Whanganui's international education delegation (from left) Natasha McKee, Jane Williams, Jude Lydia and Rebecca Black with Waseda Jitsugyo High School head of international affairs division Takuma Morohashi.
Whanganui's international education delegation (from left) Natasha McKee, Jane Williams, Jude Lydia and Rebecca Black with Waseda Jitsugyo High School head of international affairs division Takuma Morohashi.
A Whanganui delegation to attract international students back to the city has had some success in its first week in Asia.
Supported by economic development agency Whanganui & Partners, the delegates to Japan, South Korea and Vietnam are international student directors Natasha McKee (Whanganui High School) and Jane Williams (WhanganuiGirls’ College), former international secondary school director Jude Lydia and Whanganui & Partners marketing lead Rebecca Black. They are also sharing information on behalf of Cullinane College.
So far they have met more than 40 international student agents in Tokyo and visited six schools over five days, as well as meeting the Tokyo Board of Education, visiting officials in Whanganui’s sister city, Nagaizumi-Cho, and visiting Osaka.
A new agreement has been established with Waseda Jitsugyo High School and Junior High, which is connected to Waseda University, and engagement with agents has led to agreements for short-term group visits and some longer-term study offers for individual students.
McKee said there was an advantage in carrying out the meetings as a region.
“It has meant our schools can work together to offer more opportunities to these students and agents, and it reassures them that there are all the resources and opportunities necessary to support students’ study in Whanganui.”
Williams said the collaboration meant delegates could establish which facilities best suited individual agents’ or schools’ needs.
“Some of the schools we visited were single-sex while others were co-ed. Some were interested in our small school or using our hostel while others found a better fit with High School.
“If we weren’t travelling together and supporting each other, some of those opportunities would have been lost.”
McKee said the delegation had already recorded success in Japan.
“So far, we have seven students on our ‘probable’ list – that’s an excellent result this early in the piece. This type of concentrated effort for recruitment generally builds slowly towards enrolments over a period of months and years. We expect that to happen too but it’s very reassuring to have such strong interest so soon after engagement.”
Black, who talked to people about Whanganui’s unique character, said the city’s Unesco City of Design status was important.
“Japanese recognise the prestige of the Unesco designation and how impressive the status is for a city of Whanganui’s size. We were able to talk about Whanganui’s creativity, its design innovation and its industrial strengths. All of these things leave an impression and raise Whanganui’s profile.
“Whanganui’s accessibility and the ease with which students can navigate the city were also important.”
Delegates and Tokyo education representatives (from left) Masanori Takada, Jane Williams, Jude Lydia, Natasha McKee, Rebecca Black, Ikuo Nagashima, Masaharu Kawaguchi and Sari Tsutsumi.
McKee said the Kansai region, which includes Kyoto and Osaka, was newer territory for the schools’ recruitment efforts.
“We have traditionally targeted Tokyo, as have many other schools, cities and countries. Moving into Kansai we found new opportunities in a less saturated international student market.”
At its Tokyo Board of Education meeting, the group talked about the possibility of establishing a regular stream of students through the board which has a particular interest in farming.
Whanganui & Partners has worked alongside the board to organise a visiting group of students later this month. Black said the board also spoke about the Japanese government’s initiatives to address gender inequality, and how education in Whanganui could help girls realise what was possible.
“They were particularly interested in women in farming, and why women choose to pursue careers in agriculture.”
Black said the group had been surprised by other shifts in the international education market.
“The Philippines has now overtaken the United Kingdom in popularity for Japanese English learners, and New Zealand sits below the UK in the ranking.
“We visited a high school in Tokyo where two classes full of students were in online one-to-one English lessons with teachers in the Philippines. We know we have to be more strategic than ever about the way we market international education.”
Another way Whanganui could support its international education industry was by being a great host city, she said. Host families receive financial support.
Black said anyone interested in hosting an international student could get in touch with Whanganui High School, Whanganui Girls’ College or Cullinane College.
