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1.NZ International Education Conference 6. International Education Leadership Development Programme 7. Ultimate NZ Tour Competition Enters International Phase 8. Anger Greets Axing of UK Scholarships |
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Conference 2008 is just two weeks away. (6th – 8th August, Langham Hotel, Auckland - if you haven’t caught up!) And perhaps the most important bit – catching up with your peers, networking, sharing experiences and enjoying some of the good old Conference hospitality. So don’t put it off any longer! Do it now! Click here to find out what’s on…. Click here to register. See you at the Langham in a fortnight! |
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Michelle originally hails from Canada, but has worked in New Zealand on various writing/communications jobs for the last several years. She has a broad background of experience and is a published author – and is a real asset to the ENZ team. Those of you who click on to www.newzealandeducated.com will have already seen her influence via a constantly updated stream of industry news. Michelle will also be actively seeking student profiles and institutional achievements, supporting PR initiatives offshore and working with the NZTE offshore team as well as giving more oomph to internal industry communications. Michelle will be at Conference, and will also be contacting many of you over the next few months to keep the stories coming. With Michelle on the Comms side and Vince on the Web side, the ENZ ‘enabling team’ is a great complement to the marketing, promotions, scholarship, industry development and advocacy work.
ENZ had a busy couple of days last week responding to massive media interest in the unfortunate homestay incident on the West Coast. Our stance was simple:
It can be frustrating when it seems that only the ‘bad news’ stories get coverage. However, every week there are many good stories about international education, often in local and community papers. It’s well worth your trouble to keep in touch with your local media and let them know about international initiatives and student achievement. It is also a timely reminder that local stories relating to international education are just a short leap to being an international story. It can be fun to play domestic politics with education issues, and make dire prophesies and statements about how things are. But the international media don’t distinguish between local issues and local audiences. In the recent case, our primary message was to reassure the public whether here or offshore that an isolated incident is not evidence of laxity, inadequate legislation or systemic failure. I am sure we will all learn from this recent story – whether it be around homestay management or media management!
New Zealand Education Fairs, Thailand & Vietnam, 14 June – 23 June 2008
Click on these links for more photos from Thailand and Vietnam. Upcoming PACE events Korea Student Fair (KSF), Seoul, 4 & 5 October OCSC Scholarships Fair, Bangkok 29 & 30 November New Zealand Education Fair, Khon Kaen 28th November
In the 14th May edition of E-news we announced the completion of the New Zealand Specialist Agent Training Programme (see HERE) The new list of agents and their contact details are promoted for Hong Kong students to take note of within the ‘Local Agents’ section of the Hong Kong minisite HERE
Registrations are now being called for the third module of the International Education Leadership Development Programme. This latest module has a course aim for students to apply key ideas of change management and problem-solving, and summarise these within a desktop publication. The first 5 weeks will be focussing on aspects of desktop publishing and throughout this time, students will be required to complete readings, use a number of internet websites for guidance, and complete an assignment that evaluates published documents within their particular workplace/role. The coursework in the second part of the course will be introduced prior to the face-to-face workshop, where students will have the opportunity to identify the conditions affecting the International student/education market; become exposed to business models that organisations use to address these changes and throughout this engage with a number of change management models – from businesses and education centres from around the world. Some feedback from participants on other modules towards this National Certificate in Business Administration: "THIS WORKSHOP WAS RELEVANT TO MY WORK AND I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO USE SOME OF THE WORK PREPARED FOR THIS COURSE WITHIN MY CURRENT EMPLOYMENT. THERE ARE VERY FEW COURSES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE WORK IN THIS FIELD AND THIS IS ONE THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL." "EXCELLENT COURSE AND QUALIFICATION FOR PEOPLE IN OR INTENDING TO ENTER THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION FIELD" Please click for a course overview, and for further information and an enrolment form, or contact Kanchan Bandyopadhyay at Unitec New Zealand. Kanchan can be contacted by email at kbandyopadhyay@unitec.ac.nz, or telephone +64 9 815 4321 ext 8565.
Students from around the world have been invited to create videos for a chance to win a trip for two to New Zealand. The competition marks the second phase of the “Ultimate NZ Tour”, which saw Unitec student Morten Lierkjaer win a 10-day tour for his video submitted during the domestic part of the competition. Entering the competition involves creating a music video for a provided song, and then getting as many people as possible to vote for the video. The top 10 videos determined by the voting will then be judged by an expert panel, with the winner receiving the grand prize of a trip to New Zealand from any major port in the world. In addition to the main prize, i-pods will be awarded to random participants on a weekly basis. The competition is being administered by Education New Zealand. Full details can be found on this website. Spread the word to agents and students. Entries must be in by August 18, 2008.
(via NZ Herald) About 25,000 students have won Commonwealth Scholarships since they were instituted in 1959. Many of those who completed the scholarships in Britain returned to their homelands to play leading roles in cultural, intellectual and political life. About five New Zealanders were chosen each year and previous scholars have included Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen and Law Commissioner Professor John Burrows. University of Auckland deputy vice-chancellor Raewyn Dalziel said the Vice-Chancellors Committee expressed its opposition to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. "I think it is a closing of opportunities that a number of New Zealanders have had over a long period of time so we regret it certainly from that point of view." She said the committee was "disappointed that this step was taken. It was presented pretty much as a fait accompli to New Zealand, Australia and Canada. "It reflects the changing nature of the Commonwealth and the decline in its meaning for the former dominions." Auckland University of Technology vice-chancellor Derek McCormack said the decision was a major blow for the country. "These scholarships have had a big impact on New Zealand over the years in its development." The change has also been criticised by outspoken Australian feminist academic and writer Germaine Greer. "For two million miserable pounds - the cost of a basement flat in Bayswater - England has the advantage of 500 of the best that could be harvested from Commonwealth universities," she said in a speech to the Royal Commonwealth Society. "In simply deciding that the Commonwealth Scholarship had not been worth the minute outlay, [Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David] Milliband has done something extraordinary. Of all the investments this unfortunate Government has made, this is one that has produced a profit that can be measured exponentially ... one that goes on and on." Ms Greer is among a group of former scholarship winners and Commonwealth leaders, including former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who have started a campaign calling on Britain to reverse its decision. In a letter in the Times newspaper, they described the programme as "one of the great success stories of post-war international partnership".
(via Waikato Times) Wintec's director of internationalisation, Stewart Brougham, said the 24 visitors were part of a high-ranking Saudi Education Ministry group travelling the world to get ideas on polytechnics. "Saudi Arabia ... is full of young people. Traditionally, they've relied on ex-pats and immigrants to fill a lot of high-end, skilled positions. Now, they really want to change that." Mr Brougham said the visitors were more interested in the organisation of the institution rather than specific curriculum topics. They were particularly interested in how Wintec worked with industry groups to find work for graduates. The Saudis made contact with Wintec through Polytechnics International New Zealand consultancy group, of which Wintec chief executive Mark Flowers is a member. Mr Brougham said the visitors who toured the campus yesterday were willing to put a lot into improving Saudi Arabia's tertiary education. Benefits to Wintec could include hosting Saudi students. Mr Brougham said the Saudi team would also look at polytechnics in Auckland and Wellington and had also looked at institutions in Canada and Germany. A second group of 24 will visit Wintec later this month.
(via Toronto Star) Experts cite "summer learning loss" as a major problem for North American students, compared with their peers in countries with year-round schooling. Recent studies suggest that, when fall comes around, teachers waste weeks reviewing last year's work because our kids forgot what they learned in the spring. Summer learning loss also widens the gap between rich and poor children because disadvantaged kids are less likely to have books at home to help maintain skills and knowledge. Shockingly though, even for the average child, the whole first month of school is wasted relearning last year's material. Researchers at the Canadian Council on Learning last month released the findings of a review of 39 studies, including Canadian reports, on summer learning loss. They found the drop in standardized test scores achieved in the fall compared to those in the spring equated to the loss of a month's instruction. When experts look particularly at math, the picture is even worse. Researchers at the John Hopkins University School of Education studied the drop-off in students' mathematical computation skills. The results show a mean loss of approximately 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency. That means students performed, in September, as if they had missed a quarter of the previous school year. As an Ontario middle-school teacher I'm convinced the underperformance may be far worse than even these shocking reports suggest. It's a struggle to keep kids engaged from as early as mid-May. Behaviour takes a nosedive and even the most diligent students lose focus. Add the six weeks from mid-May to the end of June to the two-month summer break itself and the math 2.6 months "summer learning loss" and you'll find that some kids are effectively "out to lunch" in a major subject for six months every calendar year. Yikes. The alternative? Britain, New Zealand and Australia have year-round schooling. In New Zealand, for instance, the year has four 10-week terms divided by three two-week end-of-term vacations and a shorter summer break. Having taught for three years in New Zealand, I know the six weeks of "temporary insanity" suffered by some Ontario school kids before year-end does not exist. Of course, kids get excited about the summer break but we're talking a week of high spirits, not months of madness. Year-round schooling does exist in Ontario. The Toronto public school board has schools such as the Etobicoke Year-Round Alternative Centre that caters to struggling Grade 9 and 10 students. The Durham and York boards have several year-round schools and the Peel District School Board has one at Roberta Bondar Public School, now about to begin its fourth year. The Roberta Bondar calendar closely mirrors New Zealand's in having two-week vacations in October and March, a one-week holiday in February and three weeks at Christmas, leaving one month for the summer break. Roberta Bondar principal Joan Hamilton is convinced the system is better; students focus better all year round and don't lose ground in the summer. "Students are not away so long that they forget what they learned in the previous year. We come back after a four-week break and get right down to work without the need for a lot of review," she says. Still, Ontario-wide, only about 2,000 of the province's 2 million students attend year-round classes. In an increasingly competitive world, it's time we gave our children every advantage and it's clear that means year-round schooling. Besides, would it really seem so bad right now if our teens were due back at school in two weeks? |
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