2005 | AIS ST HELENS

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NOVEMBER 2005

Dear Friends

Another year has almost finished and AIS St Helens is looking in great shape. We have successfully introduced the Bachelor of Tourism Management this year and now have almost 70 students in the programme. The Graduate Diploma in Information Technology which we started late last year now has 45 students. Both these programmes are showing a lot of promise with good comments both from the current students and from agents that are promoting them.

We have great plans for 2006. Our Bachelor of International Business will finally receive approval from NZQA for us to offer five full specialisations in Accounting, E-business, International Marketing, International Trade, and Management. At the same time our Bachelor of Language and Culture will become the Bachelor of Arts with full specialisations in ESOL and Language and Culture.

We have now formally applied to NZQA for our MBA to offer four specialisations: International Business (the current specialisation), Finance, Operations and Logistics, and Marketing. This will make the AIS StHelens MBA, already one of the largest MBA programmes in New Zealand , the only one in New Zealand where students can choose specialist paths and will enormously enhance the students' ability to move directly into a specialist career.

Our enrolments for Semester One in 2006, starting in late January, are currently running strongly, particularly from local students who have completed their level 5 or 6 diplomas and are now looking to turn these into full degrees. Our advantages are: scholarships for year 2 and 3 students, full cross credits for all diploma courses, English waivers for selected diplomas, and strong English language support through our Support Stream and English for Academic Purposes programme. We look forward to working closely with you. Please contact me directly to discuss any issues regarding your cooperation with AIS StHelens.

Best wishes
Dr Anatole Bogatski
Director Student Services
anatoleb@ais.ac.nz

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AIS St Helens Scholarship

AIS St Helens held a special ceremony on 2 November 2005 to honour students who were recipients of the most recent round of scholarship awards. In all, seventeen students received scholarships for excellence in academic endeavour.

AIS St Helens President, Dr Richard Goodall, commended students for their efforts in achieving these awards. He told students that whenever we go to education fairs or seminars to promote study at AIS St Helens, it is common for prospective students to ask if we have scholarships available. He explained that what they are referring to as "scholarships" are actually "study grants" which act as an incentive to students to enrol at a particular school. However, the AIS St Helens awards are true scholarships because they are given to students who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship over a two semester period.

Corporate Services Director, Richard Smith, and Academic Director, Dr Mike Roberts, also added their words of congratulations. Mike Roberts told students that the awards were not restricted to once in their time at AIS St Helens, but would continue as long as they maintained their high grade point average. He expressed the hope that we would see them return again in the future, and also that students would encourage their friends and classmates to aim for a similar high standard.

At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, students and staff enjoyed some light refreshments together.

Students achieving a high grade point average are able to apply for these scholarships using application forms available from the Student Services Administration Office.

India and Sri Lanka Education Fairs 2005

We visited eight cities in India and the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo for the New Zealand Education fairs organised by NZTE and ENZ. Interest at all the fairs was very good. The new immigration policies implemented by NZIS were a key draw card. These policies encourage students to consider New Zealand as an attractive study destination and give them a good opportunity to settle down permanently if they meet the required criteria.

The AIS St Helens stall was very busy at all fairs. Our MBA programme and our Graduate Diploma in IT (GDIT) programme were very attractive. The strong reputation of our MBA being one of the largest MBAs in New Zealand (incorporating a research project) which could be completed within 15 months, and the GDIT having a work project which enable students to get New Zealand work experience was very impressive. Our Alumni profile of many years standing completed the picture.

Other undergraduate programmes of interest were the Bachelor of Tourism Management and the Bachelor of International Business.

We managed to meet some of our Alumni in New Delhi and Bangalore. AIS St Helens is proud to note that they are well placed and settled down in life. One of the Alumni took time off his busy schedule to assist with the many inquiries at the New Delhifair.

It was very encouraging to note the enthusiasm of our agents and the number of inquiries and applications directed to us.

A special mention is in order to recognise the services by two particular agents who have worked tirelessly for New Zealand and for AIS St Helens in particular.

Congratulations to GEE BEE Education Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai and Array Consultants Pvt. Ltd in Hyderabad for getting upgraded to AIS St Helens key agent status this year.

To all others this is an achievable feat. If you send us more than six students during a calendar year you too could reap these benefits.

Thank you to all of you for your efforts and we look forward for your continued support

MBA Annual Networking Evening

A great night was had by all MBA Alumni and students who attended the MBA Alumni and Current Students evening on Friday 28 October in the Atrium at Asquith Campus. The evening had a social slant with Alumni and students given the opportunity to mix and mingle ably assisted by Junior Samuela and a BIB piano accordionist. The evening proved to be a popular social highlight for the MBA calendar.

OCOTBER 2005

Dear friends

We are pleased to announce the publication of our 2006 Prospectus. These will be sent to you in the next few weeks. Please contact us for faster delivery if you require.

The 2006 Prospectus is a picture of our growing Institute. AIS St Helens remains New Zealand’s No.1 private tertiary degree granting institution with over 1200 students. Our strategic plan is to continuously increase the number of qualifications and subject areas that we offer and you will see this reflected in the new Prospectus.

The 2006 Prospectus covers a wide range of subjects:

In the following year, we will be upgrading our MBA with several more specialisations, including Finance, Operations and Logistics, and Marketing. Any student in the MBA in International Business stream will be able to transfer if they wish when these new specialisations are approved by NZQA next year.

Our Marketing team is always available to talk to you about our business relationship and I encourage you to contact us to discuss this. I will personally be happy to privately discuss any details with you on anatoleb@ais.ac.nz

We are looking forward to a strong performance in 2006 and we would very much like to support you in achieving a similar performance.

Best wishes

Dr Anatole Bogatski
Director Student Services

Agent BBS
AIS St Helens has introduced a BBS and a topic for all our agents to talk to us about your issues. Click here to go to Bulletin Board, then register. Email us to let us know if you want to be added in the private Agent Forum

Careers Seminars
An interesting careers seminar was held in July, which focused on securing permanent jobs in New Zealand once you graduate. Two MBA international graduates spoke on their success in securing jobs with their respective companies. It was an informal seminar and attendees commented on how useful it was. In October Bruce Goldsworthy from the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) talked about the manufacturing industry in New Zealand and employment opportunities.

Careers seminars are free to students and are held twice a semester. Topics range from recruitment processes and work options to speakers from large companies and organisations. Students from all programmes are welcome to attend and we would encourage you to suggest to your clients that they would benefit from attending these.

Still to come this semester:

David Cooper from Malcolm Pacific is talking about immigration and visa issues in early November.

Students can find out about the seminars by checking the AIS St Helens website under Facilities and then Careers Office, by reading the notices that are displayed around the campuses or by picking up flyers at the campus reception areas.

AIS St Helens Diploma in Computing and Information Technology (Level 5)
Multi-skilled, creative individuals with a passion to succeed and an ability to set new boundaries are the requirements of today’s advancing information technology (IT) industry. The IT industry is offering exciting new career opportunities and is seeking qualified multi-skilled professionals.

The AIS St Helens Diploma in Computing and Information Technology (DCIT) is fast developing as the most sought after qualification for those students wanting to be a part of this challenging industry.

Having industry leaders like Microsoft, Hartford Consulting, ACP Media and Federation Media on our Advisory Committee has helped us design a course that equips our students with multi dimensional and cutting edge skills.

During his recent visit to AIS St Helens, Emad Haddad from ACP Media was so impressed with the knowledge and confidence demonstrated by the DCIT students, that he has offered internship positions for our students to assist their team in the area of infrastructure setup, web development, and business analysis. Microsoft NZ too has offered to consider our DCIT graduates for a one year internship. This is a clear indication of the quality of our DCIT graduates. This kind of industry exposure gives our students the much needed industry environment to utilise the skills gained and also helps students improve their communication and critical thinking skills, time management and self confidence.

IT Placement Cell
The IT Placement Cell was recently set up and works very closely with the Careers and Alumni Office to ensure our graduates have the right skills and attitudes required for industry. Candidates are assisted with CVs, cover letters, presentation and interview skills. The students undergo a three phase internal interview before being sent to companies to interview for IT positions. The process itself is a great learning experience which makes our candidates serious contenders in a competitive industry, where creative thinking and presentation skills are as important as technical knowledge.

The IT Placement Cell has set high standard selection criteria to motivate students to perform at a very competitive level and be eligible for these internship placements. Attendance, good communication skills, positive attitude, ability to adopt the latest technology, and good grades are some of the selection criteria. These graduates are our ambassadors in the industry and are expected to project a very positive and competitive image.

In-House Projects and Work Experience
Our students gain valuable experience by working on in-house projects like online web management, web page development, setting up and maintaining networks for AIS St Helens. These opportunities allow students to obtain work experience which proves useful when applying for jobs. A tutor is assigned as a project mentor for such projects to direct the students in planning, analysis, design, implementation and maintenance of in-house projects.

Microsoft Alliance
AIS St Helens is very proud of our relationship with Microsoft as an Academic Alliance partner. The alliance gives us valuable advice from Microsoft. Our students have access to the latest software even before it is commercially available. Our students also receive free software worth thousands of dollars.

DCIT students receive the following free software:
- Microsoft Visual Studio .Net with MSDN
- Microsoft Operating Systems (e.g. Windows EX, Windows Server 2003 )
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (Development + Enterprise)
- Majority of Microsoft Server Systems (e.g. SMS Server, SQL, BizTalk Server)
- Microsoft OneNote 2003
- Microsoft InfoPath 2003
- Microsoft Virtual PC and Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003

Certification
Along with the AIS St Helens certificates, DCIT graduates get the National Certificate in Computing (Level 5). The DCIT programme also prepares the students for various other vendor certification like MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) and Comptia Core A+ Certification. These are industry recognised certifications that improve their career prospects.

Graduate Diploma in Commerce (leading to Deakin University Master of Commerce)
The range of specialisations in the GDC (Master of Commerce) allows students to pursue their specialist interests and professional career development needs. There are 13 specialisations available for students in this programme:

Accounting concentrates on financial accounting and explains the basic principles and procedures governing what and how accounting and finance information is processed.
Business Systems Development introduces database concepts, systems design and implementation.
Commercial Law enables students to develop an understanding of the principles of income tax law, international competition law and policy, and corporations law.
Economics explains the theory and logic of economics in individual and firm-level decision making.
Electronic Business examines and discuses online marketing, e-business strategies and processes.
Finance offers an integrated and comprehensive analysis of finance and financial markets.
Financial Planning introduces investment and retirement planning as well as financial planning processes.
Information Systems Project Management identifies and analyses the diverse risks that can affect an information system, examines project management in the current dynamic organisational environment, explores the key ethical and governance issues.
International Trade and Business concentrates oninternational business management and marketing.
Management Information Systems aims to give students the confidence to manage and work effectively with information systems, the related enabling technologies, and IT professionals.
Marketing examines the key elements in international, online and services marketing, as well as explains marketing management.

Programme Briefs

* Our Bridging Course for the University of Otago Foundation Year (UOFY) enjoyed a 100% success rate for its 11 students last month and all these students have now entered the full year UOFY programme.

* The UOFY Bridging Course at AIS St Helens has now been renamed as the Level 2 Certificate in University Foundation Studies. The next intake is 9 January 2006.

* Our new Bachelor of Tourism Management (BTM) now has over 70 students enrolled in Level 5 and 6 diplomas and the Level 7 final year. Our first graduate will complete the BTM this semester. His Applied Tourism Management Research Project is looking at a new 'Business Plan for the Quality Inn West End Surrey Hotel'. Anne Lawson, the General Manager of the hotel said that they were delighted to be involved in this applied management research project with AIS St Helens.

* AIS St Helens is delighted with the interest Qualmark and SkyCity have shown in our Travel and Tourism programmes. The AIS St Helens Travel and Tourism Advisory Committee now includes these organizations with the addition of Geoff Penrose, Chief Executive of Qualmark NZ Ltd and Allison Lawton, General Manager of Attractions at SkyCity.

AUGUST 2005

NEWS OF THE MONTH

AIS St Helens student does well at speech competition
Bachelor of Language and Culture student Wakana Ikei from Japan says Mandarin is her second language, yet that did not stop her entering a Mandarin speech competition recently.

The speech competition held at a local university was open to all students from all Auckland secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Approximately 100 students entered the entire competition. There were nine other contestants in Wakana’s category.

“I wasn’t too nervous. What helped was that we learn a lot about presenting ourselves on my course,” says Wakana.
Wakana came third in her category. She spoke about the inspiration her father has had on her life. She says the speech competition was an excellent opportunity for her to practice her Mandarin and gain confidence speaking in front of a large group.

Wakana says that she had not realised how many people were learning Mandarin and how it is such an important language to know. In the future, she would like to be a teacher and considers her recent experience good preparation.

Study group helps students
Since the end of July the Chinese Student Association has been running a successful student learning centre. The majority of the 18 students who attended took the Organisational Behaviour course. The meetings enable students to share their study experiences, discuss important and difficult chapters and question each other. Graduates of the paper also share their experiences and provide advice. For more information about this group, contact Student Services Officer Renee Xu email: reneex@ais.ac.nz

Agents visit AIS St Helens
On 17 August four Taiwanese agents visited AIS St Helens. Education New Zealand hosted this inbound visit. The agents came from four different Taiwanese cities and most of them were new to the New Zealand market. They visited 22 institutions including secondary and high schools.

Coke Careers Expo
AIS St Helens was once again at the annual Auckland Careers Expo from 9-12 August. This was a good opportunity to promote our school and meet prospective students.

Film crew visit
A documentary profiling international education in New Zealand will feature AIS St Helens.

On 5 August the Shanghai film crew spent the day at AIS St Helens talking to our Chairman, directors, staff and students.

The documentary about international education in New Zealand investigated the independence skills international students gain while overseas and looked at how the students dealt with culture shock and living in New Zealand. Five students from different cultures were interviewed.

The documentary will go to air on Shanghai television in September in front of a potential audience of 30 million people.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Glenys Elwood is our student of the month. The bubbly 23-year-old who is studying towards a Bachelor of International Business is Kiwi born and bred, but enjoys the multicultural mix at AIS St Helens.
“AIS St Helens is a place where East meets West and you learn many new things, but it is how you apply them that will show if you really learned anything.”

Glenys’ diligent attitude towards her studies is evident in her high results. She is also an AIS St Helens scholarship recipient this year.

Glenys says many companies have catch phrases or tag lines that sound great, but do not mean anything.
“When AIS St Helens says individual focus international vision it is not just a catchy phrase. I have found it is actually true and that is what makes it a great place to study.”

In the long-term future, Glenys would love to travel overseas and work for the United Nations. Her short-term goal is to complete a post-graduate Diploma in Communications and then a Masters in International Relations.

PROGRAMME UPDATE

Bachelor of International Business
Making decisions, problem solving and thinking critically are important qualities in the business world. Such abilities are life-long and an important component of the AIS St Helens Bachelor of International Business (BIB) programme.

The Dean of the School of International Studies, Dr Malcolm Abbott, says the BIB programme helps students gain an understanding of the place of business.
“One of the key skills BIB graduates gain is an understanding of the relationships between business practice in New Zealand and overseas. They also develop an understanding of how international companies in New Zealand function.”

Dr Abbott says international students who have studied at AIS St Helens have enjoyed the experience. They have settled well into New Zealand life and found employment.
“The BIB programme prepares students for an active working life in New Zealand and overseas.”

Dr Abbott says AIS St Helens BIB graduates are now working in a variety of jobs such as banks, manufacturing companies, international trading companies and public service. Other BIB graduates are completing post-graduate studies in New Zealand or overseas.

As part of their studies, BIB students can specialise in areas such as Accounting, International Marketing, E-Business, Management and International Trade.

The AIS St Helens Bachelor of International Business is a highly regarded qualification and is recognised by governments and professional bodies in New Zealand and overseas.

Information Technology foundation programme builds links with Microsoft
Staff from the Information Technology (IT) foundation programme have had a very busy schedule recently and the hard work has paid off says Programme Coordinator Naweed Qadir.
” We have industry leaders like Microsoft, Hartford Consulting, ACP Media and Federation Media as our industry advisors. We have also strengthened our relations with Microsoft as Academic Alliance partner, which gives us the latest software and valuable advice from Microsoft.”

Naweed says next semester the department will choose an IT student to act as a Microsoft ambassador. Staff will select the student based on their academic record and extra curricular involvement. This student will undertake training from AIS St Helens IT staff and then by Microsoft to promote the Microsoft platform.

Other news from the IT department is that next semester staff will organise a programming project contest with three different categories. Announcement of the contest date and category details will be soon. Microsoft New Zealand Limited will sponsor the entire event.

Another exciting opportunity is that AIS St Helens students will be able to meet experts from Microsoft New Zealand Limited. Microsoft is holding a product knowledge session and will talk about career development in the IT field. The date of this visit will be announced before September 9.

The software available to students in each IT programme is listed below:

Certificate in Computing and Information Technology (Level 3) students receive software programs worth a total value of $5850. This software is distributed to students under the MSDNAA License Agreement:
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
- Microsoft Visual Studio 6 with MSDN
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows ME
- Microsoft OneNote 2003
- Microsoft eLearning Library 2.0 (MELL).

Certificate in Computing and IT (Level 4) students receive $12520 worth of software programs:
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
- Microsoft Visual Studio 6 with MSDN
- Microsoft Access 2003
- Microsoft Project Professional 2003
- Microsoft Visio Professional 2003
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows 2003 Server
- Microsoft eLearning Library 2.0 (MELL)

In addition to the above programs offered to students of the Certificate Level 4, the Diploma in Computing and Information Technology (Level 5) students also receive:
- Microsoft Visual Studio .Net with MSDN
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (Dev + Enterprise)
- Microsoft OneNote 2003
- Microsoft InfoPath 2003
- Microsoft Virtual PC and Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003.
(Total worth of software programs $36894).

Language classes
Do you want to learn Korean, Chinese, Spanish or Japanese? If so, then come along to AIS St Helens language classes. Diploma students also benefit from doing these classes as they can count credits towards a bachelor programme. For more information contact AIS St Helens marketing staff.

AIS ST HELENS EVENTS

Happy Party attracts 200 students
There was plenty of laughter and smiles at a recent student party. The aptly titled ‘Happy Party’ celebrated the end of exams and was organised by the Student Services China team.

Student Services Officer Renee Xu said the party helped students socialise and unwind after a busy semester. Approximately 200 students attended the event, which included speeches from Deputy Chairman John Wood and Academic Director Mike Roberts. There were also lottery draws, games, refreshments and a Chinese song.

Renee says the Happy Party allowed students and directors to mingle and discuss positive reasons for continuing one’s education at AIS St Helens.
“The feedback from this party was positive and the students hoped AIS St Helens could organise this kind of party regularly.”

Celebrating Indonesian Independence Day
On 19 August AIS St Helens Indonesian and South-East Asian students had a celebration. Student Services Officer Djaja Kurniawan organised a party to celebrate Indonesia Independence Day. Djaja says around 20 students attended the event.
“We had a good time at the park. We then went to the food court for a meal and drink.”

Foundation School Open Day
The Foundation School held an Open Day recently at the Asquith campus. The event was organised to inform prospective students about the courses available at AIS St Helens.

Student Services Officer Marielle Likos says the atmosphere was friendly and that it was a good opportunity for staff from the school and the other departments to work together. Several Japanese students attended as well as staff from Careers Services.

Soccer team formed
Kicking a ball around on a field keeps you fit and is fun, as AIS St Helens students discovered recently.

The new soccer team of 12 members have played three games with one win, one loss and one draw. Unfortunately, they were eliminated from the New Zealand Chinese Student Association soccer competition, however, this has not dampened their spirit and they still plan to meet for social games and practices.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Graduation
9 September is the date of the AIS St Helens formal graduation ceremony. Congratulations to all our students graduating this year. Since the numbers attending are so great this year, the venue for graduation will be the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna on Auckland’s North Shore. Students should arrive before 3pm and visitors at 4pm.

Free Chinese movies
After last year’s successful Chinese movie week, the Student Services China team are repeating the free movie week again this year.

The movies will start at 6:30pm every night throughout the week of Monday September 12 to Saturday September 17 at AIS St Helens Asquith Campus (Room AG8).

The highly acclaimed Chinese movies include films such as “A World Without Thieves”, “My Father and I” and “Peacock”.

The movies are being shown as part of the Moon Festival celebrations and viewing for all is free. The Chinese Consulate is providing the films. For more information contact AIS St Helens Student Services.

Sports and recreation
If you have been indulging yourself over winter, there is no better cure than getting involved in a sport. At AIS St Helens we have a variety of sports on offer. We also have a massage therapist who takes bookings (see the Sports and Recreation staff at Asquith).
· Indoor soccer Mondays 4:30-6:30pm for more information see: Shaun Kelly at the City Campus.
· Table tennis Mondays 6:30-8:30pm contact: Bill Porter (security) at the Main Campus
· Aerobics Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7pm and Saturdays from 9-10am.
· At Asquith students and staff can also try boxing or play badminton.

JULY 2005

SEPTEMBER ENROLMENT
AIS St Helens is preparing for semester three 2005 beginning 5 September. Students who may require bank loans and/or visas should be applying now for September. Letters have gone out to all students who have received Offers of Place welcoming them. We will be asking agents to confirm the students they are sending to us for semester three in the coming weeks.

We look forward to seeing the students on enrolment days 1 September and 2 September to select their courses and confirm their enrolment with us. There is an information seminar for new students on 2 September at 2:30pm in room 103 Main Campus.

PROGRAMME UPDATE
Direct entry to bachelor programmes
Do you have a diploma in hospitality, travel and tourism or business at either level five or six? If you are a successful graduate from a New Zealand institution, you will receive direct entry into an AIS St Helens bachelor programme, without further language testing (conditions apply).

On 2 August there will be an agent seminar to inform agents about the change in AIS St Helens policies regarding the English language proficiency criteria for entry into bachelor programmes. Possible cross credits will also be discussed. The seminar will be on Tuesday 2 August 2005, 10:30-12:00pm at Asquith Campus, 120 Asquith Ave, Mt Albert and refreshments will be served.

Bachelor of Tourism Management
The Bachelor of Tourism Management (BTM) is the fastest growing programme in AIS St Helens. The programme has doubled in size in the last two semesters and we expect it will double again for semester three 2005. Apart from tourism being a popular industry, the attractive options for students are the BTM’s internship programme and post-graduation career services.

The growth of the BTM is being fuelled by its academic staff: Semisi Taumoepeau, Viane Amato- Ali and Jonathon Spring. Each member of the BTM team has years of industry experience as well as academic qualifications. Semisi was the Chief Executive for Tonga National Airlines; Viane was the Director of the National Trust for Fiji; and, Jonathon has been a supervisor in Sky City. The three have combined to make learning in the Bachelor of Tourism Management an enjoyable experience for the students in the programme.

NEWS OF THE MONTH
New textbooks to promote Mandarin language
AIS St Helens was very fortunate to receive 160 Mandarin textbooks plus teaching guides from representatives of the Chinese Consulate in Auckland recently.

The delegates who presented AIS St Helens with the education resources were Consul General Ma, Vice Consul General Wang and Education Consuls Gau and Luo Hong.

AIS St Helens is only one of four schools in New Zealand that teaches Mandarin. The purpose of the Chinese donation was to enhance and promote the use of the Mandarin language.

Approximately 200 students and several media organisations attended the 12 July event, which included Chinese music, dancing, singing and speeches. The day also coincided with the launch of the new AIS St Helens Chinese Student Association.

Singing success for BIB student
Watch out NZ Idol. AIS St Helens has its very own singing sensation in its midst.
Congratulations to BIB student Ling Rae who is the 2005 New Zealand winner of a Hong Kong based Chinese singing competition. Ling will represent New Zealand in Hong Kong later in the year. A Hong Kong television station is organising the competition, which will see singers compete for the grand title.

Connecting with youth
Fresh Ed is a programme aimed at Maori and Pacific Island youth from all high schools in the Auckland region. The aim of the two-day festival was to educate students about opportunities available at tertiary institutions.
“It was great and the students thoroughly enjoyed it as much as we did,” says AIS St Helens Student Services Officer Lavinia Taukafa.
AIS St Helens ran workshops and had a stall at this festival. The AIS St Helens workshops were called, “Fa’alogo Mai International Business – Why work in a business when you can learn to own it.”

Special recognition
Congratulations to UOFY graduates Hoi Ki (Heidi) Leung who gained a high 9.6 GPA and is now studying law and commerce at Auckland University and Chihiro Kamiya from Japan who gained a 9.0 GPA mark and is now studying performing arts at the University of Otago.

Also all the best in the future for our most recent Cert TEFL graduates who featured in the local newspaper celebrating their graduation.

A scholarship award ceremony on 22 July was held at the Atrium at the Asquith Campus. The following South East Asian students received awards: Miss Pattra (Thailand), Mr Vannda (Cambodia), Miss Devi (Indonesia), Mr Supomo (Indonesia), Mr Arief Hatang (Indonesia), Miss Yohanna (Indonesia), Miss Rahma (Indonesia) and Miss Smita (Indonesia). The awards were in recognition of academic excellence at our school.

Chinese Student Association established
AIS St Helens is excited to announce the formation of the new Chinese Student Association. The purpose of the Chinese Student Association is to support students academically, emotionally and socially. Although newly formed the group has already organised workshops where Chinese students can gain study tips from successful graduates. Upcoming cultural and sporting events are also in the pipeline and a student newsletter translated into Mandarin is now available.

Marketing trips
In June Student Services Director Anatole Bogatski visited Vietnam and Thailand. The purpose of the visit was to continue the AIS St Helens high profile in these markets with agents and students.

Anatole says Vietnam in particular is a market where there is likely to be an expansion over the next few years in numbers of students travelling to New Zealand for education.
“The new NZTE Trade Commissioner is known for his proactive support of international education marketing and he has stated his ambition to double the number of Vietnamese students in New Zealand.”

AIS St Helens welcomes visitors
A big hello and welcome to 19 teachers from the Zhen Jiang Teacher Group. These Chinese teachers are currently spending a total of six weeks at AIS St Helens studying English and completing a Cert TEFL qualification. The teachers are staying with homestay families to absorb Kiwi culture and have been visiting New Zealand tourist attractions during their weekends.

AIS St Helens has also hosted visitors from two sister colleges recently. Students from Changwon College and Jinju University in Korea spent four weeks studying English at AIS St Helens. An agent from Delhi’s Indo Horizon in India also visited AIS St Helens recently.

AIS ST HELENS EVENTS
City Campus Open Day
An open day at the City Campus recently was a successful occasion. Japanese and Korean agents and staff from the Citizens Advice Bureau attended the morning event. City Campus staff welcomed the visitors. They extend this welcome to other agents to visit anytime.

Making new friends
Socialising and making new friends is an important part of student life in New Zealand. Isolation and loneliness is minimised when students have a strong support network. A recent BBQ and karaoke organised by Student Services provided a good opportunity for students to mingle. The event attracted students from Japan, Korea and China.

Upcoming events
· On 10 August from 3pm to 7:30pm, AIS St Helens Asquith Campus will hold an open day highlighting some of our Foundation Studies School programmes such as Certificate in Business Studies, Travel and Tourism, UOFY and computing. Careers advisors, teachers, parents, students, companies are invited.
· 17 August is Indonesian Independence Day and AIS St Helens is planning a party to celebrate. This party will be for Indonesian and South Asian students and Djaja Kusno from Student Services will inform students once dates are finalised.
· During August AIS St Helens will host several visitors, including agents from Vietnam, agents from Taiwan and guests from Gakushudo School, a Japanese language school based in Indonesia. The visitors will meet staff and students and have a tour of the campus.
· There will be a Cert TEFL presentation for Korean students in August. This date is to be finalised. Michelle from Student Services can provide further information.
· Keep 9 September free to celebrate with our students on Graduation Day.
· Job preparation workshops are scheduled for Thursday September 22 (job searching) and Tuesday 27 September (CV and covering letters). Maximum number of students for each seminar is 15 and all students are welcome. To register contact Elizabeth Warner at least three days before the seminar on elizabethw@ais.ac.nz or 8455606 ext 212. Elizabeth Warner also organises Career Seminars twice a semester on different topics such as personal presentation and career choices.

IMMIGRATION NEWS
The student immigration changes announced earlier this year are going into effect from 4 July. An update on the changes is at: http://www.immigration.govt..nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/news/changesinternationalstudentpolicy.htm

June

TEP listening and reading sample test available online
The TEP listening and reading sample test is now available on our website. This is accessible through the left-hand links on each page at the very bottom. The link is: http://www.ais.ac..nz/interior.php?pageid=469

The sample test allows prospective students to work through the listening and reading sections of the TEP in an online format. Prospective students receive a realistic picture of their progress in English and in the development of their test taking skills for the TEP by doing the online sample test.

The TEP Preparation Book with Audio CD is now available to agents. It provides test taking strategies and study hints as well as a sample test. The TEP Preparation Book costs $25. Agents may resell these materials to students interested in taking the TEP. Contact the AIS St Helens marketing team for further information and a sample book for review.

Marketing Trips
India and Bangladesh
A recent trip to India for the Manager- International Relations, James Ward was a rewarding experience.

James was in India and Bangladesh from the 16th of May until the 26th of May. He visited Mumbai (Bombay as it is known in India), Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Calcutta (Kolkata), Dhaka in Bangladesh and Hyderabad. He met new and old agents in each city and visited an MBA institute in Hyderabad.

”The smallest city I visited was Ahmedabad and it had five million people. The largest was Calcutta with 18 million. I spent a longer time in Hyderabad than in most cities and was able to fully sample Kingfisher, the local beer, had the famous (or is it infamous) Hyderabad Biryani and visited the old city of Hyderabad, which had a lot of Muslim influences. The whole trip was revealing and the mesh of cultures and peoples in India and Bangladesh was fascinating.”

James interviewed 50 students in the six cities and made 12 spot offers.
“The interest in New Zealand has risen with the information about the changes in the student policy of the New Zealand Immigration Service,” says James.
“The most common questions were how do I get work and how do I get permanent residency. The new immigration policy answers both these questions in a clear manner.”

James was also able to talk about the AIS St Helen’s Careers and Alumni Manager Elizabeth Warner and her role in preparing students for work in New Zealand.
“I gave one student her email and he received a reply regarding salaries in New Zealand in 24 hours.”

The students also asked James about how international students adjust to New Zealand life. In reply, he was able to talk about the AIS St Helen’s Indian Sub-continent Club and its efforts in making students feel at home upon their arrival at AIS St Helens. The situation looks bright for recruiting Indian students at the moment.
”We have already sent out 32 offers to Indian sub-continent students for semester three in September compared with 13 at this point for semester two.”

AIS St Helens will be returning to India in September for the New Zealand Education fairs to recruit students for the coming January 2006 intake.

Hawaii
A 10-day visit to Brigham University in Hawaii was also an enlightening experience for Student Services Officer Junior Samuela. Junior met with staff and students and was impressed with the manner in which Brigham Young University- Hawaii dealt with many of the same challenges AIS St Helens has with its MPI students.

He has come back with fresh ideas and approaches, and looks to push our MPI marketing for the UOFY intakes in July and September, and the semester start in September.

Japanese High School Students visit AIS St Helens
A recent visit from 77 Japanese students was an auspicious occasion for both AIS St Helens staff and the visiting students.

Kyoai Gakuen High School students from Gunmma have been visiting AIS St Helens for ten years. The tenth anniversary visit this year was special.
“They studied English here and experienced New Zealand life as a Homestay student. They also visited a Maori marae and had a wonderful culture experience,” says Student Services Officer Mutsuko Fukushima.

PROGRAMME UPDATE
MBA programme attracts record numbers
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is the largest MBA programme in New Zealand and is an exciting post-graduate qualification that is fairly popular with International students. As it opens exciting career opportunities for its graduates.

The popularity of this course is evident in the growing number of students who are choosing to enrol. The programme now attracts students from the Asia Pacific region, the Indian Subcontinent, South America and more recently from Europe. The MBA comprises of 20 modules (including 16 compulsory modules) and a dissertation (Research Project). The degree has a minimum duration of 15 months of full-time study or two years of part-time study. The three intakes are in February, May and September.

The programme is designed to provide students with the right balance of academic rigour and industry best practice. The lecturers accordingly are senior academics from the premier universities or senior managers and consultants from some of the most reputed firms in the country.

The aim of the MBA is to broaden the management skill base of the students and expand their networks so that they can position themselves in key management positions. Graduates of this course, such as Nitin Siva, who is now a consultant, says he has gained new business knowledge, self-confidence, independence and a deeper understanding of marketing and management.

Current student Jinnie Gill says the MBA has enhanced her management, presentation and analytical skills.
“I have gained knowledge of international trade and business in a multicultural environment. The MBA staff are excellent and most of them have real industry experience.”

The programme boasts of an excellent success rate – Many MBA students have reached fairly senior management positions in New Zealand and across the world. Paul Siulepa was made the Director Pacific Strategy in the New Zealand Immigration Service immediately on completion of his MBA . Paul says that “The MBA helped me create real strategies that were measurable and gave me the tools I needed to create policies which allowed the immigration service to reach pacific communities and effect enhanced settlement outcomes’.

For further information on the MBA programme, contact AIS St Helens.

Teaching English Overseas
Living in the Himalayan mountains teaching Tibetan refugees is just one of many reasons why Shirin Brown loves her job.

Shirin is currently a teaching English as a foreign language tutor at AIS St Helens, but has taught English in Japan, Barcelona, Australia, India and Prague.
“What I love about English Language teaching is that I can travel so much and meet so many different people,” she says.

She considers her four-month Himalayan experience as her most memorable.
“There were patchy-holey blackboards, intermittent electricity and cold showers, but the Tibetan refugees were so motivated to learn. By the time they were 15 they spoke English, Tibetan and Hindi fluently and were trying to get university places”

Although living life with the bare basics was a culture shock, Shirin recalls that there were amusing moments.
“I remember trying to wash my jeans in cold water, the next minute a monkey had stolen my soap - as I was chasing my soap a cow grabbed my jeans. Needless to say, the jeans were cleaner before I started trying to wash them!”

Shirin says after awhile living amongst another culture becomes easier. In fact, she loved Spain so much, that she considers it her second home and stayed for seven years. She says finding work overseas is relatively easy, teachers are usually highly respected and if you organise the job before you go, your accommodation is often sorted out for you.

Shirin admits that travelling with a qualification, such as the Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (Cert TEFL) at AIS St Helens, is a definite advantage.
“This is a great course for people interested in teaching and travelling overseas. It is also useful for practising teachers, people wanting to develop their presentation skills, those considering a change of career, or people curious about how the English Language works. It is a job that suits people who want to work part-time or need to combine work with taking care of children."

AIS St Helens has three Cert TEFL study options. Students can study part-time every Saturday for 16 weeks, full-time everyday for six weeks or over two semesters for three afternoons a week over 24 weeks. All courses have a balance of theoretical input, combined with practical classroom experience. In the mornings, on a full-time course, trainees learn about aspects of language, how to teach and how to evaluate materials. In the afternoons, students deliver a planned lesson to their tutor, peers and real language students. It is this classroom experience, which means that AIS graduates are highly valued in the workplace. For further information about the Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language contact AIS St Helens.

Free English classes
Our Cert TEFL students, who are learning to be teachers, require students to practice on, so we offer free English classes. There are two classes, low/beginners and high/intermediate, for each session. It is important to understand that these classes are not the normal English classes, but just practice for our new teachers.

The dates for these free classes are:
CertTEFL (1.332) Low & High classes: Tue & Wed 2pm-4pm, May 16 – Aug 18 2005, Feb 2 – May 3 2006
CertTEFL (6week intensive) Low Class: Mon – Thurs 1.30pm – 4.00pm, June 20 – July 5
CertTEFL (6week intensive) High Class: Mon – Thurs 1.30 – 4.00pm, July 6 – 21
CertTEFL (16 week PT) High & Low classes: Saturday mornings 9am, Aug 13 – Nov 6

Software benefits to IT students
AIS St Helens has a Microsoft academic alliance and all our Information Technology programmes come under this. This means that AIS St Helens are able to provide students with 90% of the software they need to finish their courses. This software is worth more than $1000.

AIS ST HELENS’ EVENTS
Cultural Arts Show a success
The recent AIS St Helens Cultural Arts show was a vivacious and colourful occasion attracting many students and staff.

The event began with the cooking and eating of delicious international foods such as rice biscuits, Chinese dumplings, Pacific Island coconut pancakes, Indian samosas, Korean stir-fry and Japanese octopus balls.

MC and Student Services Officer Junior Samuela warmed up the crowd by initiating a Chinese dumpling-making competition. A very amusing AIS St Helens dance idol competition then followed, which saw two staff and three students brave the stage.

After much laughter, the audience were awed with a fashion show that displayed beautiful traditional costumes from around the world. Staff and students were the models and represented the many cultures present at AIS St Helens. A Kendo demonstration from a Japanese AIS St Helens' student and a beautiful Tongan dance concluded the successful event.

AIS St Helens alumni event in China
A recent New Zealand Alumni Network launch in China attracted 11 MBA graduates from AIS St Helens.

New Zealand Prime Minister Hon Helen Clark spoke at the May 31st event, which was at the Beijing New Zealand Embassy. The event was for all New Zealand graduates. The AIS St Helens alumni were the largest group of graduates from a single institute present.

Chief Representative of AIS Greater China, Robert En Hsieh from the AIS St Helens Shanghai office says the gathering was a good opportunity for alumni to meet. Robert says AIS St Helens was congratulated for their organisational skills.

The president of AIS St Helens Beijing Alumni Association Sherwood Yang says that they talked with Prime Minister Helen Clarke and had a photograph with her.

Youthtown basketball
Since the 9th of May the AIS St Helens basketball team have won two out of three games at the Youthtown competition. The team also starred recently on the television show Asia Downunder and featured in the Central Leader.

The basketball team consisting of students and a couple of staff members will compete against nine other teams during the competition.

Head of Sport and Recreation Steve Hettig says the competition will last for nine weeks.
“We are very competitive, but it is also a good opportunity to meet new people. It is good for our students, particularly our international students to meet students from other schools.”

Youthtown is a recreation centre catering for youth in the inner city.

In other related basketball news, on June 10th was our Basketball finals held at the Asquith Campus Sports Hall. The evening event followed with a prizegiving, BBQ and disco.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Networking opportunity
On Friday 17th of June at the city campus (from 10.30-11.30) AIS St Helens will have some special visitors coming for a morning tea and a student presentation. The invited guests are from places such as Work and Income NZ, the Ministry of Education, Citizens Advice Bureau and the Regional Migrant Resource Centre. These people will provide information on the services that they provide to the international student community. This event will be a good networking opportunity.

Asquith sports hall closure
From June 13 to early July, the Asquith sports hall will be closed for resurfacing. The weights room and the Atrium will still be in service.

Whanau evening
A whanau evening on July 8th will give potential domestic students the opportunity to learn more about AIS St Helens. Speakers include Tony Naea, Vahoi Mounga and a host from NiuFm. Tony is a graduate from the BYU- Hawaii programme and an ex-professional performer and Vahoi is a current AIS St Helens BIB student. For further information about the whanau evening, contact Lavinia in Domestic Marketing.

FreshEd Festival
The FreshEd Festival aims to encourage and inspire Auckland’s Pacific Island and Maori youth towards further education.

Throughout the festival there will be a variety of workshops on diverse topics such as how to make a music video, hip-hop dancing, acting, photography and visual arts, media studies, cooking, carpentry, travel and tourism, mechanical and electrical engineering and teaching.

Local secondary schools are invited. There will also be exhibitors from various institutes (including AIS St Helens). The festival is at the Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre, 770-834 Great South Road, Manukau, on Friday the 8th and Saturday the 9th of July.

IMMIGRATION NEWS
Online Partnership with NZ Immigration.
The New Zealand Immigration Service has presented a certificate of partnership to AIS St Helens to acknowledge our approval recently as an online student permit-processing centre.

Arron Baker, NZIS Regional Manager of Online Services, presented the certificate to Corporate Services Director Richard Smith at a ceremony for Students Online partner institutions in May 2005. AIS St Helens is in the first group of private institutions to be included alongside some of the State tertiary organisations.

This new service enables current and new students at AIS St Helens to pay and lodge their visa applications with Christine Graham at Reception on the Main Campus, together with their supporting financial and medical documents and passports. Applications are processed and sent online to the new Immigration eBranch in Auckland and visas are processed within 48 hours, with labels sent by courier for affixing on campus.

One student, who was one of the first to use the new service, said it was much faster and safer for their passport.
“This was really convenient for me as I could extend my study visa with AIS St Helens staff directly, and didn't need to go to Immigration at all.”

Only visa labels are issued in this process - the permits are held online. Students with permits for other institutions or who are on visitor’s visas, who are applying for AIS St Helens, can also use the service. Interim permits can be issued if medical documents are not available at the time of application. Online student customers can also receive endorsements on their visas covering the increased work hours effective from 4 July through this service. Students on LPVs or with expired permits, or with passports expiring within 3 months of the new visa, end date cannot use the service.

This is one of the first online services offered to students and institutions. We can be sure that NZIS eBranch will be processing alot more students and offering wider services through Students Online partners in the future.

NZ EDUCATION UPDATE
Budget 2005 changes for students
The Budget 2005 changes for students are particular relevant to domestic students. These changes come into effect from 1 January 2006.

Some of the changes will mean students can earn more money before their allowance is affected. There will also be more support to students from families with more than one child in tertiary education and more support to students with separated parents. Furthermore, StudyLink’s financial information service will be improved and there will be new scholarships and study awards available to students. To find out more about these Budget changes call StudyLink on 0800 88 99 00 or visit www.studylink.govt.nz.

May

NEWS OF THE MONTH

Marketing trips
Promoting AIS St Helens internationally is an important part of our recruitment strategy. In May, Dr Anatole Bogatski visited eight cities in Eastern Europe and Russia - Prague, Kiev, Moscow, St Petersburg, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy and Vladivostok - to interview students and establish a representative office for AIS St Helens in Moscow.

The representative is Students International (SI), voted the best education agency in Russia for New Zealand and Australia in 2004. The SI managers and staff in Russia were highly professional and wonderfully hospitable, said Dr Bogatski.
"We expect to enrol a significant number of Russian, Ukrainian and Czech students in 2006 as a result of our greater focus on this region."

Bachelor of Language and Culture student Wakana Ikei from Japan says Mandarin is her second language, yet that did not stop her entering a Mandarin speech competition recently. The speech competition held at a local university was open to all students from all Auckland secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Approximately 100 students entered the entire competition. There were nine other contestants in Wakana’s category. “I wasn’t too nervous. What helped was that we learn a lot about presenting ourselves on my course,” says Wakana. Wakana came third in her category. She spoke about the inspiration her father has had on her life. She says the speech competition was an excellent opportunity for her to practice her Mandarin and gain confidence speaking in front of a large group. Wakana says that she had not realised how many people were learning Mandarin and how it is such an important language to know. In the future, she would like to be a teacher and considers her recent experience good preparation. Since the end of July the Chinese Student Association has been running a successful student learning centre. The majority of the 18 students who attended took the Organisational Behaviour course. The meetings enable students to share their study experiences, discuss important and difficult chapters and question each other. Graduates of the paper also share their experiences and provide advice. For more information about this group, contact Student Services Officer Renee Xu email: On 17 August four Taiwanese agents visited AIS St Helens. Education New Zealand hosted this inbound visit. The agents came from four different Taiwanese cities and most of them were new to the New Zealand market. They visited 22 institutions including secondary and high schools. AIS St Helens was once again at the annual Auckland Careers Expo from 9-12 August. This was a good opportunity to promote our school and meet prospective students. A documentary profiling international education in New Zealand will feature AIS St Helens. On 5 August the Shanghai film crew spent the day at AIS St Helens talking to our Chairman, directors, staff and students. The documentary about international education in New Zealand investigated the independence skills international students gain while overseas and looked at how the students dealt with culture shock and living in New Zealand. Five students from different cultures were interviewed. The documentary will go to air on Shanghai television in September in front of a potential audience of 30 million people. Glenys Elwood is our student of the month. The bubbly 23-year-old who is studying towards a Bachelor of International Business is Kiwi born and bred, but enjoys the multicultural mix at AIS St Helens. “AIS St Helens is a place where East meets West and you learn many new things, but it is how you apply them that will show if you really learned anything.” Glenys’ diligent attitude towards her studies is evident in her high results. She is also an AIS St Helens scholarship recipient this year. Glenys says many companies have catch phrases or tag lines that sound great, but do not mean anything. “When AIS St Helens says individual focus international vision it is not just a catchy phrase. I have found it is actually true and that is what makes it a great place to study.” In the long-term future, Glenys would love to travel overseas and work for the United Nations. Her short-term goal is to complete a post-graduate Diploma in Communications and then a Masters in International Relations. Making decisions, problem solving and thinking critically are important qualities in the business world. Such abilities are life-long and an important component of the AIS St Helens Bachelor of International Business (BIB) programme. The Dean of the School of International Studies, Dr Malcolm Abbott, says the BIB programme helps students gain an understanding of the place of business. “One of the key skills BIB graduates gain is an understanding of the relationships between business practice in New Zealand and overseas. They also develop an understanding of how international companies in New Zealand function.” Dr Abbott says international students who have studied at AIS St Helens have enjoyed the experience. They have settled well into New Zealand life and found employment. “The BIB programme prepares students for an active working life in New Zealand and overseas.” Dr Abbott says AIS St Helens BIB graduates are now working in a variety of jobs such as banks, manufacturing companies, international trading companies and public service. Other BIB graduates are completing post-graduate studies in New Zealand or overseas. As part of their studies, BIB students can specialise in areas such as Accounting, International Marketing, E-Business, Management and International Trade. The AIS St Helens Bachelor of International Business is a highly regarded qualification and is recognised by governments and professional bodies in New Zealand and overseas. Staff from the Information Technology (IT) foundation programme have had a very busy schedule recently and the hard work has paid off says Programme Coordinator Naweed Qadir. ” We have industry leaders like Microsoft, Hartford Consulting, ACP Media and Federation Media as our industry advisors. We have also strengthened our relations with Microsoft as Academic Alliance partner, which gives us the latest software and valuable advice from Microsoft.” Naweed says next semester the department will choose an IT student to act as a Microsoft ambassador. Staff will select the student based on their academic record and extra curricular involvement. This student will undertake training from AIS St Helens IT staff and then by Microsoft to promote the Microsoft platform. Other news from the IT department is that next semester staff will organise a programming project contest with three different categories. Announcement of the contest date and category details will be soon. Microsoft New Zealand Limited will sponsor the entire event. Another exciting opportunity is that AIS St Helens students will be able to meet experts from Microsoft New Zealand Limited. Microsoft is holding a product knowledge session and will talk about career development in the IT field. The date of this visit will be announced before September 9. The software available to students in each IT programme is listed below: Certificate in Computing and Information Technology (Level 3) students receive software programs worth a total value of $5850. This software is distributed to students under the MSDNAA License Agreement: - Microsoft Windows XP Professional - Microsoft Visual Studio 6 with MSDN - Microsoft Windows 2000 Server - Microsoft Windows ME - Microsoft OneNote 2003 - Microsoft eLearning Library 2.0 (MELL). Certificate in Computing and IT (Level 4) students receive $12520 worth of software programs: - Microsoft Windows XP Professional - Microsoft Visual Studio 6 with MSDN - Microsoft Access 2003 - Microsoft Project Professional 2003 - Microsoft Visio Professional 2003 - Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional - Microsoft Windows 2003 Server - Microsoft eLearning Library 2.0 (MELL) In addition to the above programs offered to students of the Certificate Level 4, the Diploma in Computing and Information Technology (Level 5) students also receive: - Microsoft Visual Studio .Net with MSDN - Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (Dev + Enterprise) - Microsoft OneNote 2003 - Microsoft InfoPath 2003 - Microsoft Virtual PC and Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003. (Total worth of software programs $36894). Do you want to learn Korean, Chinese, Spanish or Japanese? If so, then come along to AIS St Helens language classes. Diploma students also benefit from doing these classes as they can count credits towards a bachelor programme. For more information contact There was plenty of laughter and smiles at a recent student party. The aptly titled ‘Happy Party’ celebrated the end of exams and was organised by the Student Services China team. Student Services Officer Renee Xu said the party helped students socialise and unwind after a busy semester. Approximately 200 students attended the event, which included speeches from Deputy Chairman John Wood and Academic Director Mike Roberts. There were also lottery draws, games, refreshments and a Chinese song. Renee says the Happy Party allowed students and directors to mingle and discuss positive reasons for continuing one’s education at AIS St Helens. “The feedback from this party was positive and the students hoped AIS St Helens could organise this kind of party regularly.” On 19 August AIS St Helens Indonesian and South-East Asian students had a celebration. Student Services Officer Djaja Kurniawan organised a party to celebrate Indonesia Independence Day. Djaja says around 20 students attended the event. “We had a good time at the park. We then went to the food court for a meal and drink.” The Foundation School held an Open Day recently at the Asquith campus. The event was organised to inform prospective students about the courses available at AIS St Helens. Student Services Officer Marielle Likos says the atmosphere was friendly and that it was a good opportunity for staff from the school and the other departments to work together. Several Japanese students attended as well as staff from Careers Services. Kicking a ball around on a field keeps you fit and is fun, as AIS St Helens students discovered recently. The new soccer team of 12 members have played three games with one win, one loss and one draw. Unfortunately, they were eliminated from the New Zealand Chinese Student Association soccer competition, however, this has not dampened their spirit and they still plan to meet for social games and practices. 9 September is the date of the AIS St Helens formal graduation ceremony. Congratulations to all our students graduating this year. Since the numbers attending are so great this year, the venue for graduation will be the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna on Auckland’s North Shore. Students should arrive before 3pm and visitors at 4pm. After last year’s successful Chinese movie week, the Student Services China team are repeating the free movie week again this year. The movies will start at 6:30pm every night throughout the week of Monday September 12 to Saturday September 17 at AIS St Helens Asquith Campus (Room AG8). The highly acclaimed Chinese movies include films such as “A World Without Thieves”, “My Father and I” and “Peacock”. The movies are being shown as part of the Moon Festival celebrations and viewing for all is free. The Chinese Consulate is providing the films. For more information contact AIS St Helens Student Services. If you have been indulging yourself over winter, there is no better cure than getting involved in a sport. At AIS St Helens we have a variety of sports on offer. We also have a massage therapist who takes bookings (see the Sports and Recreation staff at Asquith). · Indoor soccer Mondays 4:30-6:30pm for more information see: Shaun Kelly at the City Campus. · Table tennis Mondays 6:30-8:30pm contact: Bill Porter (security) at the Main Campus · Aerobics Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7pm and Saturdays from 9-10am. · At Asquith students and staff can also try boxing or play badminton.

Student Services Officer Mutsuko Fukushima recently returned from Japan. Manager of International Relations, James Ward was recently in India and Bangladesh. Dr Bogatski is planning his next marketing trip to Thailand and Vietnam.

Staff farewells
Farewell and all the best to Student Services Officers Pearl Yu (China) and Hiroko Hamada (City Campus), and our Human Resources Manager Judy Gentle. Pearl is going to be studying towards a Graduate Diploma in Marketing and Advertising and Judy has a HR job on the North Shore closer to home. These three will be sadly missed.

Tongan beauty queen
Congratulations to Steve Hettig’s daughter Helena Hettig whom AIS St Helens sponsored to compete in the Miss Aparax Tongan Beauty Pagent. She was the second runner up.

Seven contestants competed over three consecutive weekends. On May 6 was swimwear and talent night; May 14th was the traditional Tongan dance; and, the final night, May 21st, was the evening gown and question/answer section. The winner will compete in Tonga at the Miss Hailala contest from July 1-8.

Helena, 18, is a recent high school graduate. She hopes to attend BYU-Hawaii next year. Steve is the Head of Sports and Recreation at AIS St Helens.

PROGRAMME UPDATE

Bachelor of Tourism Management (BTM)
Tourism is the largest single export sector in New Zealand contributing $7.4 billion to the overall tourism expenditure of $16.5 billion per annum in NZ’s GDP (Statistics NZ 2004). Furthermore, a TIANZ/ATTTO 2004 report estimated at least 17,000 new jobs will be created in the industry every year for the next few years.

Considering this news, the new Bachelor of Tourism Management (BTM) offered at AIS St Helens is an exciting and welcome development. The Dean of the School of Foundation Studies and Coordinator of the BTM programme, Semisi Taumoepeau says the BTM is unique to Auckland. It is Industry based and covers a good cross-section of the industry sectors with an international focus on Asia-Pacific development.

BTM courses include Financial Management, Research Methods, Tourism Marketing, Events Management and sustainable tourism studies. New to the BTM programme is Heritage Tourism Studies. This course explores tourism’s environmental impact and sustainable tourism development within New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.

As well as undertaking case studies, BTM students must also support their theoretical learning with practical experience. In their final semester, students work in an industry of their choice and present a report.

Currently there are 65 students enrolled in the BTM programme, Semisi says they are expecting numbers to increase.
”AIS St Helens has agreed to offer a 15 percent discount off tuition fees to industry members belonging to TIANZ, TAANZ, PATA and SPTO*. This discount will be available for the Semester 3 intake (September 5, 2005).”

Semisi says AIS St Helens is the only private training establishment in New Zealand which is a member of both Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO).
”These organisations have great networks. We have access to all their data banks, issues and trends, intelligence information and what their members and the Asia-Pacific industry want.”

BTM students are also fortunate to have experienced lecturers. Semisi has 25 years of industry experience in tourism and airlines management, and other lecturers have, on average, 10 years of industry experience.

To find out more about the BTM programme and the entry requirements contact enquiry@ais.ac.nz or Semisi Taumoepeau (semisit@ais.ac.nz).

*TIANZ - Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand www.tianz.org.nz
TAANZ – Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand www.taanz.org.nz
PATA – Pacific Asia Travel Association http://www.pata.org
SPTO – South Pacific Tourism Organisation http://www.spto.org
ATTTO – Aviation, Tourism and Travel Training Organisation www.attto.org.nz
.
Korean classes now offered
Korean classes (stage one) are now running as part of the Bachelor of Language and Culture programme. Classes are on a Friday evening from 4pm to 7pm and Saturday afternoon from 1pm to 5pm. These classes are a great opportunity for students to learn Korean. Anyone who wishes to learn Korean can still join the class as a personal interest paper, without needing to enrol in the full BLC degree.

AIS ST HELENS’ EVENTS

Indian Sub-Continent alumni evening
Graduates gathered on May 13th to share their experiences of life and work after leaving AIS St Helens. The Indian Sub-Continent Club organised the alumni event and Student Services coordinated it. The event attracted approximately 70 people, which included alumni, guests and current students.

Student Services Officer Sue Samarasena says the event was an excellent opportunity for all who attended to meet each other.
“The objective of this event was to facilitate a networking opportunity amongst Alumni and give current students an opportunity to see what to expect when they graduate.”

Speakers of the evening included Chairman and CEO YS Hsieh, Director of Corporate Services Richard Smith, Academic Director Mike Roberts and two graduates. Sue says the graduates encouraged the current students to persevere because the end result is well worth it.

At the evening, there was also a discussion on how to create an alumni directory of Indian Sub-Continent students. The event, which lasted about three hours, concluded with a dinner and Ghazals, which is musical Indian poetry. This is the first alumni event for the Indian Sub-Continent Club and there are plans for more.

Student basketball competition begins
The Youthtown basketball competition has started and AIS St Helens has made sure they are part of the action by entering a team.
The purpose of this basketball league is to unite students, particular those of Asian descent living in the inner city. It is a combined effort between Youthtown and the New Zealand Police. The AIS St Helens team will compete against 11 other teams in the eight-week competition.

On opening night May 9, there were approximately 200 Auckland city students, plus special guests Auckland Mayor – Dick Hubbard, Consul General of Peoples Republic of China – Ma Chong Ren, and Acting District Commander of City District Police – Gavin Jones.

Games are held every Monday afternoon at Youthtown, Nelson St, Auckland. Youthtown is an inner city recreation centre offering activities catering for youth. For further information contact: Youthtown Basketball coordinator Tui Tait (Ph (09) 379 5430 ext 817)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Cultural Arts Show
Keep Friday June 3 free, as it is the AIS St Helens Cultural Arts Show. This fun event will involve different nationalities modelling their traditional costumes. Traditional background music along with a commentary will accompany each catwalk model. In between each display, there will be a cultural performance such as a song, dance or exhibition.

The Cultural Arts Show will be at the AIS St Helens Main Campus cafeteria from 11am until approximately 2pm. The cafeteria will be set out with stages to resemble a catwalk. Each culture will also have small traditional food sample stalls, which will be located around the perimeter of the cafeteria.

Chairman and CEO YS Hsieh and President and Deputy CEO Richard Goodall will be addressing and welcoming new and returning students for the start of semester two. For further information about this event or to help, contact Stephen Hettig, Head of Sports and Recreation (stephenh@ais.ac.nz).

Finals of basketball competition
The finals of the season-one basketball competition are on June 3, 2005. Start time is at 6pm. The finalists are still to be established.

Seeking student leader
The Indonesian student club is looking for a new leader. Former leader and MBA student Mr. Imam Prawoto now has other commitments. Many thanks for all his efforts and the efforts of his wife Mrs Fitri Rachmiati Sunarya. For further information on participating in this group, contact Djaja at Student Services (djajak@ais.ac.nz).

CRIE conference
Planning is going well for the next CRIE conference (23-26 June). We have a full programme of excellent keynote speakers and interesting papers from New Zealand and international academics - including a number of our own staff. Check out the draft programme which is available on www.crie.org.nz and note the dates in your diary.

IMMIGRATION NEWS

Visa processing
Why wait three weeks to get your visa processed when at AIS St Helens it can take three days. This efficient visa processing service is offered at AIS St Helens onsite. Students who wish to extend their student permits need to approach Christine Graham on reception at the main reception desk at the Main Campus.

Expressions of Interest
A selection of Expressions of Interest under the Skilled Migrant Category took place on 25 May 2005.

The selection point was 100 meaning Expressions of Interest with 100 points or more will now undergo preliminary verification to determine whether an Invitation to Apply for residence can be issued. The next selection will take place in a fortnight. For further information visit: www.immigration.govt.nz

NZ EDUCATION UPDATE

Education Minister Trevor Mallard has announced new policies towards post-graduate courses. Offshore responses so far are positive. Read more at: www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=22760 or http://www.educationnz.org.nz/comm_media/index.html

April

NEWS OF THE MONTH

Travel and Tourism Conference
AIS St Helens hosted influential leaders in the tourism industry last month.

The annual meeting of the South Pacific Tourism Organisation was an all day event at the Asquith campus. The event attracted CEOs from Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, Papa New Guinea and Fiji.

Head of Tourism and Travel Semisi Taumoepeau says the event provided an ideal opportunity to promote AIS St Helens travel and tourism programmes.
”This was an excellent networking opportunity. We talked about the AIS programmes in particular the new Bachelor of Tourism Management programme and the proposed inaugural programme - Asia Pacific Tourism Executive Management (APTEM) for executives to be launched in May 2006.”

Semisi says there were discussions about several future initiatives as well. One was the possibility of how to bring students from the South Pacific to AIS St Helens through scholarships and possible role in introducing tourism curriculum to Form 6 and 7 classes in secondary schools in the South Pacific. The group also discussed how to develop a tourism research center in the South Pacific with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and AIS St Helens jointly offering ongoing tourism research assistance.

”AIS St Helens is a familiar name in the South Pacific. These meetings are a good way to promote our travel and tourism programme throughout the South Pacific,” says Semisi.

The South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) assists organisations involved in South Pacific travel and tourism. This includes airlines, travel agents and many other businesses associated with travel and tourism in the South Pacific. (www.spto.org)

Student success
AIS St Helens MBA student Oh Sang Jin has gained a prestigious position as an international business specialist for the China market in Korea.

Mr Oh Sang, who is from Korea, competed against 100 other applicants for the job. He will be working for the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment. This is a government agency in Korea. Currently Oh Sang is undergoing training in China and completing his MBA programme.

A second MBA student, Kim Myoung Man, also from Korea has found a job for a large international company in Korea.

Increasing the communication links:

Niu FM agreement
Local radio station Niu FM (103.8 FM) and AIS St Helens have signed a two-month contract. The agreement involves advertising and promotional support. The Niu FM promotional team will attend enrolment and orientation events and provide gifts.

This relationship will also provide AIS St Helens with an opportunity to network with the organisation ”Turn Your Life Around” (TYLA). TYLA currently helps at-risk students in the Auckland area. AIS St Helens hopes to assist TYLA students into the AIS St Helens foundation studies programmes.

Student Services Officer Lavinia Taukafa says the Niu FM relationship will add value to AIS St Helens.
“This is the start of a great networking relationship that will bring a lot of interest and numbers for AIS St Helens.”

Online Chinese radio station
To hear a new AIS St Helens advert tune into the online radio station www.feifaradio.com. This Chinese online radio station although based in Shanghai has a New Zealand office. The station broadcasts eight hours of live programming every day. Pop-songs, drama, online games and novel recitals are all part of the programme. The station reaches audiences in New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, the United States of America and Canada

New Tongan/Samoan telephone directory
The AIS St Helens name will feature in a new Auckland telephone directory. Tusi Telefoni 2005, the Samoan version and Tohi Telefoni 2005, the Tongan copy will be distributed in June. The telephone directories feature Tongan and Samoan contact details in the Auckland district. The publisher is Ethnic Communications Limited.

Building relationships

A four-day visit to Christchurch was a success for Student Services Officer Lavinia Taukafa. Lavinia met the University of Canterbury’s Pacific Liaison Officer Maria Lemalie and the Maori Liaison Officer Hemi Inia.
“Building relationships with other institutions is advantageous to AIS St Helens. It opens up doors to students who might be interested in other areas of opportunity,” says Lavinia.

Lavinia also talked with Brother David Bell from Christchurch’s Church of the Latter Day Saints. Brother Bell plans to organise a fireside (conference) in July for young single Pacific Island adults.

To gain insight in regards to travel and tourism programme content Lavinia met with Colin Fussell from New Zealand Tourism Online. He agreed to offer his support and advice to AIS St Helens.

Going Places Education director Ian Douthwaite was another useful Christchurch contact. Going Places Education teaches level 4 travel and tourism papers. Discussions between Lavinia and Ian focused on whether Level 4 graduates from Going Places Education could undertake the Bachelor of Tourism Management programme at AIS St Helens.

Korean education visit
Student Services Officer Michelle Chung was in Korea from March 21 to April 7th. She visited Seoul, Daigu, Ulsan and other Korean cities.

Michelle attended one of Korea’s largest education fairs.
“We participated alongside IAE Education Net, a key Korean agent. The fair was quite successful. We were continually busy and we attracted a lot of interest,” says Michelle.

At Keimyung University, approximately 50 students attended Michelle’s one-day seminar. Helping Michelle with this seminar were AIS St Helens graduates, who provided students with a unique and practical perspective.

Michelle also visited Keimyung Munhwa College (AIS St Helens’ sister college) and Kongju University.
“As well as talking with students I met the parents of AIS St Helens students. They had many questions and wanted to know how their children were doing,” says Michelle.

Memorandum of Intent
The following five institutions signed "Memorandum of Intent" with AIS on 4th April: Hong Kong Fly Dragon Educational Group, Education Group of Beiyuan in Zhanzhou Fujian, Zhangzhou Liren School, Sanming Huangchang Middle School and Xiamen Yingcai School.

AIS St Helens greets visitors
Back home, it was a busy month for AIS St Helens staff. Staff hosted several visitors, keen to see AIS St Helens’ Auckland campuses.

On April 4, 14 primary and secondary teachers and their agent visited. The teachers learned about the programmes that AIS St Helens offer, of particular relevance was the Teaching English as a Foreign Language programme.

As well as touring the three campuses, the teachers listened to three Thai AIS St Helens students. The students explained about the differences between the education systems in New Zealand and Thailand and described their life as an international student. One point that the teachers found particularly interesting was the importance of referencing when writing an essay in New Zealand.

Another group that also enjoyed their visit to AIS St Helens was a group of 78 Japanese high school students. The studied English for a week at AIS St Helens and spent an afternoon on a cultural exchange at a local New Zealand high school.

On April 6, Jugnu Roy from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in New Delhi visited AIS St Helens. She discussed various issues relating to Education in New Zealand and the impact on the Indian market. She was also involved in coordinating details relating to New Zealand Education Minister Trevor Millard's upcoming visit to India. In addition, she discussed the role of the India Education Export Network (IEEN).

“It was good to be able to host Jugnu at AIS St Helens (as a member of the IEEN network) as she was able to visit all three of our campuses and managed to get an idea of our operations,” says Student Services Officer Sue Samarasena.

On April 14th education consultants from India, Nithya Sathwanarayanan and Neema Adhikari from Kangaroo Studies Private Ltd (representing their New Delhi and Chandigah offices) met AIS St Helens’ staff. During their short visit, they visited both the main campus and the Asquith Campus. Their visit was productive as they gained an insight into AIS St Helens programmes and the scale of the AIS St Helens operations.

PROGRAMME UPDATE

Master of Commerce- Deakin University
The MCom is a programme offered at the Main Campus of AIS St Helens in partnership with Deakin University Australia.

On successful completion of this qualification, graduates may apply for the award of Master of Commerce degree awarded by Deakin Univeristy. Deakin University provides the curriculum and course materials for this programme.

This professional business qualification takes 18 months of full-time study. The qualification consists of 12 units including three core units and nine other units that demonstrate specialist knowledge in at least one business discipline.

The entry requirement for the MCom is a recognised bachelor degree, or equivalent, in any discipline. Proof of English proficiency is also necessary. For further information on this refer to the AIS St Helens prospectus or website.

The starting date of the next MCom intake is July 18. For further information please contact AIS St Helens.

AIS ST HELENS’ EVENTS

Whanau evening
A whanau evening at the Asquith Atrium attracted several students and parents.

After the powhiri (welcome), kaumatua Jack Delich provided the opening remarks. Bachelor of Tourism Management lecturer Viane Ali also spoke to the audience and explained about his own educational journey. Student Service Officers Lavinia Taukafa was the host of the night and Junior Samuela provided the closing remarks.

After a delicious supper, guest speakers Jono Mariner and Henry Tuipea from Niu Fm provided enlightening, humorous and inspirational speeches. They encouraged the students in the audience to pursue their studies and reach for their goals.

Fono night
The domestic marketing team at AIS St Helens attended a Fono for five South Auckland High Schools recently.

The purpose of the April 8 event at the Otahuhu Town Hall was to raise career awareness and provide options for tertiary studies. Present at the event were students, careers advisors and tertiary providers. The guest speaker was Selu Ahoni, who runs Ulu Ka’e Productions, his own DJ and screen-printing company. He is considering enrolling in the AIS St Helens BIB programme.

Student Services Officer Lavinia Taukafa says students from De La Salle High and Onehunga High enjoyed the AIS St Helens stall so much that they took it upon themselves to promote AIS St Helens.

Thai celebrations
To celebrate the Thai New Year Student Services Officer Djaja Kurniawan Kusno planned a night out on April 22 for all Thai and Cambodian students. The students went to a Thai restaurant.
“The aim of the night was to have fun. The students were also allowed to bring along their friends.”

Get active
Basketball, table tennis, aerobics and boxing- the choice of sports at AIS St Helens is many. Students are encouraged to take part in a sport. It is a good way to meet others, make new friends and relax if stressed from studying.

Aerobics classes at AIS St Helens are proving to be very popular with both students and staff. Aerobics classes start from 6:00pm every Tuesday and Thursday. Due to the popularity of our weekday classes, Saturday morning Aerobics are being trialled commencing the week of 16 April. Classes start at 9am and go for approximately an hour.

In other sports news, the Chinese United soccer team did well in a recent league.

Chinese United was the 2004 champion. Most players are from China and includes some AIS St Helens students and staff (William Liu-MBA, Tom Wei- MBA, Bo Sun -ex-staff member, Max Li -MBA office and Charles Gong Shen studying for a BIB.)

The team played for the 11th NZ-Chinese Soccer-Cup at Margaret Griffen Park, Lynfield. The league ran from Sunday, 6 March to Sunday 3 April. There were nine teams in three pools. Chinese United team played in the final.

February

NEWS OF THE MONTH

International education conference attracts leading educationalists
World-renowned educationalists will converge at AIS St Helens from 23-26 June 2005 to be part of an international education conference.

The Centre for Research in International Education at AIS St Helens will host the conference titled: “Reflective Practice - the key to innovation in international education.”

There have been many seminars and workshops on marketing New Zealand as an international education destination, and on the code of practice for the pastoral care of international students. However, there are vital areas that have largely been neglected, associated with ensuring that international education achieves successful academic outcomes for students. It is on these areas that this conference seeks to place its main emphasis.

Confirmed keynote speakers include: Dr Neil Anderson, (Brigham Young University), Dr Cynthia White, (Massey University), Dr Andrew Cohen, (University of Minnesota), Dr Rod Ellis, (The University of Auckland) and Dr Rebecca Oxford, (University of Maryland).

For further information please check website www.crie.org.nz

AIS St Helens’ global reputation
The reputation of AIS St Helens is global. Although there are many educational institutes in New Zealand, the AIS St Helens name is particularly recognisable in India. One reason could be that the AIS St Helens agent newsletter is the only one our Indian agents get from any tertiary institute in New Zealand.

New appointments
We would like to congratulate Allan Rodrigues on his appointment as Associate Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. Allan has been a lecturer on the MBA programme for some time. He will now be taking on responsibility for managing the School of Graduate Studies with the support of the rest of the team.

New articulation agreements
Last year AIS St Helens signed articulation agreements with several institutions. Articulation agreements benefit students by allowing them to cross-credit papers completed at other institutions.

In 2004, AIS St Helens signed articulation agreements with 11 different New Zealand institutes. Talks are also well underway with three other institutions.

The newest articulation agreement signed in December 2004 is with the New Zealand School of Business and Technology. Such students are allowed to cross-credit seven Diploma in Business papers to an AIS St Helens bachelor’s programme. A similar agreement was signed in October 2004 with the New Zealand Management Academies.

The Institute of Applied Learning (IAL) and AIS St Helens also have four new articulation agreements. These allow business, computing, hospitality and management diploma students from IAL to cross credit papers to enter AIS St Helens bachelor’s programmes.

PROGRAMME UPDATE

TOEIC course
The AIS St Helens City Campus is now offering the internationally recognised TOEIC qualification.

“TOEIC” stands for the Test of English for International Communication and is an English language proficiency test for speakers of English as a foreign language. TOEIC test scores indicate how well people communicate in English with others in the global workplace. The test does not require specialised knowledge or vocabulary; it measures the kind of English used in everyday activities.

The first 12 students began this two-week intensive English course in February. Shaun Kelly, Assistant Head, City Campus, says there are a mix of students from Saudi Arabia, Asia and France. “TOEIC is a good course for people who want to improve their English listening and grammar skills in a short time. For students it is worth taking two weeks out of their general English course and doing it because a good TOEIC score can help with their future.”

The course teaches English listening, reading and writing skills. The vocabulary taught covers subjects such as business, office issues, personnel, purchasing, financing and budgeting, management, restaurants and events, travel, entertainment and health.

At the completion of the course students take a two-hour paper and pencil, multiple-choice test consisting of 200 questions divided into two separately timed sections: a) Listening Comprehension and b) Reading.

TOEIC is a qualification recognised by employers and is the world’s leading test of English language proficiency in a workplace context. More than 4,000 corporations use the TOEIC test and more than 1.6 million people take the test every year.

TOEIC representatives are based in; Argentina, Canada, Colombia, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East, Philippines,
Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, Venezuela and Vietnam.

For further information visit the website: www.TOEIC.com

Distinguishing between EAP ll and CETS
EAP II has not changed over to CETS. The Certificate in English for Tertiary Study (CETS) has much the same material as EAP II. The difference is CETS is based on unit standards so domestic students can receive an NZQA certificate at the end of the course.

ELC has kept EAP II (not on unit standards), as it has been successful to date in bridging international students into degree level studies. The CETS can be marketed to PR and international students who are interested in receiving an NZQA certificate. If certificates are important in your market, CETS could be promoted as a programme similar to EAP II but with NZQA accreditation. It has the same entry criteria and the same exit opportunities.

AIS ST HELENS’ CULTURE

Creating a career-quilt “Second chance to life is through Christ and second chance to a future is through AIS St Helens” was the theme of a church-based fun day recently.

The January 31 event held on Auckland Anniversary Day at the Church of Tonga in Mangere attracted approximately 80 people.

Head of Sports and Recreation, Steve Hettig says the purpose of the AIS St Helens promotional day was to encourage youth to pursue tertiary studies. Ages ranged from 8-15.

Student ambassadors Emeline Latu, Vahoi Mo’unga and Student Services Officers Junior Samuela and Lavinia Taukafa ran the fun interactive games, which were career focused. One of the games involved the youth drawing a picture of what they wanted to be in the future. The pictures were then pasted together to form a quilt. Steve says everyone enjoyed these games even the adults.

After the activities, teams were established and the youth played volleyball against each other. However, first Junior made them choreograph a cheer routine, which they performed in front of everyone. As a result, there was a lot of laughter and cheering.

With perfect weather overhead, the day concluded with a barbeque that AIS St Helens provided and some of the parents cooked.

Student services officer Lavinia Taukafa says the event was successful. “Everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. I was very happy that there were students keen to further their tertiary education. The day was a good marketing tool for promoting AIS St Helens and I hope there are more activities like this in the future.”

Steve agreed that everyone was appreciative. “Positive comments were passed on by many people who attended. One comment from a graduate from another institution was that he was impressed by the personalised approach from us.”

Chinese New Year a success
The Chinese New Year in early February is a special event to many Chinese and AIS St Helens staff made sure they were part of the celebrations.

Entertainment, karaoke singing and delicious Chinese snacks were provided. Students were also encouraged to enter competitions with three categories; calligraphy, photography and essay writing. The winners won Westfield shopping vouchers and an award.

A crowd favourite was the winner of the essay competition- Dian Hua Xiao a 78-year-old studying Advanced English. The title of his essay was “My lovely AIS.” The calligraphy winner was MBA student Ying Liu who has been studying the art form since she was seven. The photography winner Bu Gu Jun, a BIB student, captured Piha gannets with his lens.

Student Services Officer Pearl Yu says the event was a good opportunity for all nationalities to come together and make the Chinese students feel like they were back home for the day.

Radio airtime for AIS St Helens staff
Tune in to the Korean show on Community Radio (RCS 1593am) on Mondays, twice a month at 4pm. You will hear our very own Michelle Chung from Student Services and Elles Hanepen, an AIS St Helens English tutor.

The AIS St Helens’ pair have been sharing their thoughts on radio since early November. Their aim is to provide the Korean community with a half hour of informative advice. Michelle says they talk about a variety of topics ranging from how to write a note to your child’s teacher to how to be sun-smart.

Mt Albert Fun Day
It is that time of year again when summer sun equates with summer fun. One annual event that AIS St Helens regularly attends is Auckland’s Mt Albert Fun Day in March.

Helping out the community has always been part of AIS St Helens philosophy. This year AIS St Helens will facilitate basketball games.

Food and craft stalls, cultural and community performances and competitions were the feature of last year’s event and similar activities are planned for this year.

The purpose of the Fun Day is to highlight local community and cultural groups by giving them a venue to display the activities they offer and the accomplishments of their members.
The date for this event is 13 March 2005 from 10am - 2pm at the Mt Albert War Memorial Park. All proceeds raised from the Fun Day will be going to the Westpac Trust Rescue Helicopter.

IMMIGRATION NEWS

Bank loan scheme for Chinese students
A new Student Bank Loan Scheme will make it easier to process student visa applications from Chinese people keen to study in New Zealand.

The scheme came into effect on 10 January 2005 and means students can take out a bank loan in China when they apply for a New Zealand student visa. Any applicant from Mainland China can apply for this loan.

Students who take out the loan will not need to provide any other bank documentation to show they can support themselves while in New Zealand when they apply for their visa. The scheme will make it easier for applicants to prove their financial ability and for NZIS to process applications.

The Student Bank Loan Scheme application forms will be available at NZIS branches in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, and CITIC Industrial Bank (CIB) branches in agreed cities. The scheme only applies to student visas applied for at NZIS branches in the locations listed above.

This service will be provided from the following main city banks of CIB only: Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Shenyang, Dalian, Qingdao, Jinan, Zhengzhou, Xi’an, Wuhan, Chengdu, Kunming, Chongqing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Changzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

For further information visit website: www.immigration.govt.nz

New Zealand Immigration Programme – Skilled Migrant Fortnightly Selection
A selection of Expressions of Interest under the Skilled Migrant Category took place on 16 February 2005.

The selection point was 100 meaning Expressions of Interest with 100 points or more will now undergo preliminary verification to determine whether an Invitation to Apply for residence can be issued. The next selection will take place in a fortnight.

NEW ZEALAND EDUCATION UPDATE

Code of Practice
We all seem to hear a lot about the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students. What many of us wonder is not only what the Code contains, though we have read it; we also wonder how we are evaluated on our application of the guidelines contained in the code. This section of our newsletter will deal with the Code of Practice and issues arising from it.

Contracted Agents
What do the Ministry of Education and our NZQA auditors look for in our relations with agents?

Firstly, the Ministry of Education and the NZQA auditors look at our consultancy contracts and see that we have advised our agents that they must comply with the Code, and that we have directed agents to a copy of the Code in their first language. The auditor also examines the contract to ensure that we have advised agents that the contractual relationship between AIS St Helens and the agent can be terminated if the agent breaches the Code of Practice.

If AIS St Helens becomes aware of any false, misleading or deceptive conduct on the part of one of its agents, AIS St Helens is obligated to send out a letter stating that the agent must cease the activity. If the activity does not cease, the agency must be withdrawn, the contract terminated and students from that agent must not be accepted. AIS St Helens is proud to say that there have not been many cases like this over its fifteen-year history.
AIS St Helens acknowledges that the ethical performance of its agents is of paramount importance to its operation. AIS St Helens endeavours to provide the necessary information and material support to create winning relationships with its agents.
The Code can be accessed electronically on www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/international

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January

The Maori greeting ‘kia ora’ translates as ‘to be well’, and after the tragic consequences of the recent tsunami plenty of good health is needed for those affected by this tragedy. At AIS St Helens, we have staff from India and Indonesia, and students from other affected areas. Fortunately their families were unharmed. For those who lost their homes and loved ones, our sympathies go out to you.

NEWS OF THE MONTH

With January now in full swing the calendar is already looking full. New programmes, sporting and cultural activities and of course a new intake of students are keeping our staff on their toes. It looks like 2005 is shaping up to be a busy and exciting year.

Education visit
Student Services Director Anatole Bogatski was in India from 9-25 January on an education marketing visit. He visited the five main metropolitan cities to maintain excellent relationships with our major agents.

Dr Bogatski says that the feedback received is that New Zealand needs to explain more positively its immigration policy and the ability of graduate students to find jobs in New Zealand. “The Permanent Residency requirements in New Zealand are now less of a barrier than those in Australia. Students with an MBA, MCom or undergraduate degree from AIS St Helens will qualify for residency points or a work permit.”

Dr Bogatski says unemployment in New Zealand at 3.8% is one of the lowest in the OECD and employers are seeking skilled and NZ educated graduates for management positions. Dr Bogatski further states that all agents and friends of AIS St Helens need to understand this message.

Research and international education
AIS St Helens' contribution to international education research was evident at a conference in Thailand recently.

The Bangkok conference on Applied Business Research provided academics with an opportunity to discuss and collaborate their research and listen to keynote speakers.

Dean School of International Studies, Dr Malcolm Abbott, attended the conference. He says there were approximately 200 attendees from reputable universities and tertiary providers in Austria, China, Japan, Australia, Finland and Thailand.

Dr Abbott says overseas academics and academics from AIS St Helens were able to share their research on international education.
“It is interesting that a group of well regarded overseas institutions regard AIS St Helens as an institution on a comparable level. They regard AIS St Helens' academics highly and from our point of view that is encouraging.”

Dr Abbott says AIS St Helens' priority in research is to become New Zealand’s leading researcher in issues regarding international education and attending such conferences help staff build up their knowledge base.

PROGRAMME UPDATE

The Certificate in English for Tertiary Studies (CETS)
This new 12-week course starts on February 14 and caters for domestic and international students.

The course will focus on research and presentation skills, academic reading and writing, critical thinking and lecture note taking. Excellent attendance and commitment is essential. There is no exam; instead assessment is internal and ongoing.

Teachers maintain a friendly and supportive atmosphere in the classrooms and students will be able to attend study groups during class time.

On completion of the course, CETS graduates may gain direct entry (depending on their English level at enrolment) into International Business, Language and Culture and Tourism Management diploma programmes based on the tutor’s recommendation.

ELC tutor, Anne Harpour, says the CETS course is open to anybody with reasonable English language proficiency.

“They may have no formal study experience or they may just want to improve their study skills. They may be a school leaver or an adult student.”

Anne says what makes the CETS course distinct from the EAP course is that domestic students can apply for funding and it is assessed against unit standards.

“We have taught academic study skills here for a long time, but because the CETS is NZQA approved we will attract New Zealand residents as well as international students.”

Students wanting to discuss the CETS programme can contact Anne Harpour at the main campus on ext. 851. For enrolment queries, contact the AIS St Helens' Student Services- Marketing office ext 630

Agreement with International Hotel Management Institute Switzerland
AIS St Helens has a new agreement with International Hotel Management Institute Switzerland (IMI) based in Luzern. Degrees at IMI are awarded through Manchester Metropolitan University, which has one of the top hotel management programmes in the UK. IMI is a world-class hotel management school with strong links in Asia and Europe. AIS St Helens is one of its first partners in New Zealand.

Graduates of AIS St Helens' Level 4 Certificate in Travel programme will gain credit for the first semester of the IMI BA (Hons) in Hotel Management. Furthermore, AIS St Helens BIB graduates will have direct entry into the IMI MBA in Hotel Management.

The AIS St Helens marketing department instigated this agreement as part of an on-going effort for international recognition and better services for graduates and students.

AIS St Helens' Dean of Foundation Studies, Semisi Taumoepeau, says the current agreement will have a positive impact on the Bachelor of Tourism Management and the travel and tourism certificate programmes.

“This will create credibility and add an international dimension to our programmes. This will ensure quality as we will be exercising external monitoring of quality with our overseas partners at all times. There will also be more awareness of our programmes globally.”

The benefits to students are also obvious says Semisi.
“There will be more choice. Tourism, travel and hospitality constitute a global industry and standards can be assured with exposure to so many schools and training institutes.”

With enrolment in the new BTM programme starting, Semisi agrees this Swiss agreement is timely. He says the BTM is an industry-based degree with emphasis in ensuring that students get good management jobs in this industry, not only in New Zealand, but worldwide.
“The trend is that everything in the industry, in order to grow and remain competitive, needs to be sustainable environmentally, culturally, financially and socially. This new BTM degree is doing just that.”

AIS ST HELENS’ CULTURE

Upcoming events
During the coming months there are several cultural and sporting events planned for AIS St Helens' students.

On February 9 is Orientation day. The event will celebrate Chinese New Year with food, karaoke and dancing.

Also in February is the basketball league. For this eight teams will play off to reach the semi-finals, which will be in May.

In March, there will be an all day tennis tournament and the Round the Bays fun run. March is also the month to celebrate International week with food, culture, fashion, dancing and singing.

These events will be listed on the AIS St Helens website shortly.

Students learn the Haka
Learning the Haka is not an easy task, as 18 ELC students discovered recently.

“Shout louder and hit your chest harder. Show that you are a warrior,” were the instructions from the Head of Sports and Recreation, Steve Hettig.

For the majority of the students it was the first time that they had experienced the Maori war dance. Students Ryu, Hiroki and Sam were the instigators.

“My homestay father is Maori and I thought it would be a good way to learn the culture,” says Ryu.

Hiroki agrees, “The Haka is very exciting. I like beating my chest.”

“I like the loud voice and being scary,” said Ryu.

There are plans to establish the Polynesian Cultural Club where students will be able to learn songs and dances from the Pacific.

IMMIGRATION NEWS

Selection 23 December 2004 - Skilled Migrant Category
The most recent selection of Expressions of Interest (EOI) under the Skilled Migrant Category took place on 23 December 2004. The selection point was 100.

As a result, 833 EOIs, representing 1,990 people, will now undergo preliminary verification to determine if an invitation to apply for residency will be issued.

For the 2004/05 financial year (July 1st 2004 to June 30th 2005) the Government has allocated 45,000 (up to 50,000) places for people to be granted New Zealand residence under the immigration programme. The categories under the programme consist of: Skilled/Business Stream (60 percent), Family Sponsored Stream (30 percent) and International Humanitarian Stream (10 percent).

In a NZIS report dated 20 December 2004, the following statistics may be of interest.
· In 2004 there were 108,052 students who had their visa or permit applications approved.
· In 2004 there were 74,974 full fee paying students who had their visa or permit applications approved.
· In 2004 there were 13,914 English language studies students who had their visa or permit applications approved.

For further information visit http://www.nzis.govt.nz

NEW ZEALAND EDUCATION UPDATE

A changed national brand that more accurately reflects the changing face of New Zealand education is good news for AIS St Helens.

‘Educated in New Zealand’, which appears on AIS St Helens marketing documentation and letterheads, will now become ‘New Zealand Educated.’

AIS St Helens President and Deputy CEO, Dr Richard Goodall, welcomes the change.
“This new name reflects the changing thrust of New Zealand education.”

Dr Goodall says in the future, distance and networked learning and the establishment of AIS St Helens campuses overseas may mean gaining a New Zealand qualification will be possible without physically coming to New Zealand.

Currently AIS St Helens has agreements with several overseas institutes, and these relationships are continually growing. Presently there are students in China studying courses that run parallel to AIS St Helens' programmes.

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2005 News