30 November 1993 Busy Asian Schedule for Lincoln's New International Director

A new face representing Lincoln University at education fairs, expos and similar gatherings throughout Asia is that of Geoff Ormandy.

Appointed first director of Lincoln's newly established International Student Centre, Geoff is already well known in education circles in Asia through his former post as Principal Lecturer- Liaison Officer at Christchurch College of Education.

Creation of an International Student Centre is part of Lincoln's "internationalisation" strategy and signals the University's commitment to ensuring that the needs of its international students are caringly catered for, from initial enquiry through to graduation.

As Director of the Centre, Geoff is working in close cooperation with Lincoln's Community Relations Centre, the Academic Section of the Registry and the Student Services Group.

Along with the Director, staff of the International Student Centre comprise International Student Support Officer Juliet Nicholas, International Admissions Officer Lesley Grey and Assistant Admissions Officer Karen Coleman.

A busy schedule lies ahead of the team in 1994. From February to September Geoff's own programme will see him on missions representing Lincoln University at education fairs and expos in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Penang, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Kota Kinabalu. There will also be visits to Canberra and South America.

Geoff points out that while Lincoln has been very successful in the past in gaining its share of the New Zealand international education market, and indeed was one of the first New Zealand tertiary institutions to enter the international recruitment arena, the environment has now changed. The situation has become very competitive and all universities are now highly active in the recruitment of overseas students.

It is, however, a path to be approached cautiously.

Geoff stresses that with internationalisation programmes the lure of financial reward should not take precedence over educational and humanitarian objectives.

"A carefully considered and prioritised policy of internationalisation must have greater long-term significance than simply foreign exchange earnings," he says.

"Internationalisation assists in the breaking down of barriers between people and nations and paves the way for the development of cultural, diplomatic and trade relations. Directly and indirectly universities benefit from all of these relationships.

 "It has been said that nations can no longer survive if they are preoccupied solely with their own identities and their own needs. This also applies to universities. It is crucial for universities to think globally but a prerequisite for global thinking is knowledge and understanding of other cultures. International education allows a university to develop this knowledge and these understandings by providing staff and students with both multicultural and multinational experiences.

"One of the principal reasons for a university to internationalise is that its students emerge equipped to think and to function internationally.

"Here at Lincoln it is a prime objective that staff and students should come to see themselves as part of the wider world, hence our programme of internationalisation and our recruitment and promotional visits to Asia and other parts of the world."

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.