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1. Benefits of community engagement
Intercultural competency
The focus of international education is typically the formal learning that occurs in the classroom, but informal activities outside of the classroom can be invaluable ways for students to learn more about the local culture. Community engagement gives students insights into the host culture and society, as well as access to a variety of different perspectives and lifestyles.
Community activities can also boost a student’s language acquisition by giving them opportunities to practice speaking English in new and different settings.
Connecting with others
A study in 2020 showed that the most important factor for international student transitions in New Zealand is connectedness with communities. Being with people in the community with similar interests and hobbies will provide the student with a deeper local support network and help them feel at home here. This may help ameliorate any homesickness and social isolation, and promote the student’s sense of wellbeing. Connectedness has also been shown to counter the negative stressors that international students encounter while they are transitioning, and leads to greater satisfaction with their international experience.
Making friends and connecting with others can be difficult when you are in a foreign country. By participating in organised community activities, students can develop friendships with others who have similar interests, without having to make additional efforts to spend time together. A 2017 study in Auckland found that students relate more to values than ethnicity as a means of connection. Using shared human interests such as food, sport and travel can enable students to connect quickly with people like themselves, beyond the borders of their nationality, course of study, or institution.
Work transitions
A study of Asia-born New Zealand-educated business graduates identified community engagement as a key factor enabling successful study to work transitions in New Zealand and elsewhere. Graduates said that community activities helped them develop contacts who might know of potential work opportunities, or who could provide positive recommendations to prospective employers. They also said that work-related community engagement could provide experience, social connection and employment-related links.
2. Community activities
Below is a sample of community activities and some suggestions for how agents can find other local opportunities for students.
Sports and Outdoor Activities
For students who participate in a sport at home, joining a local club or team can be a great way for them to make friends and feel connected. Other students might want to learn a new sport that is popular in New Zealand but not in their home country. Rugby, cricket and netball clubs are common in almost all towns, and might be a fun way for students to learn more about New Zealand culture.
You could encourage your students to find out what sports clubs their institution in New Zealand has, or they could find a community sports club using one of these tools:
Sport NZ sport and recreation finder
Outdoor activities such as hiking (called “tramping” in New Zealand), camping, fishing and mountain biking are also very popular. Federated Mountain Clubs has a list of tramping clubs around the country, and Mountain Bike New Zealand has a list of mountain biking clubs. Many institutions also have their own tramping, biking or other outdoor pursuits clubs for students.
Case study - Shun Miyake Undergraduate student and Crusaders under-20 rugby team member
“Every year, you get out into the real world and get involved in some way depending on your major. I did a primary school placement in my first year, and coaching at Christ’s College rugby team for my second year. This gives you a clear idea of what to expect once you graduate uni and to prepare yourself for that. Meanwhile, these connections you make from uni papers are super important later on in your life as you might get to keep your internship for your job afterwards.”
Student and Community Clubs
Educational institutions and communities have a range of clubs that students can get involved in, depending on their hobbies and interests. Ask your student what they like to do in their free time. Is there something they’ve always wanted to try? If they are a bit shy, having an activity can help them meet people with whom they have something in common.
Ask if their institution has a clubs day, or search their website for a list of clubs. Many universities, colleges and polytechnics have an English language club or language exchange, where international students can practice English and meet people at the same time.
Art Trails NZ has also put together a list of community art societies and clubs around New Zealand, or you could search the Meetup website for a particular topic or interest.
Case study - Sigrid Yamit undergraduate student and President of Christchurch Educated International Student Association (CEISA)
“Becoming president of a city-wide club called Christchurch Educated International Student Association (CEISA) really changed my life in ways that I could never have imagined. As CEISA’s president, I was able to do countless things. I met great people and I learned so much from them through their stories and experiences. I had the massive honour of working with an amazing team and I think together we achieved our club’s core goal.
For the past 10 months I’ve gained lifelong friends, awesome experiences and irreplaceable life lessons. Doors that I never thought existed opened up for me and I’ve become braver and more willing to take up new challenges.”
Volunteering
Volunteering can increase a student’s employability by fostering engagement with prospective employers and promoting the development of work-related skills. Volunteering may also provide opportunities for students to gain experience, obtain references, gain confidence and become familiar with work environments within New Zealand. It can also give students a sense of purpose and a way for them to give back to their host community.
Volunteering NZ and NZ Now: Volunteering both have lists of volunteering opportunities across the country.
Case study - Pengbo Jiang intermediate, high school and undergraduate student and volunteer and mentor
At the beginning, I knew that I didn’t have a lot to offer – I didn’t have many skills to help others. By understanding my limits, I chose to start with something small and easy. The first volunteering job I did was to help with my school's fundraising sausage sizzles. I’m not good at cooking so I helped to collect the money.
I then joined the school's international student buddy programme to help those international students who’d just arrived. From there, I’ve continued on the volunteering path and am still doing it today.
It's true that the more time you donate the more benefits you'll experience. Volunteering can offer an opportunity for you to try something new and gain experience in a different field, while also giving back to the community and feeling good.
With 14 years of volunteering, I have moved from being a cashier at the sausage sizzles to becoming a board member of a nationwide non-for-profit organisation. I’ve moved from being a student buddy to being a business mentor of Business Mentor New Zealand and a student mentor for Victoria University of Wellington. I’ve moved from helping to raise a few hundred dollars to million dollar fundraising campaigns. And to cap it all off I’ve also moved from being a newly arrived international student to being a true New Zealander who’s successfully settled in this beautiful land.
3. Community integration programmes
What are they and how do they work?
Community integration programmes connect international students with each other, and with their communities, to support them in their journey and to foster their wellbeing. Some of the benefits of such programmes include:
- gaining skills needed to facilitate a regional/institutional leadership programme that enhances global citizenship
- enabling integration and learning for international students and new settlers
- providing global citizenship and leadership opportunities for new settlers, domestic and international students
ISANA NZ Student Ambassador Programme
ISANA NZ runs one of the largest community integration programmes in New Zealand called the Student Ambassador Programme, which currently runs in Northland, Auckland, Tauranga, Hawkes Bay, Whanganui and Wellington.
Student ambassadors are bridge-builders and leaders. They look for ways to build relationships between students who are from different cultures, and initiate activities that encourage global citizenship. The training gives students the opportunity to develop and showcase an ability to work well in diverse teams, a skill that employers often seek.
The ISANA NZ Student Ambassador Programme training explores the ABCDs of intercultural connections:
- Awareness: understanding cultural values and differences
- Building bridges: becoming a bridge-builder & intercultural connector
- Communication: strategies for overcoming barriers to communication
- Developing ideas and strategies: planning and delivering creative connections
National Ambassadors Programme
Since launching in 2021, the National Ambassadors Programme has formed a community, connecting and supporting international students in the Wellington region and nationally. Set up with support from Study in Wellington and its education partners using the ISANA Student Ambassador training, the programme recruits international and domestic students from both secondary schools and tertiary institutions. The students act as ambassadors, providing a voice for international students within their organisation both online and in person..
The student ambassadors develop and organise activities for their student communities. Training includes planning, health and safety, mentoring, leadership, global citizenship and other skills.
Case study - Neville Rodrigues PhD student and student ambassador
4. Conclusion
This project has given recruitment agents an understanding of the variety of community activities that are available to international students in New Zealand. Agents will appreciate the benefits that such activities can bring to a student’s experience by connecting them to their local community.
This project has also given agents practical tools and resources to find activities that will be relevant to a wide range of student interests across New Zealand.
5. References
Anderson, McGrath, et al. (2010). Community engagement and study-to-work transitions: Recommendations from Asia-born New Zealand-educated business graduates. Open access: http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/397884
Art Trails - NZ Art Societies and Clubs
Bethel, Ward, et al. (2020). Cross-Cultural Transition and Psychological Adaptation of International Students: The Mediating Role of Host National Connectedness. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.539950
ENZ Study Auckland International Student Experience Design Project (2017)
ISANA NZ Student Ambassador Programme
National Ambassadors Programme
Sport NZ sport and recreation finder
