Speaking at The PIE Live Asia Pacific, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao director of insights and performance, Marie Clark, stressed that New Zealand is only growing in popularity, with the market showing an 11% uplift last year.
She acknowledged that some international students may also be considering Australia. But she was clear that New Zealand’s positioning cannot simply be reactive.
“We know that some of our international students may have also considered Australia,” she said. “But our strategy in New Zealand can’t be to be Australia’s alternative. It has to be that people choose New Zealand.”
That choice, she suggested, has to rest on a distinct offer: smaller scale, stronger community integration, high public support and a clear focus on experience and outcomes.
The country is experiencing something of an international education boom, announcing in April that it had hit its study destination target a decade early. The ambition for more international students to place New Zealand among their top three study destinations forms part of the country’s ‘going for growth’ plan, which aims to double the value of international education – notably backed by New Zealand’s government.
Clark pointed out that New Zealand offers a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for international students – with the vast majority of the public voicing their support for overseas students being in the country and very high satisfaction among students themselves.
She described a system shaped by an earlier crisis that still looms large: in the early 2000s, Chinese enrolments fell from around 50,000 to 20,000 in just a couple of years. That shock forced New Zealand to think much more deliberately about risk, public confidence and the long‑term social licence for international education, she argued.
Our strategy in New Zealand can’t be to be Australia’s alternative
Marie Clark, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao
“That sort of shaped how New Zealand feels about international students,” said Clark. “We’ve had that big shock before, and so that sets in context our international education ‘going for growth’ plan.”
Like many countries, New Zealand is seeing growing interest in transnational education (TNE) across all provider types, including vocational institutions. But its policymakers are wary of selling TNE as an easy substitute for onshore study.
“Historically, New Zealand has been quite focused on students coming onshore, but certainly in more recent times, providers at all different levels…are becoming a lot more interested in [looking at TNE],” she said.
Clark framed TNE as a way to build partnerships and extend New Zealand’s educational reach, rather than playing a pure numbers game.
Looking ahead, she suggested the core story won’t just be “getting students into the country” but demonstrating long‑term success and graduate outcomes, wherever students eventually live and work.
