New Zealand is a top choice for international students, but with borders closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many travel plans have had to be postponed. In an effort to encourage those who wish to study in the country, Education New Zealand (ENZ)—the New Zealand government agency responsible for promoting international education—has carefully curated a selection of free courses offered by the country’s universities, all of which are highly ranked among the world’s best.

The selection, called "Study in New Zealand Online," features content focused on sustainability and innovation—areas in which New Zealand is a global leader—and is available on the FutureLearn.com platform. The courses also cover fields such as economics, technology, and English language instruction.

Among the options, you can learn about data mining for free —a practice used on a large scale to analyze large datasets and predict outcomes. The module, offered by the University of Waikato, focuses primarily on how the algorithms work.

Anyone interested can also take part in a special Design Thinking course on sustainable decision-making. The goal is to learn how to identify perspectives based on the people who will benefit.

Practice conversation by watching TV shows

ENZ's collection on the FutureLearn platform also offers a course for those who want to learn English and improve their conversational skills. And even better: the course uses TV shows. Based on the episodes, students will learn techniques to improve their speaking, writing, and observation skills. Even those with a basic level of conversational English can gain more confidence and get more practice speaking.

Looking Toward Tomorrow

A survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks New Zealand first among English-speaking nations for best preparing students for the future. The education provided in New Zealand is more comprehensive and best prepares students for the demands of a constantly changing job market. The same survey also highlights New Zealand’s strong performance in criteria such as diversity and tolerance (1st place), civil liberties (3rd place), and gender equality (4th place).

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