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  • 2023 PIEoneer Awards - Celebrating NZ international student finalist, Nehara Pandey

    Nehara was one of only seven students from across the globe shortlisted as finalists for the ‘International Alumni of the Year’ category at the 2023 PIEoneer Awards. She was the only student in her category from the Southern Hemisphere and up against fellow international students from the UK, United States, and Germany. 

    The PIEoneer Awards is hosted annually by PIE News, a prominent international education news platform, and honours individuals and organisations across the globe driving excellence and innovation in education and beyond. The ‘International Alumni of the Year’ award celebrates international students who have made a significant contribution to their institution and the wider community. This year, the ceremony took place in London on Friday 22 September. 

    Nehara is originally from Goa in India and proudly neurodiverse. She completed her foundation studies at UP International College’s Wellington Campus in 2021 where she proved her drive for academic success, scooping up the Overall Excellence Award at the Wellington International Student Excellence Awards that same year. 

    Growing up by the ocean in India sparked her interest in environmentalism and she is now furthering her education at Victoria University of Wellington with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in marine biology. As well as being a dedicated conservationist, climate correspondent, and aspiring marine biologist, she is also a strong advocate for the neurodiverse community. You can read about her many achievements in UP Education’s media release on her nomination here.  UP Education also produced a showcase video, featured below, that highlights Nehara’s remarkable achievements and how a New Zealand international education has helped her succeed. 

    Nehara participated in the awards ceremony online and said it was an exciting experience to be a part of and such an honour to represent both New Zealand and India at an international level. 

    "I was introduced to so many organisations and people breaking barriers in the field of International Education. Although I did not win, this was such a unique learning experience and I'm extremely grateful to UP Education for nominating me.  

    Studying at UP Education and now at Victoria University of Wellington has taught me so much and allowed me to grow both personally and professionally," said Nehara.  

    "I'm incredibly thankful to both institutions for allowing me to pursue my dreams of working in the field of conservation," she added. 

     Richard Kensington, Principal, Academic Relations for UP Education said that Nehara’s success story reflects the transformative educational experiences New Zealand can offer its international students.  

    “We were absolutely thrilled for Nehara that she was an ‘International Alumni of the Year’ finalist. This is yet another achievement that she can add to the already long list of achievements to her name,” said Richard. 

    ENZ’s Regional Director, America’s, Middle East and Europe, Amy Rutherford, was invited to participate in the 2023 Awards as one of 41 independent judges presiding over the 20 award categories. She joined two other New Zealanders on the panel including Gavin Millar from Nayland College in Nelson and Dr Pii-Tuulia Nikula from The Eastern Institute of Technology | Te Pūkenga in the Hawkes Bay.

    ENZ’s Amy Rutherford (5th from left) with fellow judges, including Gavin Millar from Nayland College (far right), at the 2023 PIEoneer Awards

    Amy said it was a huge honour to be invited to take part in the awards which celebrate the achievements of individuals and businesses who make such significant contributions to international education around the globe.  

    The calibre of the nominations received for the PIEoneer awards was especially high this year. It was a particularly proud moment to see Nehara representing New Zealand’s international education sector on this global stage and see her recognised for the outstanding contributions she makes to so many areas of her personal and academic life.  

    On behalf of Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao, I’d like to extend our congratulations for her nomination in these awards and achievements thus far. I know she will continue to do amazing things, added Amy 

    The list of awards and winners can be found here. If you or your organisation would like to make a nomination for the 2024 PIEoneer Awards, entries will be opening in February 2024.  

     

  • Tapping the undergraduate market in India with High School Career Counsellors Workshops

    The interactive He Hui educated the counsellors from Delhi and Bangalore on what makes New Zealand one of the most attractive choices for undergraduate students and breadth of opportunities offered by our universities for international students. It was also an opportune time to socialise the New Zealand Excellence Awards | Study with New Zealand which are partial scholarships curated exclusively for Indian students.  

    High school counsellors play a vital role in influencing undergraduate students and therefore are considered an important stakeholder in the student journey abroadHe Hui was a follow on from the interaction with High School Career Counsellors during the annual IC3 Conference held earlier this year.  

    New Zealand universities India representatives at ENZ desk at the IC3 annual conference in Hyderabad on 23 August

    The IC3 annual conference is India’s largest forum for school career counsellors and tertiary education providers to congregate, connect, network and deliberate on ethical career counselling practices for students. It provides a fantastic platform for international providers to educate and connect with key influencers for the undergraduate learners. As a gold sponsor at the IC3 conference, ENZ received greater visibility to showcase all New Zealand universities as well as the overall sector.  

    Ankit Mehta, International Recruitment Manager, Victoria University of Wellington presenting at the Delhi workshop

    These initiatives are part of India’s rebuild and reconnect strategy, especially with a focus on the undergraduate market. The range of activities have supported an increased level of interest from premier high schools from across the country 

    India is an established market for post graduate students. However, growing the undergraduate market requires a defined strategy as Indian students from the metropolitan cities are inclined to favour competitor countries like Australia, US, UK and Canada.  

    With the high investment and commitment shown by agents and the New Zealand higher education sectors, India can be a very promising undergraduate market for New Zealand 

    ENZ will continue to create awareness of New Zealand among High school students through social media campaigns, newsletters, subject-ready reckoners, and the New Zealand Excellence Awards to regain the reputation and visibility that has been affected over the last couple of years.  

    For more information, please contact Jugnu Roy, ENZ’s Director of Engagement-East Asia and India, Jugnu.roy@enz.govt.nz  

    Jugnu Roy, Director of Engagement-East Asia and India interacting with counsellors at the Bengaluru workshop

  • Indigenous Peoples Talk Series 2023: final event

    The third and final event of the Indigenous Peoples Talk Series will be held online on 29 October 2023, at 10am in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2pm NZDT). 

    This event, jointly organised by The Tuyang Initiative, a Malaysian Social Enterprise, and Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao, is focused on Arts and Culture, specifically the expectations of authenticity in indigenous arts and culture and what this means. Taking part in the discussion are several brilliant indigenous academics, artists, and cultural practitioners from Malaysia and Aotearoa New Zealand, including Nichola Te Kiri, contemporary designer and founder of Nichola – Design from Aotearoa. 

    Information on the Tuyang Initiative was shared in a previous E-News here. You can register for this free event via this form: https://forms.gle/5f3SW5iCteZTHyC98 

  • Smart cities and AI technology key focus for KIWI Challenge 2023

    The competition is designed to inspire youth across Indonesia to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities that address societal issues.

    The 2023 theme is “Reforming Indonesia’s mobility and smart cities using AI technology”.

    Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) organises the competition in collaboration with a New Zealand university and Kopi Tuli (Deaf Cafe), a deaf community in Jakarta. This year, ENZ is partnering up with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) to co-host the initiative.

    School groups are required to submit video entries to a judging panel made up of AUT academics and ENZ representatives. Submissions are reviewed by the panel and finalists selected. The students will then be supported through a number of workshops and mentoring by the AUT academics.  

    The participating academic from AUT is Senior Lecturer International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Dr Taghreed Hikmet, who has expertise in smart cities and is passionate about mentoring and inspiring young future leaders. She has had close involvement in multiple programmes like YES, where she mentored young entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas. 

    Dr Hikmet says she is honoured to be involved this year.   

    “It is a delight to have the opportunity to inspire Indonesian students to think creatively about what the future can look like. The development of smart cities is about improving sustainability, creating opportunities for economic development and enhancing the quality of life for people, I’m looking forward to seeing the ideas students put forward,” she says. 

    ENZ Director Asia Ben Burrowes says that this initiative showcases New Zealand’s world-class education and academics in a meaningful way. 

    “Now entering its fourth year, KIWI Challenge has grown into a unique platform for New Zealand and our top academics to remain connected to Indonesian students in a way that is in touch with what matters to them. We continue to work with partners in Indonesia to identify the themes that resonate with students” he says.

    The winners of the competition will be announced on Saturday 25 November, the top three groups will be awarded vouchers worth IDR 2,000,000 – 10,000,000. 

    To date, the competition has attracted more than 1,000 Indonesian students through the programme and each year has showcased a New Zealand university and a particular theme. Previous university partners were Massey University (Tourism), Lincoln University (Agribusiness) and the University of Canterbury (Education Technology).  

  • High satisfaction rates amongst valuable insights collected from NZIEC KI TUA 2023 post-event survey

    As standard practice for our events, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) sends out a post-event survey to help us in planning for future conferences and would like to extend a big thank you to all those who took the time to share their feedback with us.  

    Manager Global Events and Agents, Janine Huxford, said that the information we gather via these surveys is of huge value to her team as planning has already started for NZIEC KI TUA 2024.  

    The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive and 88% of attendees reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their experience at NZIEC KI TUA 2023. We also received a net promoter score of +27 which is well above the events industry’s benchmark of +10 which shows strong customer engagement and advocacy levels.  

    While these satisfaction rates are helpful and show that we are hitting the mark with most attendees, we really like to delve a bit deeper into the areas which haven’t quite met the delegates’ expectations. For example, satisfaction was slightly higher for those attending from the universities vs the school sector so we will be reviewing aspects of future schedules including the relevance of the sessions and making sure this is more evenly spread for all areas of the sector.  

    Also, there was feedback from some delegates that the app did not work as well as it could have. We have fed that information back to the developers who have confirmed that development work is scheduled to improve the mobile app. A future release is expected later this year which we expect will improve next year’s conference app.” added Janine.  

    In summary, the key findings from the survey were:  

    • Overall, 88% of attendees reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their experience at NZIEC KI TUA 2023. 3.5% reported not being satisfied with their experience. 

    • There was some variation in overall satisfaction with NZIEC KI TUA within the sector: Those affiliated with a university were statistically more likely to be very/satisfied with their experience (95%) than those affiliated with a school (86%) 

    • Despite evidence that those affiliated with a university were more likely than those with a school to report overall satisfaction with NZIEC KI TUA, the NPS for schools (+25) was higher than that for universities (14%).  

    • All keynote sessions were perceived to be of high quality by most respondents, with few responding negatively. A small proportion of attendees rated the sessions by Dr Hinemoa Elder (18%), Yemi Penn (13%), and Kaila Colbin (7%) as ‘fair’. 

    • Among networking opportunities at the conference delegates were most satisfied with opportunities to reconnect with sector colleagues (88% very/completely satisfied), followed by opportunities to meet new people (84%) and engage with partners (70%). 

    • Among experiences of the conference, delegates were most satisfied with the helpfulness of the organising staff (98% very/completely satisfied), followed by the organisation of the event (87%), quality of the sessions (74%), and relevance of the sessions (65%)  

    • The relevance of the sessions (30%), quality of the sessions (22%), and the event organisation (18%) contributed the most to people’s response to the Net Promoter Score question. This means that they are the most important factors in people’s experiences for their likelihood to recommend NZIEC KI TUA to others. 

    • Around half of the respondents felt more or much more confident that the New Zealand international education sector is ‘moving in the right direction’ (54%) and that it is resilient (53%). Only 7% felt less confident in either. 

    ENZ looks forward to welcoming you to another outstanding experience at NZIEC KI TUA 2024 in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington from 6 - 8 August 2024 at Tākina Convention Centre. See you there!  

  • International photo round-up

  • Around the world in five

    Asia  

    Ten higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines have partnered with Chinese institutions, in a bid to boost collaboration and partnership in the fields of science, technology, agriculture and mathematics. The partnerships were signed during the Philippines-China University President Cooperation Dialogue, which took place during China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.  

    North America  

    An escalating diplomatic row between Ottawa and New Delhi has the potential to deter thousands of Indian undergraduates from studying in Canada. More than 40% of the 800,000 international students in Canada in 2022 were from India, making it the largest source country for overseas learners. Academics warn that if the rift grows, it could have devastating consequences for student mobility.  

    Middle East 

    Hundreds of United Arab Emirates students are expected to seek higher education admission and career guidance from more than 30 international universities participating at the Study Abroad Education Fair held by Charms Education. Students will be able to network with admissions representatives, alumni, and fellow applicants as they explore options across Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and more  

    Europe 

    Global pathway provider Navitas has expanded its presence in Europe with the announcement of a new partnership with SRH Universities Germany. Navitas said that international students looking to study in Germany will have more options available following the five-year deal, which will include the establishment of an International College at the SRH University Heidelberg campus.  

    Africa 

    As the window allowing international students to bring relatives along with them to the United Kingdom closes gradually, the hopes of many Nigerian graduates planning to do their post-graduate programmes in the United Kingdom are fading slowly ahead of the 2024 deadline. Data shows that around 100,000 Nigerians travelled abroad to study in 2020 and many observers have projected that figure to be on rise. With the recent announcement, many have had their hopes dashed. 

     

  • Highlights from Education Fairs and events in Japan and Viet Nam

    Japan 

    In early October, ENZ welcomed 844 visitors to engage with 40 New Zealand education providers representing the school, vocational, English language and university sectors at the first New Zealand student fair in Japan since 2019.  

    Teresa Robertson, International Director from King’s High School with Eriko Ishiguro, an interpreter.

    The fair at Roppongi Academy Hills in Tokyo on 1 October had a programme of events that highlighted the strong connections between our two countries. Over the following two days, 49 and 45 of the visiting New Zealand education providers attended the ENZ Agent Seminars in Tokyo and Osaka respectively. Both seminars saw a record number of local agents and education providers, with 181 present in Tokyo and 77 in Osaka. 

    His Excellency Hamish Cooper, New Zealand Ambassador to Japan with the New Zealand contingent. The New Zealand education providers sang two waiata to support the Ambassador’s speech. A recording of ENZ’s waiata ‘Manapou ki te Ao’ was played and explained in Japanese to convey the waiatas’ meaning and lyrics.

    Misa Kitaoka, ENZ’s Director of Education - Japan said that these events proved a great opportunity for the institutions to network with local school representatives, education and travel experts and gain valuable insights into the Japanese market. She also said that there was an evident increase in interest in long-term study in New Zealand both at the school and tertiary levels, compared with pre-Covid.  

    "This new trend is testament to the well-established presence New Zealand now has as a study destination in Japan. It can also be attributed to the effects of the Japanese government’s internationalisation policy in the education sector. With over 200 International Baccalaureate schools in Japan, more students are bilingual and eligible for direct entry to New Zealand universities. 

    There are also over 500 Japanese universities now adopting sogo gata senbatsu(comprehensive admissions) that provide a holistic assessment of the applicants including their English language skills and overseas experience. This means that more students are choosing to complete secondary school education in New Zealand to apply to Japanese universities,said Misa. 

    The education events along with pre-departure briefings where Japanese market insights were shared and the welcome reception upon arrival with key Japanese education stakeholders and partners were all well-received by the education providers in attendance.  

    Kerrie Hodgson, Internationalisation Business Partner, Te Pūkenga New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology said it was clear that great effort was put into promoting the events and New Zealand education. “The numbers were high, and I felt that enquiries were more in depth than previous years, and beyond English Language study,” said Kerrie. 

    Renee Millner, International Director for Western Heights School in Rotorua added that the market insights provided ahead of their arrival were a great introduction to significant changes within the Japanese market 

    Viet Nam 

    Following the action-packed week in Japan, the focus shifted to Viet Nam where the ENZ teams held several New Zealand education events in Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi. 

    NZ institutions had one-to-one meetings with Vietnamese agents at two ENZ Agent Seminars in Viet Nam.

    The series of events began with 19 NZ Masterclasses delivered over two weekends. Over 800 students registered for these online classes, in which New Zealand academics delivered a 40-minute lesson. This was followed by recruitment representatives introducing the entry requirements, scholarship opportunities and benefits of studying in New Zealand. Following the masterclasses, representatives of all eight New Zealand universities visited several schools in Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi, presenting to students and their families at information sessions and in some cases, taking part in mini-fairs 

    Ho Chi Minh City was then host to two flagship ENZ events; the Agent Seminar and Counsellors Meet-up and following this, the NZ Education Day Fair. There was significant interest in both events with 50 Vietnamese agents meeting with 29 New Zealand institutions while 25 Viet Nam schools’ counsellors met with all New Zealand universities and Te Pūkenga. The New Zealand Education Fair saw over 500 visitors through the event with 385 leads generated. 

    Ha Noi followed suit with the Agent Seminar and Counsellors Meet-up attracting 40 Vietnamese agents meeting with 27 New Zealand institutions while eight Viet Nam school counsellors met with all New Zealand universities and Te Pūkenga. The events finished with a second popular Education Fair with visitors estimated at about 400 people resulting in 258 student leads. 

    Van Banh, ENZ's Market Manager for Viet Nam said that this year's education events had a mix of the traditional with a more interactive, modern, and sustainable approach which resonated well with attendees. 

    "Our team wanted to make these events as fun and interactive as possible to show what a New Zealand education is all about. In addition to the one-to-one opportunities for students and parents to talk to the New Zealand institutions, there were workshops with the participation of key opinion leaders, and well-known English IELTS trainers. There were also activities run by our partners such as English skills testing and minigames about New Zealand.  

    We also took a more sustainable and innovative approach to our events to support the messaging that we communicate to students about New Zealand being a country that cares about sustainability and the environment, with an eye to the future through innovation. We replaced traditional printed backdrops with digital ones shown on TV screens for each booth, significantly reducing our waste and energy usage in manufacturing production. Our main stage also had a set of three interactive and eye-catching LED screens.  

    ENZ’s Regional Director for Asia, Ben Burrowes, attended both events and said, “on behalf of the ENZ teams in Viet Nam and Japan, I would like to extend a huge thank you to the New Zealand education providers who attended our events this year.  

    As we all know, these face-to-face connections are extremely valuable as we continue to rebuild New Zealand’s education brand in such an important region for our sector. We look forward to hosting you again soon." 

  • Opportunity to meet the ‘Voice of the Oceans’ crew in Auckland in November

    What is the Voice of the Oceans (VOO) Initiative? 

    VOO is a maritime expedition that began in August 2021 in Brazil by New Zealand alumni David Schurmann and his family David is a globally renowned film maker and environmentalist, former NZ secondary school and Auckland University of Technology (AUT) film student.  

    VOO’s mission is to examine and record the environmental state of the oceans including plastic pollution so that this data can raise awareness and inform education, science, and innovation that improves the health of our oceans. It has the global support of the United Nations Environment Programme. 

    The VOO crew will arrive in Auckland to mark the end of the first stage of their journey, after travelling for two years and visiting more than 100 destinations, recording the levels of plastic pollution they see as they go.  

     

    Who is David Shurmann?   

    Living and studying in Aotearoa New Zealand inspired David to create VOO. He first came to New Zealand as a child when sailing around the world with his family and decided to stay on to study here. 

    His study led him to tell the story of his family’s connections to NZ, including the sister he gained, through film. David directed Little Secret to tell his story, this film went on to be nominated for an Oscar in the 2016 Academy Awards. David said that the decision to complete the first stage in New Zealand was straight forward due to the close relationship they have with our country.  

     “Our relationship with New Zealand goes beyond the sentimental ties however as we recognise New Zealand’s leadership in its conservation of the environment, and particularly the marine environment. In our travels we share with other countries, the sustainable and best practices that we see here in New Zealand, including its waste management and the prevention habits and practices of waste entering the ocean,said David.   

     

    The Event  

    To celebrate their arrival, the Latin America New Zealand Business Council has organised this event on November 3 to bring together experts in the fields of sustainability, innovation, the environment and climate change to join David on a panel discussion on the topic of sustainability and innovation. Following the discussion, event participants can visit the KAT sailboat moored in the Viaduct harbour. 

    The event will have the participation of His Excellency Marcos Arbizu, Ambassador of Brazil and Dr Matthew O’Meagher, Director of the Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence.  

    Event panellists include: 

    Please join us to recognise the important trip the Schumann family have taken so far and engage in a discussion about sustainability and innovation. 

  • Record audience for early childhood education symposium with China

    This year, the symposium attracted a live audience of 350 attendees and a livestream audience of 100,000, well over the number of attendees in previous years. The symposium’s theme was ‘Advancing Inclusiveness in Early Childhood Education.   

    The Early Childhood Education Symposium is an initiative between Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) and China Center for International People to People Exchange (CCIPE), a sub-agency of China Ministry of Education (China MoE).   

    The symposium provides a platform for New Zealand Early Childhood Education (ECE) institutions, academics, practitioners, and policy experts to engage in a cross-cultural dialogue. It leverages New Zealand’s expertise in ECE teacher training programmes.  

    This was the first year that a delegation of government representatives and ECE experts from New Zealand travelled to China to present at the symposium in person, which sent a positive signal to education partners in China about New Zealand’s strong focus on reconnecting and strengthening our education credentials in the China market.  

    The symposium’s live presenters from New Zealand included Dr Jane Ewens, Manager Early Learning, Ministry of Education and Fiona He, Director and Founder, TuiTuiEducare/Universal Kids Early Education Centre. Dr Ewens presented an overview of the New Zealand Government’s policy focusing on advancing inclusiveness in early childhood education.  

    ENZ’s General Manager International, Lisa Futschek, who provided opening remarks, said the symposium highlighted the special education relationship between New Zealand and China and our long and fruitful dialogue in a variety of education areas.   

    It’s fantastic to see how the symposium has grown and evolved since 2020. We were delighted to be able to travel there, grow our connections in-person, and enable collaboration between people across the education landscape in both our countries.   

    2023 has already been an exciting year for rebuilding face-to-face connections for New Zealand and China, and the symposium just helped us build on that so wonderfully,” Lisa said. 

    ENZ General Manager International, Lisa Futschek.

    CAO Diefeng, Deputy Director General, China Centre for International People-to-People Exchange indicated in his opening remarks that the China-New Zealand Early Childhood Education Symposium has received extensive attention because of its scale and influence. It is highly welcomed by the education sector from both China and New Zealand and is becoming a key platform for early childhood education communication.  

    “The symposium exemplifies the sound education cooperation between our two countries and plays an important role in deepening substantive cooperation by both sides,” CAO Diefeng said. 

    Dr Jane Ewens said the information exchange was valuable to all audiences and demonstrated there are opportunities for the Ministry of Education to learn from our Chinese partners. 

    We can create stronger educational ties and foster ongoing cooperation with China, aligning with government priorities. This could include exploring attracting Chinese teachers and students to New Zealand's early childhood education teaching workforce. 

    “There is also an opportunity for New Zealand practitioners and policy makers to consider and possibly integrate how China implements their curriculum as we develop curriculum resources for New Zealand Early Childhood Education kaiako (teachers),” Dr Ewens said. 

    Dr Jane Ewens from the New Zealand Ministry of Education presents the Policy Overview.

    This year’s symposium resulted in a range of valuable outcomes for New Zealand’s education relationship with China and for the sector. The symposium generated good visibility for New Zealand, with 45 media articles (accounting for almost four million views), which included reporting from top tier Chinese media. Many connections and leads for New Zealand participants were created during and after the symposium – one New Zealand speaker reported being approached by 50 Chinese counterparts after their virtual presentation. 

    Aside from the symposium, the New Zealand delegation’s key objectives included supporting a bilateral education initiative linked to the New Zealand-China Arrangement on Education Cooperation and Training, while showcasing New Zealand’s expertise in early childhood education practices and curriculum to audiences in China.  

    The visit provided a chance for the delegation to understand best practices in early childhood education from a Chinese cultural perspective that they could put into practice in New Zealand to better support learners from Chinese backgrounds. As part of the programme in Nanjing, the delegation visited two kindergartens and presented a panel session with academics and students at Nanjing Normal University. 

    If you are interested in the ECE Symposium or partnering with ENZ on this event in the future, please contact the ENZ China team at China@enz.govt.nz. 

    The audience in Nanjing take notes during the presentations.

    Attendees of the Hefei Shuangyou Education Group in Anhui Province watch the symposium online.

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