24 February 2022 at 9:00 am
Showcasing New Zealand education at Expo Dubai
Aotearoa New Zealand educators took the opportunity to showcase our unique education offering at Expo Dubai, the largest global event to take place since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Representatives from the University of Waikato, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand education technology company ByteEd and Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao met with key contacts and forged new relationships during their 22-25 January 2022 visit to the Expo.
Events were hosted at the New Zealand Pavilion, and the delegation invited education stakeholders to take a new look at what New Zealand education has to offer, including online and pathway options. Attendees heard more from New Zealand’s universities and vocational training sectors, learned about government-to-government opportunities, and met with innovative New Zealand EdTech companies working in the region. The winners of the Global Kaitiakitanga Project, a sustainability-focused programme for New Zealand schools created by the NZ at Expo team and Young Enterprise (YES), also shared their student experience.
Guests at our events gained an insight into New Zealand’s unique cultural identity, with a tour through the New Zealand experience at the pavilion and performances from locally based kapa haka group Ngāti Koraha.
The leader of the education delegation, ENZ’s Regional Director, Americas, Middle East and Europe, Amy Rutherford, was interviewed by New Zealander Brandy Scott on the popular business breakfast show Dubai Eye. The interview aired on 24 January, to coincide with UNESCO’s International Day of Education.
While in Dubai, the delegation took part in the launch of NCUK’s International Foundation Year (IFY) at the University of Wollongong in Dubai. The IFY programme will lead to UAE and other students from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and further afield studying at any of New Zealand’s eight universities in 2023 and beyond.
ENZ also held a workshop with delegates to look at ways to align our efforts in the GCC countries and wider Middle East region.
Expo is the largest global event to take place since the Covid-19 pandemic began. As at the end of January, organisers had recorded 11,608,240 visits to Expo, and the New Zealand Pavilion had over 750,000 visitors.
“It was important for ENZ and delegation members to show up and tell the New Zealand education story to the world. New Zealand remains keen to cooperate with partners on education, we have innovative ways to offer a New Zealand education, and we are looking forward to welcoming students to New Zealand again as soon as border restrictions allow,” Amy Rutherford says.
If you are interested to hear more about how ENZ can support your organisation’s approach in the region, please contact Bronwyn Shanks, ENZ’s Senior Advisor – Special Projects, Middle East and Europe, bronwyn.shanks@enz.govt.nz.
