Dunedin student welcome biggest yet as international numbers continue to rise

Mana whenua and city leadership are rolling out the red carpet to welcome international students at an event seeing year on year growth highlighting Dunedin’s growing international education industry.

Mana whenua and city leadership are rolling out the red carpet to welcome international students at an event seeing year on year growth highlighting Dunedin’s growing international education industry.

Enterprise Dunedin has worked with partners to pull together this unique and nationally renowned event that showcases the collaborative spirit of Dunedin’s education network as a proud Te Tiriti partner.

Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki Rūnaka are hosting the Pōwhiri for new and current international school students across the secondary schools in Dunedin. This joint mana whenua and civic welcome, facilitated by Enterprise Dunedin, is the third and largest of its kind following the success from previous years.

The manuhiri will include over 250 tauira who have travelled from 22 countries around the world to join the Ōtepoti community, and support from more than 50 stakeholders.

The event will be hosted at Puketeraki Marae on Monday, 30 March from 10am and will include a pōwhiri, a speech from Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker and morning tea.

Some students will also have the chance to participate in waka tours through Karitāne Māori Tours in the afternoon.

Alongside Dunedin City Council, the event will be supported by all local and national education partners including University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic, Otago International Students Association and Education New Zealand.

Mayor Sophie Barker says the event emphasises the importance of “ako” which is the learning relationship between teacher and student.

“The Dunedin community is a marvellous medley of different cultures informed by both Māori and Scottish traditions and enriched by all the other people and cultures who’ve arrived here since. Every international student brings a host of cultural perspectives to our city, from more than 20 different countries.”

Education New Zealand Manukura Chief Advisor Māori Ed Tuari says that manaakitanga is an important value which resonates with cultures around the globe and influences students’ choice of a study destination.

“It is great to see such a warm welcome and acknowledgement for the economic, social and cultural value that international students bring to the Ōtepoti Dunedin community. Education New Zealand is honoured to support this special event and looks forward to continued collaboration with Dunedin to raise its international education profile.”

The International education sector in Ōtepoti Dunedin has seen strong recovery since the Covid pandemic, with the University of Otago driving the highest growth for the city. The Government is targeting growth from 83,400 to 119,000 international students by 2034, nearly doubling sector value to $7.2b. Dunedin currently hosts around 4000 international students, contributing an estimated $268m to the local economy. With growth targets, this could reach 6500 students and close to $500m annually by 2030.

While China and Japan remain core priority markets for Dunedin, new focus markets for 2026 are Germany and India. Germany has seen a strong growth (25% increase in enrolments in 2024) and priority for the school sector. India has also seen a strong growth (58% increase in enrolments in 2024) and priority for both tertiary partners in the city.

All school and tertiary sector stakeholders jointly identify focus markets each year through Study Dunedin Advisory Group and collaborate to attract and retain talent for them. The identified countries reflect latest national enrolment trends, immigration data, Education New Zealand market insights and diversity of nationalities.

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