New Zealand Education Fair 2018 charmed parents and students

The New Zealand Education Fair 2018 held in Ho Chi Minh City (April 7) and Hanoi (April 8) attracted more than 1,000 participants and offered a holistic experience of being a student in New Zealand. With more than 60 top institutions from New Zealand, this fair brought useful information and attractive activities such as simulated classrooms guided by Kiwi teachers as well as informative consultancy with New Zealand education experts and alumni.

The New Zealand Education Fair is an annual event organised by Education New Zealand with the support of the New Zealand Embassy (Hanoi) and the New Zealand Consulate (Ho Chi Minh City). This is one of the largest in-market educational promotional events in the calendar year in Vietnam.

Let us have a look back of this year’s event:

New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Matthews said in her opening remarks: “As you all may know, we saw a 60 per cent increase in the number of first-time Vietnamese student visas to New Zealand in 2017 and those numbers have continued to grow through the first quarter of 2018. This New Zealand Education Fair is one of our commitments to strengthening education relationships as well as increasing the number of Vietnamese students studying in New Zealand.”

New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Matthews held the opening remarks

A lot of parents and students came to join this event in the early morning. This year, the fairs used a barcode scanning system which was extremely convenient for visitors to register.

This year marked the largest number of registrations from New Zealand institutions

This year marked the largest amount of registrations from New Zealand institutions. More than 60 institutions, including universites, ITPs, PTEs, and high schools sent representatives.

Parents and students both in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were extremely interested in the fair

New Zealand institutions received great numbers of enquiries

Vietnamese parents were extremely taken in by New Zealand's approach to education

“We are thrilled to have such a wide selection of New Zealand education institutions attending our upcoming Fairs in Vietnam. Prospective students and parents will not have a better opportunity to speak directly with the institution representatives and learn why New Zealand’s education system is ranked at the very top for preparing students for the future,” said Ben Burrowes, Education New Zealand’s regional manager, Southeast Asia.

Noticeably, the Fairs successfully organised simulated New Zealand classrooms for both high school and tertiary institutions hosted by Kiwi teachers and demonstrated New Zealand’s unique and world-leading learning environments.

The 30-minute simulation class highlighted the features New Zealand education is celebrated throughout the globe

Visiting students enjoyed the inclusive, task-based approach that allowed them to work in teams

An interesting experience for every age group

The 30-minute classes provided snapshots of the education system recognised as the world’s best by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2017 Educating for the Future Index. The lessons did not only focus on theory, but also helped students develop personal skills such as teamwork and problem-solving. Instead of learning by subjects, students acquired new knowledge through project-based methods.

Nana, a grade 10 student from Minh Khai High School, said: “I used to study in a primary school in New Zealand and I will be back to New Zealand for high school. This simulated classroom is really similar to what I experienced in primary school. The interaction of teachers and student is very comfortable, like we exchange knowledge—it is very unlike the relationship between trainers and trainees.”

Nguyen Hung (one of the parent-visitors) said: “I am impressed by the classroom’s decoration as well as arrangement of round tables and how students are divided into small groups. This helps students easily interact with each other when studying. Every member can easily see and talk to each other, and so can the teacher.”

Julie Saikkone, represetative of Westlake Girl’s High School, shared her thoughts: “We do not only focus on developing study skills, but we also concentrate on outdoor activities, especially arts and sports. We strongly invest in infrastructure such as installing manmade-grass for hockey, football, tennis, and cricket. And we are one of the top 5 national team in rowing.

Air New Zealand continues to be the sponsor of New Zealand Education Fair. This year the company offered two return flights and promotion packages to New Zealand to two lucky draw winners.

Air New Zealand offered two return flights to two lucky draw winners

New Zealand alumni were also present at the fairs who were willing to share their education journey as well as useful tips for living, working, and travelling in New Zealand.

Phuong Anh (alumnus of Massey University) joined as an advisor to share the opportunities with her fellow countrymen

Phuong Anh (alumnus of Massey University) shared that she was excited to join as an advisor. She hoped that more and more Vietnamese parents and students would gain useful information not only about education, but also lifestyle from this paradise island.

New Zealand Education Fair 2018 was all-round success