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| Vietnamese students receive the Global Competence Certificate from ENZ and the New Zealand Consulate General in HCMC – PHOTO: LE HOANG |
The initiative is also meant to strengthen the educational ties between the two countries, despite the distance and travel limitations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2018, New Zealand launched the 2018-2030 International Education Strategy that sets out to develop global citizens as one of its three overarching goals. Apart from focusing on developing skills for local and international students in New Zealand, the Government and New Zealand’s institutions are also making efforts to promote knowledge and cultural exchange between future global citizens from New Zealand and other countries.
Accordingly, ENZ has offered scholarships to 25 outstanding Vietnamese students from grades 9 and 10 to participate in the GCC, a credible online program provided by global not-for-profit network AFS.
This program is designed as a four-week online course, with 18 self-learning online modules, in various formats such as quizzes, animated videos, assignments, interactive games, and four interactive discussion sessions between Vietnamese and New Zealand students taught by facilitators from Massey University and supported by local teachers.
Through this, 25 Vietnamese students and 26 New Zealand students studied together and formed strong connections amid the international travel restrictions.
New Zealand Consul General in HCMC Karlene Davis said, “These 25 students are the first group of students in Vietnam being awarded scholarships to join the GCC course with our students in New Zealand.”
“Our New Zealand teachers and students have sincerely complimented them all and expressed their hope to meet them personally one day. When it is safe to travel internationally, I hope we can run this kind of skills-for-the-future program on site with Vietnamese students visiting New Zealand and vice versa. We need global citizens so that we can tackle global issues of the 21st century, such as sustainability, globalization and climate change,” she added.
New Zealand and Vietnam have had a long-term partnership in education. Having one of the best education systems in the world, New Zealand is a preferred destination for many Vietnamese students to study abroad.
