Chris Hipkins
Wellington, March 29, 2018
I am pleased to announce that New Zealand has been successful in its bid to host the Asia-Pacific Association of International Education (APAIE) Conference and Exhibition in 2021.
I congratulate the universities who worked together to put forward this successful bid.
University of Auckland will host the event and the other seven universities will co-host.
This is great news for our international education sector as international education adds considerable richness to New Zealand.
Students welcome
We are an outward-looking trading nation and in the last two decades, we have actively welcomed international students to our cities and study here.
We value their contribution to our universities, our research and our communities. We know that international education offers opportunities for young people to study here and for our young people to study abroad.
That is why we want our international education sector to have a strong future.
Great export earner
International education is New Zealand’s fourth largest export earner, contributing $4.5 billion annually to our economy and supporting 33,000 jobs, it directly supports the wellbeing and living standards of all New Zealanders.
We are putting effort into ensuring we have the right policy and immigration settings, and our priorities are reflected in the International Education Strategy which is currently being developed.
The Theme
The conference theme is “innovation for sustainable futures” and will focus on building links between APAIE and universities in the South Pacific region.
The Conference will be held in Auckland at the New Zealand International Convention Centre, which will be completed in 2019.
The event is expected to attract about 2000 delegates.
Chris Hipkins is Education Minister of New Zealand.
