At a press conference, Education New Zealand (ENZ) announced its first Indian brand ambassador in Mumbai today. Actress Kriti Sanon, will now be representing Education New Zealand in India.

Kriti’s connect with the youth will support Education New Zealand (ENZ) reach out to aspiring students from India to make an informed choice while considering their study abroad options. During the press conference in Mumbai, ENZ announced a range of initiatives designed for the Indian audience.

The New Zealand Excellence Awards (NZEA) season 2, a scholarship scheme which offers Indian students partial scholarships to study business, fashion and STEM-related programmes (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at New Zealand universities. All eight New Zealand universities feature in the top 3% globally as per QS ratings. Thirty-one young Indian students were recipients of the inaugural NZ Excellence Awards earlier this year.

Announcing the NZEA 2017 awards, HE Ms Joanna Kempkers, New Zealand High Commissioner to India said, "The announcements today will encourage high calibre Indian students from India to choose New Zealand as their higher education destination. The New Zealand Excellence Awards offer a select group of students partial scholarships to study at New Zealand’s world-leading Universities.”

The second round of the ‘Academic Guest Lecture Series’ was also launched, to showcase New Zealand’s academics in the area of engineering, life sciences, ecology, sustainability, social work and business. The lecture series is scheduled across Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi from 4th – 9th September 2017 and will feature lectures in a range of topics including: Educating creative engineers; using mobile technology to enhance learning of Mathematics; Smart power and renewable energy; Usage of drones in geographical information systems; Future of food safety and security impacted by climate change to name a few. 

Speaking at the occasion, Education New Zealand’s Regional Director – India, South East Asia and Middle East, John Laxon said,“Today’s announcements signify New Zealand’s ongoing commitment to provide a positive learning environment for Indian students. We are thrilled to welcome such a diverse group of world-leading New Zealand academics to India as part of our lecture  series. Our India initiatives aim to profile New Zealand expertise in specialist courses such as animation, fashion, aviation, sports technology, cyber security, energy and conservation in India.” 

Commenting on the appointment of the first Indian Brand Ambassador for Education New Zealand, Mr Laxon added,“Kriti’s excellent education background and profile will help us enhance connections with the Indian youth who are seeking a high-quality international education.”

“We are also excited to announce the New Zealand India Sustainability Challenge (NZISC), to showcase our strength in Sustainability and Environment. NZISC a unique project in collaboration with TERI India as Knowledge Partner, where students will identify solutions for sustainability problems in the economy, health, and environment sector.” Added Mr Laxon on other announcements made by Education New Zealand today. 

On being named the first Indian Brand Ambassador for Education New Zealand, Kriti Sanon said, “I feel honoured to be part of the New Zealand family in India. It is a great opportunity and responsibility for me to play a catalyst role in supporting the educational and career prospects of students from my country.”

“New Zealand offers incredible opportunities for our high-achieving students to pursue a wide variety of quality courses in a positive and multicultural environment. I hope this exposure will help us shape global citizens of tomorrow”, added Ms Sanon on her association.