The Government agency of New Zealand that leads promotion of international education, Education New Zealand (ENZ), announced a number of initiatives targeted at the India market.
This is in cognisance of the announcement made by President Pranab Mukherjee and New Zealand Tertiary Education, Skills & Employment Minister Steven Joyce about a new university scholarship initiative for Indian students in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Excellence Awards will give 35 top Indian scholars the opportunity to study graduate and postgraduate programmes including Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Fashion and Business at all eight of New Zealand’s universities, each of which is ranked among the global top three per cent.
ENZ also announced a new sports education initiative, Game on Sports with Stephen Fleming, ENZ Brand Ambassador and cricketing legend. The project offers the unique opportunity for Indian students to combine New Zealand’s world-class teaching style and expertise in sports coaching.
The third initiative by ENZ is in the fashion sector — Runway to New Zealand in partnership with the Fashion Design Council of India. The initiative features 12 fashion design students from Massey University and AUT University in New Zealand, and National Institute of Fashion Technology and Pearl Academy in India who are working together to showcase a Think New collection using Indian sustainable fabrics to produce next generation contemporary garments.
The project was a month-long journey where teams of two — one Indian and one New Zealander worked together to put up their finale showcase. It focussed on celebrating independent thinking and inculcating a culture of learning and team work in the form of jointly produced garments by the students. The finale will be held at a mega fashion event on May 12, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency hotel, New Delhi.
New Zealand has seen a steady growth from the Indian market in the last five years, both in terms of awareness and enrollments at New Zealand institutions. That is the reason why ENZ wants to continue to strengthen the education ties between the two countries, with a focus on the southern regions of India.
Speaking about these initiatives, Grant McPherson, chief executive, ENZ, said, “This is a very exciting time for Education New Zealand in India. We see great potential from this market and wish to further highlight New Zealand’s niche offerings in a range of faculties. Today’s announcements are aimed at strengthening the New Zealand India education relationship further.”
Stephen Fleming, ENZ brand ambassador and face of Game On Sports said, “I have been working with ENZ for over two years now. It is encouraging to see the growth that New Zealand institutions have witnessed from India overtime. I am excited about the upcoming Game On Sports project which will give me an opportunity to impart my cricketing skills to young Indian students. These students could be the stars for tomorrow.”
India is the second largest source of international students to New Zealand. For the year ending December 2015, 21,093 total student visas were issued to Indian students to study in New Zealand, which is an increase of 20 per cent from 2014.