About 250 Dunedin secondary school students from 22 countries, and representatives from mana whenua, the Dunedin City Council, University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic, Otago International Students’ Association and Education New Zealand attended a pōwhiri, facilitated by Enterprise Dunedin, at Puketeraki Marae yesterday.
Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker said the event emphasised the importance of ‘‘ako’’ — the learning relationship between teacher and student.
‘‘The Dunedin community is a marvellous medley of different cultures informed by both Māori and Scottish traditions, and enriched by all the other people and cultures who’ve arrived here since.
‘‘Every international student brings a host of cultural perspectives to our city, from more than 20 different countries.’’
Recovery in Dunedin’s international education sector has been strong since the Covid-19 pandemic.
At present, Dunedin hosts about 4000 international students, contributing an estimated $268m to the local economy.
With growth targets, this could reach 6500 students and close to $500million annually by 2030.
Nationwide, the government is targeting growth from 83,400 to 119,000 international students by 2034, nearly doubling the sector’s value to $7.2billion.
Education New Zealand Manukura Māori chief adviser Ed Tuari said manaakitanga was also an important value which resonated with cultures around the globe and influenced students’ choice of a study destination.
While China and Japan remained core priority markets for Dunedin, Germany and India were new focus markets for 2026.
All school and tertiary sector stakeholders jointly identify focus markets each year through the Study Dunedin Advisory Group, and collaborate to attract and retain talent.
