Education agents to visit

A special "speed dating" style meeting between international education agents and representatives from New Zealand educational institutes will be held in Queenstown and Rotorua next week, with agents also travelling to Dunedin and Southland.

Education New Zealand acting chief executive Kathy Phillips said education agents played a key role in bringing international students to New Zealand and providing a first-hand look at everything the country had to offer "makes them more enthusiastic and confident about sending students here".

"We've set up a type of 'speed dating' event, where agents and institutions have short, one-on-one meetings where they can decide whether they're a good match for working together in the future.

"This way, they can maximise the number of connections made and hopefully the number of students the agents will enrol in New Zealand institutions going forward," Ms Phillips said.

Twenty New Zealand specialists from China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea would be in New Zealand for a week of meetings with 59 representatives from around New Zealand.

The meetings were being held in Queenstown and Rotorua to allow agents to enjoy some of the country's top tourists attractions once business was finished.

Following the meetings, the agents would travel in small groups to various regions of New Zealand, visiting other institutions and having a better look at the lifestyle and facilities students would experience.

Ms Phillips said it was the second year Education New Zealand and Air New Zealand had partnered to bring the education agents to New Zealand for familiarisation visits.

In many countries, agents were used by students planning to study overseas, with the agent suggesting appropriate courses and institutions and helping them with the enrolment and visa application process.

The reception for the agents in Queenstown will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on May 11.