“Our role in the students’ lives goes beyond teaching English”

Held at the end of 2018 and attended by Australian and Brazilian dignitaries, the awards recognise excellence across categories including startups, education, small business, and social enterprise, and celebrate the work of Brazilians in Australia.

“We were not really expecting it… but Greenwich is quite active in the Brazilian community, and that was a recognition of our presence and our commitment to quality,” said Greenwich College general manager Gizelle Rezende.

“Our role in the students’ lives goes beyond teaching English. You welcome them to this country, ensuring they don’t feel alone, ensuring they have the necessary support inside and outside of the classroom.”

Voted by the Brazilian community, Rezende said the education award highlighted growing recognition of high-quality support services by students and parents.

Speaking with The PIE News, she added Brazil had become an increasingly important source market for Australia, which now represented the fifth largest source market overall and the second largest market for the ELICOS sector behind China.

“International education is very important; it’s the third largest export in Australia and Brazil plays a very important part in that,” she said.

“In 2017 we saw 18,000 Brazilian students come to study in Australia in the ELICOS sector alone.”

Greenwich beat tough competition to take out the award, and runners up included English Language Company, Academy of Entrepreneurs and Navitas.

The PIE will hold its annual PIEoneer Awards again in September. Applications will open in early 2019.