26 March 2012 Lincoln University welcomes Government boost for international education

Lincoln University welcomed the announcement by Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Hon Steven Joyce as he outlined a support package for the international education sector in Christchurch.

The Government has committed $5million in funding over the next four years to the sector locally to aid growth across the industry post-earthquakes.

“We have already been working closely with Education NZ and the Minister on a number of workstreams to boost international marketing, drive key-market strategies and to develop the Canterbury Tertiary Alliance between ourselves, the University of Canterbury and CPIT. This funding announcement is welcome news and will enable a number of collaborative initiatives to gain momentum,” says Vice-Chancellor Professor Roger Field.

“International students are a very important part of Lincoln University, contributing significantly to the culture of our campus, to providing international connections for staff and fellow students post-study, and enhancing our student-fee income.

“The recent seismic activity in and around the city has seen a drop in international students from some markets for all three tertiary institutions in the region and the most sensible approach to this common issue is for us to work together to focus our own resources - and the resources that have been made available to us by the Government - to bring students back to the region.

“Lincoln University offers globally-significant qualifications in the land-based specialist areas of study and we are confident that our teaching and research areas will continue to be in high demand. The key will be to ensure potential students can make informed decisions about the region as a whole – and the Government’s support to this end is very welcome.”