An Overview of China-New Zealand Joint Cooperative Higher Education Programs

As a rapidly expanding economy with a growing population, China has been looking to foreign countries and institutions to assist in developing capacity in its education system. New Zealand has been helping to develop the human resources of China for many years mainly through enrolling students in its higher educational institutions. Of late, New Zealand has also been supporting the development of China's education capacity by working with Chinese institutions in establishing and delivering formally approved Sino-Foreign joint educational programs in China. Based on our research and to the best of our knowledge, as of August 2021, there are 35 active China-New Zealand joint programs at the Bachelor's degree level and above (i.e. at New Zealand Qualification Framework Level 7 and above). It involves 14 New Zealand providers (i.e. 6 universities, 7 institutes of technology or polytechnics and 1 private institution) and 27 Chinese institutions across 14 provinces in China. These 35 joint programs have provided tertiary education opportunities for almost 13,300 Chinese students annually, based on their approved intake quotas.