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The ITP sector, incorporating institutes of technology and polytechnics, has existed as part of New Zealand’s education landscape for over a hundred years and, according to the representative group for the sector, ITPNZ, has been hosting international students since the 1980s.
Christine Wright, International Centre Manager at the Eastern Institute of Technology Hawke’s Bay in Napier, says that these publicly-funded institutions have much to offer international students, often complementing programmes offered in universities. “The main advantage of a polytechnic education for international students is that they can begin mainstream academic programmes at a level which is appropriate for their English language ability,” she underlines. “So polytechnics offer a pathway to higher level study, eg. degrees, by allowing students to first do a certificate or diploma.”
In fact, ITPs offer courses that span the whole range of qualifications available, from foundation and certificate programmes up to full degree and postgraduate studies. Many ITPs also have their own English language centres and Wright hopes that this is a trend that will continue across the sector in the future, to enable international language students to “enjoy the tertiary student lifestyle”, as well as broadening the range of educational pathway options available.
The flexibility of the academic programmes available in ITPs, as well as their close relevance to the global workplace, is a possible reason why these institutions have been less badly hit by the recent decline in international students coming to study in New Zealand. The number of full-time fee paying international students at New Zealand education providers decreased by 15 per cent between 2003 and 2005, according to Ministry of Education figures, while international students at ITPs decreased by just five per cent over the same period.
Michelle Buys from Universal College of Learning in Wanganui says that they have continued to attract international students and have recently expanded their courses. In particular, a new course in computer graphic design has been popular with Malaysians due to the “many worldwide employment opportunities”, says Buys, while Indian students are attracted to the “vocational study and applied skills” on offer at the institution.
Other popular courses at New Zealand’s ITPs include nursing, business, tourism, and also trade programmes, such as carpentry and furniture design, often in response to skills shortages within the country. Gisela Purcell from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology notes that specialised programmes, particularly those that are very hands-on or research-based, are very popular with overseas students. She adds, “[We are] doing more niche marketing in the areas of viticulture, fisheries [and] visual arts.”
Both Purcell and Wright note that Chinese students make up a large proportion of their international student body, although this could change in the future. “Our largest nationality is still China,” says Wright, “because those students who came to first learn English [in New Zealand] in the boom years are still completing their degree studies. However, India is now increasing and helping replace the China market to some extent.”
Purcell comments that while Chinese students continue to be attracted by their business course options, other student markets such as Sweden, Korea, Japan and Germany are also important. “Swedish and German students especially love the environment in the Nelson and Marlborough regions,” she adds, while also noting that the institute’s “good reputation and its good relationships with agents and partners” has also been crucial to sustaining international enrolment figures.
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