UCOL extends drive for international students

5 May 2011

UCOL extends drive for international students

UCOL’s drive to attract International students to Palmerston North and Whanganui has moved up a gear with the opening of its second off shore liaison office in Bengaluru (Bangalore) in Southern India.

UCOL has operated a China Office located at the Guangzhou School of Fine Arts since mid-2009. The office’s successes include attracting 25 Culinary and Graphic Design students to complete qualifications at Whanganui UCOL.

The Indian initiative in international marketing and student recruitment, called ‘Study in NZ’, is a joint venture between UCOL and the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT).

The Liaison Office was formally opened by Melanie Chapman, Education Counsellor at the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi. It was attended by UCOL’s Director of International Business, Bruce Osborne, and Deputy Chief Executive, Clive Jones, EIT’s Dean of Arts and Social Sciences, Fred Koenders International Marketing Manager Helen Kemp and various invited guests including a number of Indian educational consultants and recruitment companies.

Ms Simmi Krishnan has been appointed as Indian Market Development Manager to run the liaison office and she will co-ordinate with Indian education agencies, consultants and educational Institutions to offer counsellor training and educational product knowledge, to promote educational pathways and student recruitment to both UCOL and EIT.

Clive Jones says, “New Zealand tertiary institutions like UCOL and EIT offer world class tertiary education to Indian students that is cost effective and offered in a safe and clean environment. We already see Indian students succeed in their studies here in New Zealand and go on to gain employment in a global job market, and are keen to encourage and develop this for the benefit of students and both countries.”

According to Ministry of Education figures, India has overtaken Japan to be New Zealand's third largest source of international students, having increased their numbers by almost 350 percent since 2006.

The top source countries continued to be China and South Korea, which account for 38 percent of New Zealand's nearly 100,000 international students between them.

ENDS

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