Resort pitches for Chinese students

The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) wants to cash in on some of China's 20 million students, in the hope some will come to study at the expanded Queenstown campus.

A group of officials from the Chinese Ministry of Education visited SIT's Queenstown campus at Remarkables Park yesterday.

The delegation, from the Chinese Services Centre for Scholarly Exchange, also met Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes and Remarkables Park directors John and Alastair Porter.

At the meeting, SIT chief executive Penny Simmonds said the Porter brothers and the district council supported plans to expand the campus and Mr Geddes said Chinese students would be "very welcome" in the resort.

"This part of the country has a long relationship with China ... it is very important the community diversifies into education. Everything up to now has been about visitors," he said.

Chinese Services Centre for Scholarly Exchange deputy director general Yuxiang An said China had to send about 1.6 million students abroad to study annually.

"We have a one-child policy and that's why parents choose to pay attention to their child's education and pay more for overseas studies."

Alastair Porter said his plan for Remarkables Park included an expanded SIT campus and up to 500 student apartments.

"In conjunction with SIT, we are working as land-developer and infrastructure-provider. Our land is zoned for a wide range of uses.

"The second half [of the development] will be expanding the SIT campus and student and staff accommodation, a healthcare precinct and a resort village with hotels and a conference centre. We have also set aside land for cultural services and a recreation area which could include outdoor education," he said.

"We would be very happy to welcome foreign investment."

Mr An said he was sure parents would like to buy student apartments and other Chinese investors would be keen to look at opportunities in Queenstown.

SIT international business manager Bharat Guha said the Chinese Services Centre for Scholarly Exchange was a very important Government body and its visit was a direct result of SIT's presence at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

The Queenstown campus has 120 domestic students and two students from India this year.

"We aim for 30 international students next year," Mr Guha said.

There were 400 international students in Invercargill, paying between $14,000 and $19,000 a year in fees, while domestic students could use the zerofees scheme.

The institute let international students study English free for six months in conjunction with a mainstream diploma.