20 February 2014 at 9:00 am
NZ education front page in India
New Zealand education was front page news in India this month, starring on the cover of the education section of the country's largest English language newspaper The Times of India- a newspaper with a combined readership of seven million, with over 26 local editions published across the country.
The media work promotes New Zealand as a study destination and education business partner to influential Indian media that are widely followed by prospective Indian students and their parents.
Early results are pleasing, with extensive coverage highlighting the benefits of study in New Zealand. The media work has included regular feeding of stories, and two joint media briefings with Immigration New Zealand in New Delhi and Mumbai. More briefings are planned, covering the country from Chandigarh to Kochi.
The combined approach with INZ has been a particularly successful feature of the mission, Ziena says. It is the first time the two agencies have fronted media together, and the effectiveness of the collaboration suggests it may be useful in other target markets.
“The media are also very interested to find out more about immigration related issues so it is great to have Nathanael Mackay, INZ Area Manager, to answer questions about visa processing times and work rights associated with student visas,” she says.
“More than 11,000 students from India are currently studying in New Zealand, making India one of the fastest growing student markets for New Zealand. Our media work is a great way to raise awareness of the growing Indian presence in New Zealand as well as the business and education partnerships which are underway and in the pipeline.”
February has been a busy month for Indian media in New Zealand too, with two specialist Indian education writers visiting.
Malini Sen, the editor of the Education Times (part of The Times of India), spent five days in early February meeting Indian students in New Zealand and touring universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics throughout the country. One student she talked to was Kevin D’Souza, a former advertising executive from Mumbai. Kevin enrolled in the MBA programme at the Auckland University of Technology after deciding he wanted to "skill up" while "spending more time with my family and enjoying the slower pace of life in New Zealand".
On 24 February the editor of Education Plus (the education supplement of The Hindu) arrives for a week’s visit. The Hindu is considered the most influential paper in India, with particularly strong coverage in south India. Archana Subramanium’s focus will be on the niche courses New Zealand has to offer, such as marine biology and geology.
Having journalists on the ground can provide surprising insight. A chat with border security staff at Auckland airport revealed a need for arriving students to have more information about the presence of Indian speciality food stores here, saving a lot of food confiscation in customs. Malini Sen promised to confirm to her Education Times readers that Indian foods are widely available in the multi-cultural country that is New Zealand.
