ENZ: Connection through education

Lisa Futschek, general manager of International at ENZ

In New Zealand’s International Education Strategy, what are the key objectives that your country is heading towards?

We have just refreshed the strategy, which is running from 2022 forwards. The key vision of this strategy is to achieve a globally thriving and connected New Zealand through world-class education. We have established three pillars to achieve that goal.

The first is excellent education through student experience, the second is sustainable and resilient education, and the third is the development of global citizens. Through world-class education, we want to make sure that New Zealand is sustainably connected to the world for mutual benefits and, under each of these three pillars, we have a range of initiatives to ensure that we’re reaching that goal.

How are you promoting these pillars in partner countries that you are working with?

We connect the opportunities for our providers, researchers, and governments and use international education as a vehicle to achieve diplomatic ends, beginning with people-to-people connections.

For example, we have recently launched a global campaign called I Am New, covering all attributes of a New Zealand education that students can connect to. By weaving the Maori values into educational offerings, namely manaakitanga, which is “care for people”, kaitiakitanga, which is “care for place”, and the pōtiki spirit, which is “youthful energy”, international students can benefit from a different learning experience in New Zealand.

That is to say, part of our point of difference is the pedagogical style with which our institutions teach and the students learn. We educate students in a way that they are career-ready, whether at the secondary school level, university level, or beyond.

Lisa Futschek speaking at the event

What is your view of Vietnam as a source market?

Vietnam is an incredibly important partner country for New Zealand. ENZ works not only in terms of bringing Vietnamese students to New Zealand, but also in taking New Zealand students to Vietnam. The idea is that exchanging our different perspectives, cultures, and world views is to the benefit of both countries.

This is not just because we come from the same region, but also because there is so much to share. Vietnam is one of our largest source markets for international students. In 2020, Vietnam was our fifth-largest source market, acknowledging that COVID-19 meant mobility was not possible. Nevertheless, a large proportion of Vietnamese students chose to stay in New Zealand and continue their education.

New Zealand’s code of pastoral care for international students really came to the fore, and Vietnamese students were looked after well in the country as they were unable to return home to their families. We are the first in the world to develop a pastoral care code which provides excellent care for international students, and all the providers in New Zealand who enrol international students must be signatory hosts.

What are potential sectors for partnerships between New Zealand education providers and Vietnamese ones?

Currently, the majority of students from Vietnam are studying in our high school sector and increasingly in our university sector. But in fact, we have just seen an example of where we can extend our partnership into other sectors, such as vocational training, through an MoU between Skills Consulting Group and Hanoi Vocational College of High Technology. The establishment of the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology is also an area that is ripe for further development.

Similarly, we see real opportunities in our thriving edtech industry. We have a partnership with The Mind Lab, where we sponsor 30-full scholarships for Vietnamese educators to join in Digital and Collaborative Teaching and Learning Micro-credential course.

The MoU signing between Skills Consulting Group and Hanoi Vocational College of High Technology

How can Vietnamese students benefit from a New Zealand education, and are there any exclusive opportunities for them?

There are many scholarship offerings for Vietnamese students among the university and high school sectors. The Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship scheme is a critical government scheme that is offered to students from around the world, including Vietnam, which is probably the biggest single investment that New Zealand makes in scholarships.

In addition, there’s a range of innovative smaller schemes that ENZ has developed to connect with students who aren’t necessarily coming to New Zealand for their studies. The New Zealand Global Competence Certificate digitally connects overseas students and New Zealand, and Vietnam was the first country that we piloted this programme.

New Zealand provides scholarships for Vietnamese teachers Following the success of previous years, Education New Zealand will continue to offer 30 fully-funded scholarships for Vietnamese teachers to undertake the New Zealand Global Competence Certificate (NZGCC) course.

New Zealand Education Fair returns to Vietnam The New Zealand Education Fair 2022, the largest annual event covering New Zealand education, will officially return on October 29 and 30 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, respectively.

Nearly 1,000 Vietnamese parents and students joined New Zealand Education Fair 2022 New Zealand Education Fair 2022, the largest annual event on New Zealand education, officially returned on October 29 in Hanoi and October 30 in Ho Chi Minh City, attracting nearly 1,000 attendees.