Report: 6 Degrees of Education

If higher education was an industry, it would be one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic. That was one of the messages Professor Jenny Dixon brought from Auckland to an invited audience, hosted by the NZBWN at the London School of Economics on Monday 21 October.

Professor Dixon’s role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Strategic Engagement, puts her at the cutting edge of a sector which is New Zealand’s fifth largest export – after dairy, meat, travel and wood.

Export education – mostly international students coming to New Zealand – contributed NZD2.6 billion and 28,000 jobs to the New Zealand economy last year.

The format of this event was a new one for the NZBWN, focusing on...

an issue rather than individual, inspirational stories. It led to lively debate afterwards with questions ranging from “what happened to a university’s role as the critic and conscience of society?” to “why doesn’t New Zealand just close a few universities?”.

Professor Dixon responded that the role of universities is a hot topic politically in New Zealand right now, and the period after the next election might be the time when a new government sees the potential for bold decisions.

She acknowledged that the question – ‘what is a Kiwi degree worth?’, and how portable it will be in the coming decades, is very pertinent, but added “So too is the question of why so many of our graduates feel compelled to leave and, unlike previous generations, too often find little reason to return? Can a positive be made from what many see as a negative?”

She pointed out “we don’t talk about a brain drain any more, we refer to a ‘brain exchange’ because the students who come to study and stay also bring a huge amount to our country”.

In terms of international rankings, all New Zealand universities face huge challenges, as other governments have prioritised spending to boost their own institutions: Australia invests twice as much per student compared to New Zealand, and Vladimir Putin made it a presidential priority to get Russian universities in the global top 100.

Professor Dixon mentioned the context of over 9000 universities in the world, but said “The harsh reality is that, at least as measured by international rankings, the New Zealand system is gradually falling behind – this year alone most of our universities fell by 10 to 30 places. No New Zealand university in any of the ranking systems is now in the top 50.”

She also highlighted areas of strength, with one ranking system, QS, finding that New Zealand’s universities are best represented in Education: “The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education is ranked 24th in the world.  QS also advises international students to consider New Zealand for the study of business, communications and media studies, computer science, law and sociology.”   

In parallel, the world is opening up for New Zealand secondary school students. Last month the first US universities expo was held in Auckland with 35 American universities including Stanford, Yale, Princeton and UCLA aiming to recruit young Kiwi students.

The overall picture is of a period of huge change which has already made universities almost unrecognizable from 20 years ago, and looks set to continue. In Professor Dixon’s words, the next era will be “unpredictable, rapid, game-changing. Universities have a special role in developing graduates who have the skills to prosper in such an environment: the capacity to think critically, communicate clearly and solve complex problems. Graduates who are global citizens with a global perspective, while not losing the qualities that have made New Zealand graduates highly valued by overseas employers. Graduates and researchers who continue to follow Sir Ernest Rutherford’s mantra – we haven’t got much money, so we have to think.”