Education New Zealand (ENZ) has an important role to play in the Indian education market, which has been fragmented in recent years.
The Organisation works with the education sector, Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry and Government agencies including Immigration New Zealand (INZ), New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Tourism New Zealand.
ENZ is committed to achieving the twin goals of raising New Zealand’s profile as a study destination in India, and increasing the number of introductions that result in new business for New Zealand institutions.
Triple approach
A three-pillared approach forms the core of its strategic approach to India.
This includes concentrating on government relations, targeted marketing initiatives, a business development plan with a clear focus on specific sectors and New Zealand institutions committed to succeed in India.
The strategy is delivered by a small New Delhi-based team, skilled in diplomacy, marketing and business development, supported by ENZ’s Wellington based teams and external providers as necessary.
Mumbai presence
ENZ is exploring the option of establishing a presence in Mumbai to provide a greater focus on the western and southern states of India.
The following is an overview of the primary activities over the 18 month period from July 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014.
Immigration figures released by Statistics New Zealand in September 2013 showed a small increase in the issue of student visas, compared to the same period last year.
More than half the Indian students studying in New Zealand are based in Auckland (57%), since about 60% of them are at Private Training Establishments (PTEs) which are predominantly Auckland based.
The other key locations are Bay of Plenty Region (11%), Taranaki Region (7%), Canterbury Region (6%), Wellington Region (5%) and Waikato Region (4%).
NZ-India relations
The bilateral education relationship is collegial and positive.
New Zealand has developed strong relationships with key Indian Government agencies, which have opened doors for partnership opportunities for the New Zealand education sector.
Continuing to strengthen and leverage the Government relationship is critical to raising the profile and brand of New Zealand in the Indian market as high-level government support is an integral part of the Indian environment.
There have been several high-level visits between New Zealand and India over the last three years which have supported the ambitions of the New Zealand education sector including the July 2013 visit of Human Resource Development Minister Dr Pallam Raju to New Zealand.
Education Council
The India New Zealand Education Council (INZEC), established in October 2012, set the scene for growing bilateral collaboration in the higher education and skills and vocational sectors. INZEC will remain the key mechanism for guiding joint activity and the distribution of a bilateral joint annual fund of $1million.
A priority of ENZ is to agree clear terms of reference and processes for the allocation of INZEC funding with Indian counterparts. ENZ will continue to work with the New Zealand India Research Institute (NZIRI) as the New Zealand representative body for the higher education stream.
The Prime Ministers’ Education Initiative 2011, which was the genesis of INZEC, also included two other programmes focused on uplifting New Zealand business students’ appreciation of doing business in India; and supporting India’s goals in the sports education arena.
ENZ has progressed dialogue with Indian counterparts on both the “Doing Business in India” and Sports Scholarships programmes and will implement both within the next year.
