Otago Polytechnic is setting up a new campus in Auckland's Queen St next year to target the international student market.
The move is part of a revenue diversification scheme by the polytechnic to tap into the massive Auckland-based market for international students.
A report to Otago Polytechnic council members from the tertiary institute's academic board at a meeting yesterday highlighted how 80% of New Zealand's international students, comprising both school pupils and tertiary students, were attracted to Auckland.
A partnership is to be established with private training provider Future Skills (FS), which will teach two Otago Polytechnic-approved courses at a campus to be housed in a new building in Queen St.
FS is to begin teaching a certificate in foundation studies from March 2012, with the first year of a bachelor of applied management to be introduced from the second semester of next year.
The bachelor programme may result in shared teaching duties from FS and the polytech, with Otago taking over the reins in the third and final year of study.
Otago Polytechnic corporate marketing services director Mike Waddell said the ``key ingredient'' of the fledgling partnership was about accessing Auckland's international student market from Dunedin.
It is hoped the partnership and new courses will provide a "gateway'' for students to go on to study at the Otago campus, he said.
"International students know about Auckland when they come to New Zealand, but they don't necessarily know about other centres,'' he said.
The teaching partnership with FS enabled "resources to be shared more effectively'', Mr Waddell said.
The academic board's report says the financial model is expected to generate "approximately same returns for each partner'' after about three years, with FS providing pastoral care and administrative services at the Queen St campus.