How key players in the education sector dealt with the challenge the pandemic imposed on their institutions, how they have pivoted, how competitors have fared, and the next steps New Zealand needs to take to re-charge the sector

The New Zealand China Council has a podcast series featuring New Zealanders and their businesses in China. It is here with permission.

Three top international education representatives on how they’re retaining students in the pandemic era, and the challenges they’ll face once New Zealand reconnects with the world.

While COVID-19 has dealt a huge blow to New Zealand’s international tourism sector, our international education sector has fared better by comparison, with around a 30% reduction in business.

Despite the ongoing difficulty in accessing MIQ spots, both The University of Auckland (UoA) and Auckland University of Technology (AUT) are reporting higher numbers of new international students than they had forecast. Deputy Director International at UoA, Ainslie Moore, says this comes down in large part to a major push to establish off-shore online learning centres.

Off-shore online learning is keeping us afloat - for now

“At the moment, MIQ is the challenge to enable students to return, they’re coming in dribs and drabs when they can get a spot. So almost 50% of my international students are studying with us offshore, and that includes a significant number of students currently in China,” Moore says.

AUT Vice-Chancellor Derek McCormack says his experience has been similar, with surprisingly strong interest in AUT’s online education offering.

“A lot of our returning students have returned online because they’ve gone home and they can’t come back, but they are sticking with us. For courses like our one-year taught Master’s, online learning has continued to be very popular.”

Danny Chan, Director of Up Education, specialises in providing pathways for international students into Australasian tertiary education. Chan agrees the shift to offshore online has helped keep the sector afloat while borders have remained closed, particularly for younger students.

“We’ve set up study hubs in a number of countries, and students go to the hubs as if they were going to their classrooms. We operate pathway programmes for AUT and UoA, and at the moment there are probably close to around 300 students online.”

Uncertainty the biggest risk for international students

Moore says despite the success of study centres the University of Auckland has set up in China at partner universities that enable students to access its content in a campus setting, the motivation to come to New Zealand and experience the country remains very strong. This means we will need to give them certainty they can enter the country while still studying.

“We believe Chinese students are aiming to transition to campus in New Zealand when borders open. But some are now entering their third year of online study, so I worry their capacity for patience could soon be exhausted.

“They’re looking for guidance about what study in New Zealand will look like in 2022. That is important now as our competitors, particularly Canada but also the US and UK have now opened their borders. If Australia moves, we’ll be in real trouble,” Moore says.

McCormack echoes this sentiment, noting Australia has announced plans to facilitate access for 500 vaccinated students and to recognise COVID-19 vaccinations that are prevalent in China and India.

“Australia has always been top-of-the-class with international students, and New Zealand in their wake. So, unfortunately, we’re falling further and further behind with uncertainty.

“Students are willing to study online if they feel there’s an opportunity for them to finish on campus. If we can’t give them certainty about that happening, we’ll start to lose the shine from our opportunities. The Government has to provide signals about when and how borders will open for international students.”

Moore says that while New Zealand’s globally lauded response to the pandemic has given us a greater reputation than ever as a destination of choice for international students, this will be squandered unless they can travel here soon.

“That period of shine is waning. If we don’t provide a timeframe and a means for students to enter, then we will have lost the benefit of all that additional profile. The time is now.”

“There will be a different normal”

McCormack hopes to see a clear plan to loosen border restrictions on students coming into New Zealand in the second or third quarter of 2022. He says there’s no antipathy from the Government to the idea of opening up but acknowledges it doesn’t want to do anything that will have a negative impact on its social license around pandemic management in the country.

But even when that opening finally happens, it is unlikely there will be a return to what was considered ‘normal’ in the past. McCormack says online learning will continue to play a greater role than it did before the pandemic, with students starting online and finishing on campus in New Zealand - a view shared by Moore.

“There’s going to be an increase of online to onshore over time, even as the border opens, which will still see students come to New Zealand for some, if not the bulk of their education.

“The trick there is that much of the benefit to New Zealand comes from having the students in the country. We want to see these students and graduates stay in New Zealand and contribute to our labour market, to our economies and communities in the longer term,” Moore says.

Diversification means more than a student’s country of origin

Like many in the export space, New Zealand’s international education providers are also working hard to diversify - both in terms of their markets and in their education programmes.

Chan says one opportunity New Zealand can leverage is the growing popularity of vocational training among Chinese students, a trend which has been building for some time.

“They’re now putting more emphasis on getting vocational training and trades skills. I think you’ll find that in the future, the percentage of students coming here for vocational training rather than university study will increase.”

Moore also says she’d like to see a diversification of international students across the breadth of UoA’s academic offering, so that more domestic students in New Zealand get the benefit of sitting alongside learners from all over the world.

“We’ve strength in our STEM disciplines, and we’re looking to expand access among international students into our postgraduate programmes in STEM fields with a focus on employability. We’re building internships into the programme, connections into the city so students can stay and make a contribution to New Zealand should they choose to.”

What does the future hold?

Providers say they are keeping the New Zealand brand live in overseas markets through an increase of in-country marketers over the past 18 months, and with the support of Education New Zealand.

There have also been small upsides from not sending staff overseas so frequently. These include market budgets being used more effectively, and a dramatic drop in carbon emissions from fewer people flying which boosts New Zealand’s ‘clean and green’ credentials.

All three representatives are, on balance, optimistic about the long-term market outlook.  Chan says China will remain the most favourable market for international students.

“At least two-thirds of our students coming here are from China. Going forward, the most favourable market for us will be Chinese students.”

Moore says that despite some headwinds coming over the next year, the future is looking positive for the sector.

“We have an excellent offer, a wonderful place and strong connections. The long-term outlook is good for us.”  

*Rachel Maidment is executive director of the NZ China Council, and a former diplomat and entrepreneur who served as New Zealand Consul General in Guangzhou from 2016 to 2019.  She is a host of the NZ China Council Podcast which can be accessed here.