NZIEC in review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can download the presentations from the conference here.

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