherson, and was witnessed by New Zealand’s Ambassador to Japan, Hamish Cooper.
ENZ Senior Market Manager – Japan, Misa Kitaoka, was online to facilitate, translating between parties. “Despite the ongoing challenges of COVID, this online signing still managed to convey a celebratory atmosphere with ENZ’s waiata and the Hokkaido students’ taiko performance. The timing of the partnership could not be better after Japan’s successful hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Japanese Government’s official recognition of Ainu as the indigenous people of Japan, all of which will open new doors for education cooperation with Hokkaido and Japan.”
“While we wait for the border to reopen, we look forward to starting with online activities connecting Hokkaido and New Zealand schools,” she said.
Grant McPherson was delighted for ENZ to be hosting the signing ceremony that further strengthens the existing partnership between New Zealand and the Hokkaido Board of Education.
“I am especially appreciative of how committed New Zealand and Japan both remain to building our education relationship given the exceptionally challenging year that we have had.”
McPherson said that as everyone adapts to a new environment amid the global pandemic, it was important to think differently about the future being created. “It’s in this new context that we look forward to working together on our education cooperation arrangement. It is a significant milestone for Education New Zealand and one that will strengthen the partnership agreement between our governments.”
Since 2014, ENZ has facilitated opportunities for Hokkaido’s students and farmers to study in New Zealand on dairy scholarships, giving them the opportunity to experience one of our primary industry sectors first-hand.
Education New Zealand launches Brand Protect 2.0 Campaign

On 23 November, ENZ will be launching a digital brand campaign informally known as ‘Brand Protect 2’.
This is a direct continuation of the Brand Protect campaign that ran July to August, and became our most successful brand awareness campaign to date. Research shows us that global sentiment towards New Zealand remains positive, so this is a key moment to leverage this attention to tell the education story in-market.
The new iteration will run in Indonesia, the UK, and Viet Nam from 23 November-23 December, with China following in January. Our campaign activity will be supported by a range of content on our own social media channels.
In addition to the content, a new landing page has been developed to further underline New Zealand education values and draw a connection between our global reputation and the strength of our education system. As well as this, audiences will be directed to explore their future study options on SINZ and join our social communities.
Please email brand@enz.govt.nz for all questions and enquiries, or speak to your ENZ representative.
From the CE: The outlook for the future
Many of you are wondering – and fielding a lot of questions – about the outlook for the future as COVID-19 continues to disrupt the world.
It’s very important to acknowledge that COVID-19 is an unprecedented event in our lifetime. While there have been crises, disasters, wars and terrorist attacks, none have had the scale, impact or complexity of this global pandemic. There is little certainty as the world navigates its way through this and looks to the development of effective vaccines to counter its impact.
As New Zealand’s Director-General of Health advises, COVID-19 is a very tricky virus and we have to be very vigilant. The Government is continuing to take a balanced approach to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of everyone in New Zealand and to carefully manage demand on the country’s quarantine facilities. We aren’t out of the woods yet and can’t be complacent.
Like many other countries, New Zealand’s border restrictions remain in place. The Government is granting entry to small, targeted cohorts by exception only, and only these visas are being processed. Students are not able to apply for a student visa from outside New Zealand, unless a border exception applies. This decision will be reviewed in February 2021.
Last month we saw the Government recognise the vital role international education will play in the recovery and rebuild of New Zealand and the need to continue the fight against the pandemic. The Minister of Education announced that the Government would allow a small cohort of up to 250 postgraduate (mostly PhD) students into New Zealand. These are students whose study has been interrupted by COVID-19 and who have a practical research component to their study that requires them to be here. Providers are currently selecting these students and they are expected to enter New Zealand earlier next year.
We acknowledge that this exception applies to a fraction of the number of students we normally welcome to the country. Some students and providers may be disappointed not to have been a part of this first border exception group.
The Government says it will review further possible border exceptions to enable more cohorts to enter the country, as and when the time is right, and to then build up numbers when it’s safe for all to do so. But no further decisions around cohorts have been made at this stage.
So, given this information, we won’t see normal numbers of students entering the country in time for term one or semester one next year. I suggest that tertiary students consider starting or continuing their New Zealand study online, until there is more certainty on border exceptions. Students and their families are advised to keep in close contact with their agent or study provider.
But throughout this uncertainty, I can assure you that New Zealand highly values international students and looks forward to their return. Until then, the team at Education New Zealand will continue to tell you as much as we can about the situation here, as soon as we can.
Ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many.
Ngā mihi,
Grant McPherson
Innovative ENZ universities’ partnership a key part of sector’s COVID-19 recovery and rebuild
Education New Zealand and New Zealand’s eight universities have announced a new partnership with UK-based qualifications provider the University Consortium (NCUK) that will allow students from more than 30 countries to begin a New Zealand university qualification without leaving home.
The partnership will play an important role in implementing the Government’s COVID-19 Strategic Recovery Plan for International Education.
ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson said the Pathway initiative is key to the shift in New Zealand’s international education approach that will make the sector more resilient over the next few years.
“It is a tangible demonstration of New Zealand providing flexible and diverse education options for students that will enhance sector’s resilience and sustainability in the face of global change,” Grant said.
This agreement is part of a broader ENZ Global New Zealand Education Pathways initiative, through which ENZ is extending its activities to enable students to connect with blended, online, digital and full qualification study options.
In support of this initiative, ENZ has extended its Study in New Zealand website to enable all New Zealand quality-assured education providers to add global delivery sites over time, where students undertake learning for a qualification offshore.
The pathways initiative enables international students to begin study in their home countries towards Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at any of New Zealand’s eight universities. It leverages NCUK’s quality-assured global network of 81 recognised Study Centres.
Students commencing the pathway in 2021 could start their study either online or in New Zealand, in 2022 or 2023, once they complete one of three relevant NCUK pathway qualifications – a one-year international foundation year programme to enter an undergraduate degree in New Zealand; or a one-year international year one programme, equivalent to one year’s study towards a business or engineering Bachelor’s degree; or a pre-Master’s programme towards a Master’s degree in New Zealand.
All New Zealand universities are supporting this latest partnership, committing at least $300,000 per annum across the sector in dedicated NCUK scholarships. Universities New Zealand has recognised the NCUK Foundation Year programme as being equivalent to University Entrance.
Universities New Zealand Chief Executive Chris Whelan said New Zealand’s universities were committed to developing innovative solutions that connect New Zealand to students globally.
“The partnership will give students flexibility to work towards New Zealand university undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications while borders are closed.
“International education is a critical component of building the quality of our education offering – specifically in areas such as research and development. The ‘team New Zealand’ approach taken by our universities will enable us to better attract students who are sought after by universities all over the world,” Whelan said.
ENZ General Manager – Partnerships and Marketing, Paul Irwin, said the initiative also has strong potential to be extended across the wider New Zealand education sector.
“This has great potential to be developed for the wider New Zealand education sector with diverse study options such as new blended, online, digital and full qualifications.”
NCUK Study Centres will start promoting pathway qualifications to study at New Zealand universities from December for the next cohort intake in March 2021.
The offshore pathways initiative has involved nearly all ENZ’s teams - both onshore and offshore – including International, Industry, Marketing (Digital and Brand) and Communications.
The Pathways partnership will help develop a pipeline of international students to study in New Zealand when the time is right. The partnership is part of the Government’s Recovery Plan for international education, which invests $10 million over three years towards innovative products and modes of education delivery that will enable the international education sector to not only recover from the shock of COVID-19, but transform to a more diversified, sustainable future state.
Further information on the New Zealand Global Education Pathways initiative can be found at http://studyinnewzealand.govt.nz/global-pathway s.
Education New Zealand hosts first-ever NZ-China Education Week
Early Childhood Education Symposium
The inaugural New Zealand-China Early Childhood Education Symposium with China Centre for International People to People Exchange (CCIPPE), an agency under the Ministry of Education of China, was well-received by the audience of over 1,000 people.
ENZ General Manager – International, Lisa Futschek, provided opening remarks alongside distinguished officials from China who expressed support for the dialogue around ECE to continue between our two countries.
“It was very moving to hear Deputy Director General Xiaochun YANG speak te reo Māori in his closing remarks,” ENZ Director – Greater China, Miranda Herbert, said.
“The ECE Symposium highlights the special relationship between New Zealand and China and our long history of engaging in bilateral dialogue in a variety of education related fields to learn from each other.”
Educators tune into the ECE Symposium.

Part of the success of participation was due to CCIPE’s social media post which attracted over 8000 reads (pre-event). CCIPPE article with photos: 2020中国-新西兰学前教育研讨会在线成功举办 (qq.com)
The entire symposium was bilingual – no small feat in a virtual environment. ENZ used subtitles on pre-recorded presentations, interpretation for the live speakers and engaged a bilingual MC with experience in the ECE field.
University of Auckland Associate Dean International – Faculty of Education and Social Work, Marek Tesar, presented a session at the symposium titled “How ECE Teachers Shape Our Children: Fostering Quality ECE Teachers—Formal Education and Professional Development."
“A fantastic event, which brought together an interdisciplinary group of people to discuss the important topic of early childhood education. It has emphasised the many opportunities for ongoing collaboration between New Zealand and China and I hope that this is the first of many such symposia – hopefully in person next time!” he said.
Watch the recording
To view the recorded symposium, please log back into your ECE Symposium Attendee Login. Didn’t have a registration? Choose Attendee Registration and complete the registration on this website: https://event.dragontrail.com/NZedu/en
Once logged in, navigate to Floor Plan and click “Education Symposium 2020”
Then you will see this screen to click “Playback”

The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) present at Sino-New Zealand Higher Vocational Education.

8^th Sino-New Zealand Higher Vocational Education Conference
This year’s Sino-New Zealand Higher Vocational Education conference moved to a virtual platform this year which enabled continued dialogue between New Zealand and China.
Over three half-days, it focused on challenges and innovations in online learning and international collaboration for managers, teachers and researchers in vocational education and training.
Conference organisers, Wintec and co-organiser, Skills International worked closely with China partners Tianjin Light Industrial Vocational Technical College, Qingdao Vocational Technical College and Central Institute for Vocational Technical Education to deliver an engaging event for the live audience in Tianjin and the virtual attendees.
Agent Seminars
The Agent Seminars reached an audience of 500 attendees from across the Greater China region over two days.
Agents were welcomed by New Zealand’s Ambassador to China, H.E. Clare Fearnley, heard from Immigration New Zealand, Tourism New Zealand, and even learned how to order a green tea in te reo Māori.
With over 44 New Zealand institutions and regions exhibiting in the virtual exhibition hall, agents were able to connect through the virtual meeting rooms to have one-on-one conversations. ENZ trialled a virtual conferencing platform created for the China market that allowed our Chinese agents to join via WeChat and tailor their view to local language.
ENZ wants to thank all the exhibitors, presenters and attendees who participated in New Zealand Education Week to help make it a success and we appreciate your adaptability to a China-friendly virtual platform.
ENZ has received great feedback from both sides on the programme and future partnership opportunities – there is a strong desire to continue dialogue.
Watch the recording
Note, the Agent Seminars were over two days and the majority of presentations are in Chinese language.
To view the recorded seminars, please log back into your Agent Seminars Organization or Attendee Login.
Didn’t have a registration? Choose Attendee Registration and complete the registration on this website: https://event.dragontrail.com/NZedu/en
Once logged in, please navigate to Floor Plan and click “Agent Seminar Presentations”.
Then you will see this screen to click “Playback” for either 25 or 26 November.
Summer in NZ
The student retention workstream, a key focus of the Government’s Recovery Plan for international education, has delivered new resources, partnerships and online activity to support international students (and providers) over summer.
Alongside the Summer in NZ initiative, ENZ has been facilitating Instagram Live sessions on social media focused on the themes of wellbeing, employability, skill development and keeping students connected with one-another. For the schedule, visit the Summer in NZ page on the ENZ website, and watch on the StudyinNewZealand Instagram account (@studyinnewzealand). Further sessions will continue over summer.
A Tencent livestream with the theme of how to spend your summer in New Zealand was hosted by students on the NauMai NZ WeChat mini programme. Another two upcoming livestreams in the new year will feature how Chinese students are spending their summer and celebrating Chinese New Year in New Zealand.
ENZ has also partnered with LinkedIn and secured a number of LinkedIn Learning licences. We are now offering these to international students, via providers, free of charge to use over the summer period. This platform is used by education providers across the world to complement their existing courses.
ENZ has also been working with AFS New Zealand to deliver the Global Competence Certificate. The first course facilitated by Massey University began at the end of November. The next course begins 1 March – find out more and sign up here: https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/events/afs-nz-global-competence-certificate/afs-nz-global-competence-certificate_home.cfm
New NauMai NZ pages, developed in conjunction with providers and regional networks, have been added to NauMai NZ (under Summer in NZ), providing advice and information on activities and opportunities to engage and connect students over summer. Students whose programmes are finishing this year are also being encouraged to consider further programmes of study in New Zealand.
The Your Great Kiwi Summer Fair was held at the end of October. The audience was highly engaged, with initial feedback reporting that the fair was a useful source of information. Feedback will help inform future events with international students in New Zealand.
Since the fair, Northland Inc and Study Auckland have launched BeKiwi, a one-stop digital platform for international students looking for travel and volunteering experiences in the Northland and Auckland regions.
We understand this summer will be a very different one for many international students. We thank you for your support and encourage you to continuing sharing this information and these resources with them, as we stand together with our international students to make the most of their time here.
Issues of race, heritage and identity connect students across the seas
There was a total of 87 participants, made up of members of UMD’s College Success Scholars’ Programme, a cohort of 100 Black and Latino men, and students of Jason King’s Māori Leadership course at AUT.
ENZ Director of Engagement – North America, DuBois Jennings, described the event as profoundly moving.
“It was incredible seeing the two cohorts of students sharing both their similar and unique experiences,” he said.
“This is exactly the kind of engagement Education New Zealand is looking for in terms of our goal of creating global citizens in New Zealand and developing mutual understanding between underrepresented students in both countries. We're excited to see what else can be done in the future and hopeful that this is the beginning of a long and meaningful relationship between UMD and AUT.”
UMD have expressed some interest in developing a programme based on this event that looks to develop inter-cultural competency and a better understanding of racial issues.
The success of this programme aligns well with ENZ’s goals in the United States of repositioning New Zealand as a recognised leader in diversity, equity and inclusion.
“It also aligns nicely with the internationalisation stream of the New Zealand Government’s Recovery Plan,” DuBois said. “While borders remain closed, we are committed to building on our connections within the US, as we continue to find new opportunities for students and educators from the US and New Zealand to meaningfully engage.”
LINK Symposium connects academics
The second iteration of the LINK Symposium was held on 27 and 28 November. It was originally slated to take place in São Paulo, but was moved online in response to COVID-19.
LINK invited art and design practitioners to be inspired by research methodologies that centre their practice. Presenters demonstrated the potential of their practical frameworks in a range of design topics, including emergent design, design education, and Pacific-Atlantic design.
AUT Programme Leader for Communication Design, Prof Marcos Mortensen Steagall, said “the LINK symposium promotes opportunities for academics from Brazil and New Zealand not only to expand their knowledge about state-of-the-art practice-oriented methodologies in design research, but also to establish networks of collaboration and partnerships. For instance, Brazil can benefit from the way New Zealand incorporates Māori knowledge in their research practices, acknowledging their native traditions.
“New Zealand can learn and benefit from top-level production practices and Brazil's over 150 million users in the gaming market. It starts with academic interests that can potentially be expanded into business opportunities.”
University Anhembi Morumbi Prof Sergio Nesteriuk, who specialises in game design with interests in animation, film and transmedia, said: “The event exceeded all our expectations both for the quantity, quality and diversity of works presented, as well as for the exchange and engagement of all participants.
“We were also honoured to have Education New Zealand's support on this issue. This allows us to project new growth for the event next year, consolidating it as one of the main ones in this area worldwide.”
ENZ Director of Education - Brazil, Ana Azevedo, spoke at the opening.
“This is a significant development for the academic relations between Brazil and New Zealand and it is very positive to see it happening in areas that are so valuable to our cultures like Art and Design.
“New Zealand and Brazil have many shared research interests, including an affinity for practice-based modes of enquiry and pedagogy. I am very pleased that the LINK Symposiums have carved out a niche for Brazilian and New Zealand academics to connect,” she said.
International academic cooperation is aligned with the goals of the IES and can bring mutual benefits to New Zealand and partners around the world, developing better solutions for common challenges. Education New Zealand has supported other international cooperation activities as the Tripartite Partnership Fund with China and the joint call for research mobility with the São Paulo Research Foundation in Brazil (FAPESP).
Introducing the AgentLab WeChat mini programme
As AgentLab is a web-based platform with English content, it needed a separate programme for Chinese audiences. The new mini programme not only uses Chinese language, but it also offers a localised user experience more suitable for this group.
“Education agents continue to have a crucial role in ensuring that international students and their parents have accurate information about what New Zealand, as a study destination can offer. Especially in China, agents are the main interface between education providers, students, and students’ parents,” ENZ Director – Greater China, Miranda Herbert says.
The agent landscape in China is extensive. The biggest agencies have around 50 branches in the mainland, with different agencies having particular regional strengths. Because agents run their own events – both B2B and with students – ENZ supports their activities rather than running our own ENZ Recognised Agency fairs.
AgentLab is ENZ’s dedicated communications portal for education agents, providing them with the training and resources they need to best promote New Zealand as an international study destination.
It has proven to be a very effective way to support agents during these uncertain, fast-changing times. There are now close to 5,000 users on the platform, which is a 60 percent increase since March 2020. This year alone ENZ conducted almost 50 webinars (some region-specific) through AgentLab, and shared regular updates via news feeds, direct messages, and the COVID-19 FAQs page.
Access 新西兰留学顾问计划 on WeChat, or use the QR code below:
Teaching the teachers
The School Influencers Workshop series focuses on new ideas in Early Childhood Education, English Language teaching and educational management and leadership. Originally planned to be delivered in-person, this is the first time the course will be held online.
Members of the UC College of Education, Health and Human Development will deliver the online courses to more than 100 education practitioners and administrators alongside in-market organisations Teach for Indonesia and Teach for the Philippines.
UC Associate Dean (International), Dr Stuart Wise, said “The College of Education, Health and Development at the University of Canterbury is delighted to support this initiative sponsored by Education New Zealand. We are very keen to support our colleagues at Teach for Indonesia and Teach for Philippines are looking forward to the opportunity to engage with course participants and share some of our expertise with them.”
The professional development of teachers has been a key part of ENZ’s South East Asia engagement strategy since 2016.
“The School Influencers Workshop series gives teachers and administrators a taste of New Zealand’s top-quality education by offering an insight into our hands-on teaching methodologies and contact with top academics,” ENZ Market Manager Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, Desiree Lee, said.
“Teachers, counsellors and school leaders remain a key group of influencers in a student’s study journey. They are an important group which ENZ will continue to engage as the international education sector recovers from COVID-19.”
Read the UC story on the Schools Influencers Workshop series