‘Get connected’ – New initiatives to support our international students

Hohepa (Papa Ho) Renata greets a new student at Ngākau Māhaki

In week three, 120 of our international students attended the first event of our new Get connected programme, initiated and led by Tracy Chapman, Director – International Success, and her team.

This programme will run through the year and aims to ensure our international students feel informed and supported while in New Zealand studying with us, and also connected by providing them with networking opportunities with each other, staff and industry.

This first Get connected event, led by an external provider, Talent Solutions, encouraged our international students including recent graduates, to look ahead to future employment and how to get equipped for this. The Global Talent programme they were taken through, focused on improving students and recent graduate’s employability, with workshop sessions covering interview techniques, CV preparation and paid internship opportunities.

Yesterday the International Success team ran a mini orientation session for late starters, and today there is a follow-up for all students on the mandatory requirements for student visa holders.

Later this week the International Success team will be announcing another new initiative for international students – Unitec International Academic Excellence scholarships. The scholarship has a retention and engagement focus, with criteria that asks for superior GPA and attendance. There are two scolarships for each School, one for new studetns and one for current.

These new initiatives are great ways to show our students that we care, that they are at the centre of everything we do and that they’ve come to the right place to study and for their career journey!

If you have any input on further ways to support our international students, get in touch with Tracy Chapman – International Success.

Who are our international students?

• Our students come from 64 different countries: The three largest groups are from China, India and Japan, followed by Vietnam

• Our students identify with 72 different ethnic groups: Chinese, Indian and Japanese

• The top 5 programmes that our students are enrolled in:

– Bachelor of Construction

– NZ Diploma of Construction

– Bachelor of Computing

– Bachelor of Engineering

– NZ Diploma of Engineering

• The average age of our international students is 27

• We have 65% male and 35% female students