Deputy research and enterprise vice-chancellor Prof Richard Blaikie said doctoral enrolments held relatively steady through 2020 and into 2021, largely due to stronger domestic recruitment, but also because the university allowed "remote starts’’ for doctoral candidates.
Nevertheless, the university was starting to see the number of applications from prospective international candidates decline, he said in a memo to members of the vice-chancellor’s advisory group.
"And we are hearing that we are losing some strong applicants to other universities because they cannot wait for a scholarship decision from Otago."
To counter that, Prof Blaikie proposed scholarship applications for current and future international doctoral students who could start their study offshore.
If awarded, those students would get their tuition fees covered until they were able to enter the country, at which time they would start receiving a scholarship stipend.
Graduate Research School Dean Prof Rachel Spronken-Smith said the school responded quickly to the border closure.
Since February 2020, the university had allowed 83 students to start offshore, beginning their research with distance supervision.
A further 17 students were planning to start remotely soon, with another 20 considering the option.
Recruitment had been supported by marketing both domestically and internationally, she said.
It was grateful it was able to get some remote start and other doctoral students back to New Zealand via the government schemes that were allowing a limited return of international students to the country.
And it would continue to advocate for all its remote start students to be able to enter New Zealand to continue their study onshore, Prof Spronken-Smith said.
Health sciences PhD student Obren Amiesimaka, from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, was one of the first students to enter New Zealand after the Government relaxed border restrictions for up to 250 international students late last year.
He was also one of the first to begin his doctoral studies remotely, while overseas.
When the borders closed in March last year, Mr Amiesimaka was in Germany.
But the university provided both excellent academic and pastoral support, he said.
He was able to get some work, such as ethics approvals and literature reviews, under way while overseas.
After 10 months working from Germany, he remained on track for his PhD.
He was happy in Dunedin, and was recently inducted as a peer mentor to help others land on their feet in the city after starting remotely.
