AS the Philippines is considered among the countries most vulnerable to disaster and climate change, a course on disaster risk management might be useful to enhance the capabilities of Filipinos.
Ben Burrowes, Regional Communications and Strategic Communications Manager in Southeast Asia for Education New Zealand (ENZ), is encouraging Filipinos to study programs re relevant to events taking place in their home country.
“We want to train Filipinos in areas we know will benefit your country,” Burrowes said in an interview with BusinessMirror citing renewable energy, agricutlure development and disaster risk management.
ENZ, he said, pushes for courses that Filipino students may take so they can contribute to the Philippine community: Renewable energy including solar, geothermal, hydro-electric and wind energy; energy engineering; renewable energy distribution systems; energy sector management and reform, including energy economics and financials; agriculture development; agribusiness including agriculture economics, agri-business management, agricultural systems and management, rural development, logistics, supply chain and distribution management, value-chain development, agriculture marketing, international agribusiness; agriculture production such as animal science, veterinary nursing, plant science, horticultural science, soil science;
Agriculture trade and technology such as phytosanitary, biosecurity, biotechnology, agricultural trade; Post-harvest such as food production, food sciences and technology, post-harvest processing, food storage and packaging, food safety;
Disaster and risk management including disaster preparedness and response, emergency managemento Disaster risk reduction: hazard and vulnerability assessment, risk management, natural resource management, environmental management, geology, geotechnical engineering, water resource management; climate-change adaptation, land-use planning and development.
ENZ also offers public-sector management such as economic policy, public financial management, government budgeting, tax reform, public sector auditing, statistics, demography; and education policy, sector management and reform; public-sector leadership including public administration, public policy and management, public sector leadership and governance, human resource capacity development, information managemento International trade and business, trade facilitation, trade policy; private-sector development inclufing business/private sector management and leadership, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) development, entrepreneurship, marketing, accountancy; business finance, commerce.
New Zealand also has courses and programs that can address the gaps of the current K-12 program in the Philippines.
Students may also continue the track they choose during senior high school through the various programs and course offerings of different academic institutions in New Zealand. On March 11, over 1,000 attendees went to PushForward: Study in Australia and New Zealand 2017 Fair at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Quezon City as more Filipinos explore opportunities abroad for personal and professional growth. The event was launched by IDP Education Ltd., a world leader in international student placement services.
PushForward provides prospective Filipino students and their families the opportunity to receive insightful information about studying in the two countries. Representatives of top-notch academic institutions inAustralia and New Zealand were present during the event to engage the students directly about their concerns on eligibility,application processes, courses and programmes offered, scholarships offered, visa processing and requirements, accommodation, and employment opportunities for them after graduating. Across the globe, the population of mobile students reached almost 15 million in 2014, and was projected to rise 10 percent annually.
New Zealand closed 2015 with 3,643 Filipino students pursuing studies in their institutions, an 83- percent increase in Filipino students from the past year, making the Philippines NewZealand’s fifth largest source market for international students in 2015.
Burrowes has cited the Philippines’ rising middle-class as a main factor in the increase of Filipino international students in New Zealand. He noted the benefits of studying in New Zealand, such as the high-quality education, the breathtaking environment, plus the safe and welcoming communities, which all greatly appeal to international students.
“New Zealand’s education system is internationally recognized, with all eight of our universities in the top 3 percent in the world,” Burrowes said. “In addition, because of New Zealand’s innovative teaching approach that encourages students to strike a balance between theory and practice while developing their ability to think critically and creatively, New Zealand graduates are ‘work-ready,’ an asset attractive to future employers in the international labour market.”
Burrowes said New Zealand has also maintained its ranking as the most peaceful English-speaking country in the world for the past eight years. “What Filipino parents might especially find reassuring is the fact New Zealand has a multi-cultural community that welcomes and celebrates diversity,” Burrowes said. “There are over 50,000 Filipinos currently living in New Zealand so Filipino students can have an international experience while feeling that they are still close to home.”
Three New Zealand universities, the University of Auckland, Massey University, and Auckland University of Technology (AUT), join other academic institutions from New Zealand participated during tne education fair.