(July 2021) From awarding a PhD degree to an octogenarian to the prestigious ‘Distinguished Professor’ title to one of its faculty last month, New Zealand’s Lincoln University has made more waves as a boutique university.

Now, with plans to add to its international student numbers, it has partnered with international education provider M Square Media (MSM) to expand its reach in the African region.

Located in the heart of New Zealand’s stunning Canterbury region, Lincoln is the Southern Hemisphere’s oldest agricultural-based university.

From agribusiness to landscape architecture, viticulture and oenology to tourism, Lincoln offers a wide range of degrees at the bachelor’s, postgraduate, research and doctoral levels.

Besides cultivating a vibrant and inclusive culture for around 3,000 students from 80 countries, it also builds a great sense of community among its students.

Ranked among the top small universities globally, the university has 14 research centres and nine farms. The taught master’s programmes (which take one year to 18 months to complete) are particularly popular with international students. These programmes include only coursework and there is no dissertation requirement. The university’s tourism, wine, global business, agribusiness and food innovation programmes are specifically attracting a lot of interest.

Lincoln University also places in the top 100 for agriculture and forestry, according to the most recent QS World University Rankings by Subject. It is in the 601-680 bracket in the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings 2021, and is ranked in the top 110 in the Asia-Pacific region rankings.

The Lincoln Advantage for African Students

The university now plans to attract more international students from the African region, a rapidly developing market, with its niche and specialised programmes, through its partnership with MSM.

Elaborating on the tie-up, Roger Shew, Director, International, says: “MSM’s unique business model has shown to be highly successful in achieving strong growth in enrolments by managing recruitment through local teams dedicated to each institution. They also manage a large agent network on behalf of each institutional partner. We are looking forward to a high-achieving partnership with MSM in new markets where previously we had little or no presence.”

“Lincoln University can continue to aspire towards greater success in the global arena through its ability to maintain and develop international relations and the building of a robust pipeline of international students coming to the campus,” Shew adds.

As a country, New Zealand has grown as a popular destination for international students in recent years. This is due to its global networks, strong industry partnerships, high-quality research capabilities, and outstanding learning environments and pedagogy.

The country is home to the world’s top three percent universities, and is one of the safest and friendliest places for foreign students. It was ranked second on the list of the most peaceful countries by the Global Peace Index in 2019.

New Market, New Opportunities

Another reason for Lincoln collaborating with MSM is the company’s unique global and in-country office model which currently serves around 45 partner institutions. It also helps manage agent networks for the university, thus saving on time and resources that can be redirected towards building other value-added initiatives. The university's world-leading research includes groundbreaking innovations in decreasing emissions, alternative fuels and sustainable tourism.

As a region, Lincoln plans to target nine African countries, and is looking to offer a vibrant and inclusive campus culture for incoming students.

From Africa’s perspective, until 2016, it was becoming even more common for its students to go abroad for higher studies, with the number of students heading overseas increasing by 111 percent to countries such as the US, UK, China and France. However, post-COVID-19 and with visa curbs and travel restrictions in place, especially in the US and China, this could open up new avenues for African students who might want to consider options in other countries such as New Zealand and Australia.

According to Development Reimagined, an international development consultancy, African students, who have been the fastest growing student demographic globally in recent years, could be a “key driving force of development across the African continent” in the coming years.

Nigeria, Morocco and Ghana are among the countries which have the largest number of students travelling abroad as more and more students want to go for foreign university education.

Programmes in agribusiness management, agricultural sciences and related areas are popular among African students.

“We have a global reach, belonging to the Global Challenges University Alliance, which includes top universities on every continent and address issues relating to food security, bio-energy, sustainable urban development and climate change. This is in addition to a partnership agreement with the Euroleague for Life Sciences, an exclusive network of seven leading European universities, with Lincoln being the only full non-European member,” says Shew.

While it is the smallest New Zealand university, its boutique size means it can provide a more personalised learning environment, where students enjoy greater access to and more face-time with teachers.

The varsity offers online options that allow international students to begin their studies from their home countries, with the goal of having them complete their qualifications on campus when the New Zealand border is able to reopen. Alternatively, students in countries where there are existing articulation agreements are referred to partner universities, where they can start their qualification at home and progress on to Lincoln University after one or two years.

Lincoln University also enjoys the highest employment rates of all New Zealand universities and its own Post Qualification Outcomes Survey of graduates from 2019 showed that of the 459 respondents (50%) who completed the survey, the majority (84%) were in paid employment.

About M Square Media
M Square Media (MSM) is a leading service provider in international education and other sectors. We offer a wide range of global business solutions to clients including, international business development, market research and deep opportunity analysis, sourcing sales channel partnerships, market entry strategy, market expansion, lead generation, brand development, finance and accounting management, payroll and expense management, tax compliance and corporate administrative services, staff recruitment, local representation, HR support, and ready-to-go office space. Read more about MSM at https://msquaremedia.com/.
About Lincoln University
Lincoln University is a New Zealand university formed in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury was made independent of the University of Canterbury. Founded in 1878, it is the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the Southern Hemisphere. One of the country's eight public universities, its campus lies on 58 hectares of land located outside the city of Christchurch, in Lincoln, Canterbury. It is the country’s smallest university, providing a big advantage via a more personal learning environment and extra face-time with lecturers. Lincoln University is a member of the Euroleague for Life Sciences and the Global Challenges University Alliance (GCUA).
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