President Droupadi Murmu to address delegates on August 8 in Wellington
Venkat Raman
Auckland, August 4, 2024
India’s role as an education provider and as a source of talent and skill will come to the fore at the New Zealand International Education Conference organised by Education New Zealand (ENZ) at the Takina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre (50 Cable Street) from August 6 to August 8, 2024 in the Capital.
President Droupadi Murmu who will be in New Zealand on an official visit, will address the Conference on August 8 at 11 am.
Her participation in the Conference will underscore New Zealand’s anxiety about moving away from unintended but undesirable dependence on a single market for its international education.
A Valuable Opportunity
ENZ has joined with the Indian High Commission in Wellington to partner with the Conference, to celebrate “the growing education connections between New Zealand and India.”
The Country of Honour designation highlights New Zealand’s international education connections with partner countries and reflects ‘Connectivity,’ one of the key values of ENZ and its annual conferences.
ENZ Acting General Manager (International) Ben Burrowes said that having India feature as the Country of Honour is a valuable opportunity for the international education sector to contribute to the Conference Programme with sessions that surface insights learning focused on India.
“New Zealand and India have such a broad education relationship, from student recruitment and student experience to partnerships on an institutional and governmental level. There is much to surface and share by way of insights to continue forging our strong education ties. We look forward to collaborating with our sector colleagues to deliver a Conference Programme that showcases these connections and explores new partnerships,” he said.
Keynote Speakers
Indian High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan said that India plays a significant role in New Zealand’s international education industry and that she was looking forward to the discussions at the forthcoming Conference. She will deliver the Welcome Address at the Conference.
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds will speak about her government’s commitment to expand New Zealand’s international education as she inaugurates the Conference on August 7 at 8.45 am.
She will be followed by Dr Fanta Aw, Executive Director and Chief Executive of NAFSA, a New Orleans-based Association of Foreign Student Advisors. She will discuss the role of international education in times of global challenges.
Among the other Keynote Speakers are Sir Ashley Bloomfield (Professor and Director, Public Policy Impact Institute, University of Auckland), Karyn Paringatai (Lecturer, School of Maori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, University of Otago) and Jehan Casinader (Journalist and Mental Health Advocate).
Since its launch in 1991, the annual conference has been bringing together practitioners and leaders from across New Zealand’s international education sector to share good practices and explore strategies for future growth and development. It provides an opportunity to discuss, strategise and connect with expert speakers and delegates.
(ENZ Photo)
Boosting Export Education
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand was a favoured destination (after the USA, Canada and the UK) for international students from India. But the closure of the border following the harsh lockdown changed the scenario and now the National-led government is keen to increase its intake of students from India.
As reported in our July 15, 2024 issue, China claimed the top position in the international student intake last year, accounting for 35% of enrolments, followed by India at 11% (corrected by Education New Zealand from 17%).
ENZ figures showed that these two countries were followed by Japan (10%), South Korea (5%) and Thailand (4%). Student enrolments from other countries were less than 4% each. The total number of international student enrolments (not necessarily as many students since a student could have sought entry into more than one stream) was 69,135 in 2023. This represents a 67% increase compared to the full year in 2022 and 60% of annual enrolments in 2019.
The National Party’s Election Manifesto 2023 said that before the pandemic, international education was New Zealand’s fifth largest export earner, contributing $3.7 billion to the economy and supporting at least 6000 jobs. But the sector is struggling to recover, with its contribution to New Zealand’s economy down significantly in 2022, delivering only $800 million.
The National Party had promised that it would revive the international education sector with fast-track visa processing of student applications, increase the minimum weekly working hours of international students from 20 to 24, expand their work rights and their partners and diversify the intake.
There is not much evidence to prove if the government has initiated the policies but this week’s international education conference will reinstate those objectives.
International Perspectives
Following were the perspectives of NAFSA at its annual conference held in New Orleans from May 28 to May 31 this year: (a) Resilience and prioritisation of wellness for all international educators, students, and scholars (b) The role of international education leaders in increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access and how to build relationships across campus and with key stakeholders to further these efforts (c) Thoughtful approaches to economic and environmental sustainability in international education, especially using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and other cross-cutting methodologies (d) Global and multigenerational voices, particularly perspectives from the Global South, that contribute to a robust international education community for students, staff, faculty, and campus communities (e) New and changing technology that international educators can use to improve their work, processes, and results and (f) Skills and competencies for professional growth, advocacy for leadership, and career development within the field of international education.
Improving security
As New Zealand seeks to increase its intake of international students from India, New Delhi is likely to insist on improving their safety and security, employment opportunities and skills upgrade. India will also be keen to coordinate with New Zealand on research and innovation and sign a ‘Free Mobility Agreement,’ which External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar Subrahmanyam had insisted on during his meetings with the New Zealand government in October 2022.
