More than 60 education providers from New Zealand have arrived in Vietnam to showcase their country’s world-class learning environment to hundreds of prospective Vietnamese students at Education New Zealand Fairs in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi on April 7 and 8. 

For the first time, the Fairs will offer visitors a 360-degree experience of being a student in New Zealand, highlighted by a simulated classroom guided by a Kiwi teacher and an informative consultancy service with New Zealand education experts and alumni.

This year’s event is part of a continuous effort to foster the educational relationship between Vietnam and New Zealand and follows an official visit by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to New Zealand earlier this month.

Organized by Education New Zealand with support from the New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi, and the New Zealand Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, the Fairs will be the country’s largest in-market promotional events this year.

The events are also set to be the biggest and most exciting yet, with a number of new initiatives highlighting all the special elements New Zealand has to offer to Vietnamese students.

This year, the Fairs in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi will host a simulated classroom in which New Zealand teachers and lecturers demonstrate their country’s unique and world-leading learning environments for both secondary and tertiary students.

The 30-minute classroom sessions will provide snapshots of an education system recognized as the world’s best by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2017 Educating for the Future Index. The Index ranked New Zealand as the best education system overall, earning full marks for the curriculum framework for future skills, collaboration between education providers and industry, and cultural diversity and tolerance, among other measures.

For the 2018 season, between June 23 and October 23, Air New Zealand will operate two direct services a week between Auckland and Ho Chi Minh City using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, making it easier for travel between the two countries.

Education quality and easier connections are among the reasons why the number of Vietnamese students choosing New Zealand as their international education destination has been growing steadily in recent years, with a 60 per cent increase in the number of first-time Vietnamese student visas in 2017 compared to 2016.

More than 40 per cent of the students are studying at one of New Zealand’s eight universities, all of which were ranked in the top 3 per cent worldwide in the 2017/2018 QS Rankings. New Zealand’s secondary schools have also seen a large increase in Vietnamese student enrolments, with the latest figures indicating a 31 per cent increase.

“We are thrilled to have such a wide selection of New Zealand education institutions attending our upcoming Fairs in Vietnam,” said Mr. Ben Burrowes, Education New Zealand’s Regional Manager, Southeast Asia. “Prospective students and parents won’t have a better opportunity to speak directly with institution representatives and learn why New Zealand’s education system is ranked at the very top for preparing students for the future.”

VN Economic Times