Panesar has been selected as part of the English squad for the first test against New Zealand, which starts at the University Oval, in Dunedin, tomorrow.
Although he is far from home, he is keen to continue his English university studies for a master of business administration (MBA) degree in sports, from Loughborough University, in Leicestershire.
While he has been in New Zealand, his lectures from Loughborough University are being recorded and transmitted to him so he can keep on top of his studies.
Panesar said the Sports MBA programme at Loughborough had given him ''great insight into the challenges of sports management''.
The flexibility of the course had enabled him to ''continue to play cricket professionally alongside my studies''.
Ian Lafferty, director of executive programmes at the Otago University School of Business, said it had provided a supervisor to enable Panesar to sit a two-hour examination for his UK degree, at the Otago MBA suite yesterday.
''It was certainly something different; a major buzz of excitement for the [Otago MBA] staff,'' he said.
