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China has been a significant and highly valued education partner for Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) since it was established in September 2011. ENZ is New Zealand’s only government agency dedicated to international education.
New Zealand’s education links with China are deep and varied. In 2019, before the pandemic, close to 40,000 students from China enrolled with New Zealand education providers, making China our largest international student partner. Our research shows that students from China rate their overall experience in New Zealand highly.
Over 40% of these students studied in our universities, with others attending schools, polytechnics and institutes of technology (now known as Te Pūkenga), private training establishments and English Language schools across New Zealand.
While mobility was restricted between 2020-2022 due to the global pandemic, ENZ staff based in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai continued to maintain and build relationships with government agencies and education providers in China, through online meetings, webinars, bilateral symposiums and other forums.
There are more than 40 joint programmes and joint institutions established between New Zealand and Chinese institutions, in addition to China Learning Centres set up by New Zealand universities, which allow Chinese students to begin their New Zealand study in China. Online study options also became increasingly important.
Following the full reopening of New Zealand’s border in 2022, we are pleased to be welcoming more students from China to New Zealand once again.
Since 2013, 798 New Zealand students on individual or group programmes have received a New Zealand Prime Minister’s Scholarship to study or intern in China. The Prime Minister’s Scholarship is a programme funded by the New Zealand government that aims to improve New Zealanders’ understanding of key trading partners’ business practice and culture.
Our education partnerships with China span all levels and types of education. Many New Zealand schools have established sister-school relationships in China, and our universities also have well-established partnerships. We also have strong links in technical and vocational education, which were highlighted during the New Zealand – China Higher Vocational Education Summit this year, as part of the second annual APAC TVET Forum. Early childhood education experts from China and New Zealand shared their knowledge with more than 80,000 viewers at the third annual New Zealand – China Early Childhood Education Symposium, as it was livestreamed from Guilin in September.
Research connections supported by ENZ include the Tripartite Partnership Programme, established in 2005, which enables a New Zealand university and two Chinese partner universities to conduct research in the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences and applied sciences. Three combined university research proposals have been awarded funding for 2022-23 under the programme, which is an excellent example of bilateral research collaboration.
This year also marks 15 years since the New Zealand Centre was established at Peking University to promote strong academic engagement between New Zealand and China across diverse fields, and build mutual understanding. A renewed Memorandum of Understanding was signed at a special ceremony in July, to continue this successful collaboration between Peking University and the New Zealand Centre, which now involves all eight of New Zealand’s universities.
To mark 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations, initiatives supporting engagement between the education sectors of New Zealand and China and encouraging tangata – people to people connections – have been implemented over the year. ENZ firmly believes that international education delivers wider community, cultural, trade and diplomatic benefits to both New Zealand and China. There is no doubt that in today’s world being a global citizen and having intercultural awareness and understanding is increasingly valuable and important.
Learn more about Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao here.