By Priyanka Srivastava
New Zealand was the last to open its international borders in July 2022 for students, workers, and travellers after the pandemic. The country is now focusing on strengthening its ties with India by increasing collaboration with Indian educational institutes, increasing student mobility, tourism and deepening business ties. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to New Zealand in October 2022 and meetings with then PM Jacinda Ardern have further cemented the ties between the two countries.
To boost internationalisation and increase the number of Indian students and researchers enrolling in the universities, Education New Zealand has initiated India-New Zealand Education Week to encourage a dialogue on research while fostering innovation culture exchange and cooperation in the context of international education.
Demonstrating the overall commitment to India, New Zealand has announced an investment of NZ$ 400,000 towards internationalisation and student mobility initiatives, announced David Pine, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India at the recently held roundtable education session held at the Embassy of New Zealand. “We are speeding up the visa process for the students. There have been 85% of visa approvals for students since the opening of our borders. To save the students from hassles, the processing of student visas has been reduced to 30 days,” Pine told Education Times.
While the country is encouraging more enrolments at the universities, there is no set target in terms of the number of students, said Pine. “The aim is to have a deeper collaboration between the institutes and encourage student exchange from both countries. Demonstrating the commitment to India, New Zealand has announced fund investment towards internationalisation and student mobility initiatives,” added Pine.
Announcing the New Zealand Excellence Awards (NZEA) 2023-24, Pine highlighted the benefits of the Awards designed exclusively for Indian students. The awards are jointly funded by Education New Zealand and all eight New Zealand universities. Since the launch of the scholarship in 2016, it has supported over 200 Indian students to pursue their overseas studies at world-class universities in New Zealand. “These include further engagement with the New Zealand Centre at IIT Delhi to include fellowship grants and the re-launch of the partial scholarships under the New Zealand Excellence Awards, said Erik Lithander, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Strategic Engagement, University of Auckland. The New Zealand centre set up in Februray 2020 aims to boost research. As many as 10 research projects with SEED funding were initiated in 2020, said Lithander. “New fellowships will be designed for research projects. New Zealand will announce additional funding for joint PhD programmes and exchange programmes.”
Speaking at the event, Education New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Grant McPherson said, “New Zealand’s education system is future focused and multicultural, offering students an opportunity to earn work-ready degrees. The university representatives are identifying partnership opportunities and trying to understand the Indian market.”
“India is one of New Zealand’s priority partner countries for collaborations, exchanges, and student mobility. We are excited that today’s announcements around the New Zealand Centre and the launch of the New Zealand Excellence Award scholarships demonstrate our commitment to India as an education partner,” added McPherson.
IIT Delhi spokesperson, James Gomes, Dean International added, “The New Zealand Centre embodies IIT Delhi’s efforts to embrace internationalisation, providing opportunities for new research collaboration and global exposure for our students. The first round of jointly funded Research Collaboration, awarded in 2022, has helped foster collaborative, sustainable and self-supporting research programmes.”
New Zealand is in discussion with the University Grant Commission (UGC) to acquire a deeper understanding of India’s decision to allow foreign universities to set up satellite universities. “We have discussed the initiative with Australia’s Deakin University which is the first foreign university to set up a campus in Gujarat,” added Gomes.
New Zealand was the last to open its international borders in July 2022 for students, workers, and travellers after the pandemic. The country is now focusing on strengthening its ties with India by increasing collaboration with Indian educational institutes, increasing student mobility, tourism and deepening business ties. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to New Zealand in October 2022 and meetings with then PM Jacinda Ardern have further cemented the ties between the two countries.
To boost internationalisation and increase the number of Indian students and researchers enrolling in the universities, Education New Zealand has initiated India-New Zealand Education Week to encourage a dialogue on research while fostering innovation culture exchange and cooperation in the context of international education.
Demonstrating the overall commitment to India, New Zealand has announced an investment of NZ$ 400,000 towards internationalisation and student mobility initiatives, announced David Pine, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India at the recently held roundtable education session held at the Embassy of New Zealand. “We are speeding up the visa process for the students. There have been 85% of visa approvals for students since the opening of our borders. To save the students from hassles, the processing of student visas has been reduced to 30 days,” Pine told Education Times.
While the country is encouraging more enrolments at the universities, there is no set target in terms of the number of students, said Pine. “The aim is to have a deeper collaboration between the institutes and encourage student exchange from both countries. Demonstrating the commitment to India, New Zealand has announced fund investment towards internationalisation and student mobility initiatives,” added Pine.
Announcing the New Zealand Excellence Awards (NZEA) 2023-24, Pine highlighted the benefits of the Awards designed exclusively for Indian students. The awards are jointly funded by Education New Zealand and all eight New Zealand universities. Since the launch of the scholarship in 2016, it has supported over 200 Indian students to pursue their overseas studies at world-class universities in New Zealand. “These include further engagement with the New Zealand Centre at IIT Delhi to include fellowship grants and the re-launch of the partial scholarships under the New Zealand Excellence Awards, said Erik Lithander, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Strategic Engagement, University of Auckland. The New Zealand centre set up in Februray 2020 aims to boost research. As many as 10 research projects with SEED funding were initiated in 2020, said Lithander. “New fellowships will be designed for research projects. New Zealand will announce additional funding for joint PhD programmes and exchange programmes.”
Speaking at the event, Education New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Grant McPherson said, “New Zealand’s education system is future focused and multicultural, offering students an opportunity to earn work-ready degrees. The university representatives are identifying partnership opportunities and trying to understand the Indian market.”
“India is one of New Zealand’s priority partner countries for collaborations, exchanges, and student mobility. We are excited that today’s announcements around the New Zealand Centre and the launch of the New Zealand Excellence Award scholarships demonstrate our commitment to India as an education partner,” added McPherson.
IIT Delhi spokesperson, James Gomes, Dean International added, “The New Zealand Centre embodies IIT Delhi’s efforts to embrace internationalisation, providing opportunities for new research collaboration and global exposure for our students. The first round of jointly funded Research Collaboration, awarded in 2022, has helped foster collaborative, sustainable and self-supporting research programmes.”
New Zealand is in discussion with the University Grant Commission (UGC) to acquire a deeper understanding of India’s decision to allow foreign universities to set up satellite universities. “We have discussed the initiative with Australia’s Deakin University which is the first foreign university to set up a campus in Gujarat,” added Gomes.
