What’s next for ENZ events?

The trial of the EventsAIR OnAIR platform began in September with the Japan New Zealand Education Virtual Showcase and Agent Seminar, and will continue over the next few months for events like agent seminars in-market, the Viet Nam Student Showcase, and the Summer Retention Showcase.

Over and above a video-conferencing application like Zoom, the EventsAIR OnAIR platform has functions like a virtual exhibition, live Q & A, and gamification features, where users can compete to win points.

ENZ recently hosted our inaugural India New Zealand Education Week on the EventsAIR OnAIR platform. To have a look at the platform and how it works, you can register and view recordings of the event here.

ENZ has an established relationship with EventsAIR, having previously partnered with them for lead capture at in-person events.

ENZ Director – Channel Services and Partnerships, Dan Smidt, says what really clinched this new collaboration was the wide range of functionality EventsAIR had developed.

“We didn’t want a platform that would simply recreate what you’d expect from an in-person event. We wanted something that would use digital features in a creative way, to really capture the attention and imagination of our attendees.”

Participants are currently limited to providers who registered with ENZ for in-person events in-market before they were cancelled due to COVID-19. At the moment, ENZ is able to offer participation in these events at no cost to the sector.

“In the results of a survey out to New Zealand providers earlier this year, the cost of developing or participating in digital events was one of the most important factors for those considering their event options,” Dan says.

Even before COVID-19 caused global travel disruption and the widespread cancellation of in-person events, ENZ was looking into ways to host more events virtually.

“We know that education providers and students are becoming more conscious of the sustainability of long-haul air travel,” Dan says. “COVID-19 simply accelerated our work in the online event space.”

“This dynamic virtual events platform is the next logical step in the growth of the ENZ digital eco-system. We’re now able to think about how we do events in a whole new way.”

Dan and the ENZ Events Team hope to develop a virtual and hybrid calendar of events for 2021 with OnAIR. Please watch out for more updates on our events work in E-News on our website.