International education opens us up to world

chief executive of Education New Zealand

If we look at other parts of the world, it is clear what international education contributes – and has the potential to contribute. In 2014, the British Council found that 90 per cent of world leaders at the time had studied in the United Kingdom, showing how international students can become long-term ambassadors for international relations. In the United States, research has found that nearly a quarter of its billion-dollar startup companies had a founder who first came to America as an international student.

We need to ensure the full contribution of international education is recognised here too, and that the valuable role education plays in connecting New Zealand with the rest of the world is understood and embraced.

New research into New Zealanders’ perceptions of international education has shown that an increasing number recognise its benefits to our country and communities. Some 73 per cent of people believe it benefits tourism, 63 per cent welcome how it fosters the exchange of different perspectives and experiences, and 62 per cent see the positive impact on our economy. More than this, international education helps Kiwis to build their intercultural skills and to foster lifelong international friendships and connections.

I often hear about international students making a valuable contribution to Kiwi businesses and industries. An example is Brazilian Daniel Paiva, who studied Southland Institute of Technology’s postgraduate diploma in IT and took a job cleaning Blue River Dairy’s factory floors while studying.

After observing people using pen and paper on the production line, he developed a prototype for new software one weekend to make this work more efficient. Today, he is employed fulltime as a software engineer overseeing Blue River Dairy’s IT systems.

Another example is Seku Skandan. Originally from India, Skandan came to Christchurch to earn an international marketing degree, and planned to return home to continue his own business.

Christchurch’s supportive business community inspired him to stay and, following an internship with JIX, an award-winning cross-reality startup, he was appointed marketing and communications manager.

The benefit to New Zealand continues long after students graduate, and often long after they leave our shores.

The research mentioned above also reveals that a minority of New Zealanders – most of them Auckland-based – hold concerns that international students hinder Kiwis’ access to education and health services, and add stress to our already strained infrastructure. This is something we need to address.

Part of the answer is to continue to explore opportunities for offshore delivery of education programmes, products and services. Offshore delivery was worth $300m to New Zealand in 2017.

An example of a local company doing great things is Code Avengers, which became the first company in the world to offer digital technology courses for years 1-13 that are fully aligned to the New Zealand curriculum, as well as aligned to the curriculums of other countries. To date, the platform has been used in 15,000 schools in 14 countries.

We are also working with regions around New Zealand to identify where international education aligns with regional priorities and to grow capability.

As globalisation draws us closer, we need to ensure our young people have the skills to live and work across borders. International education, of course, goes both ways – outbound Kiwis as well as inbound students. We are confident that the International Education Strategy 2018-30, released in August, will guide us well.

Goal 3 of the strategy, to foster global citizens, has resonated widely. Simply put, it means the Government wants all New Zealand students to gain the knowledge and skills to live, work and learn globally, and for Kiwis to understand and appreciate the benefits of international education.

The past year has been a successful one for our international education sector: the launch of the new strategy, more than 125,000 students studying in NZ, close to 6000 Kiwi tertiary students funded to study overseas, an economic valuation of $5.1b supporting nearly 50,000 jobs, and a growing appreciation of the contribution international education makes.

It is the broad, long-term value of international education that will really make a difference for New Zealand.