Higher education in New Zealand - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2016, 09:13:47 pm
content: G'day, mates!My wife and I are thinking of moving to New Zealand, since there are many more job opportunities there than in Brazil (that doesn't seem to be recovering from a very bad recession). One of the agencies I contacted today said that my best shot would be to get a Level 7 (equals a Bachelor's degree) in IT, in an institution called NZIE - New Zealand Institute of Education, and their IT courses are from an institution called Avonmore Institute. After that it would be easier to get a job, since I'd already have a referal from an institution in NZ.My question is: has anyone here ever heard of Avonmore Institute? Would a Bachelor's diploma from them in Network Engineering carry the same weight as from a more "known" university in NZ or Australia?On a side note, in my wife's case it is a bit simpler: all she's got to do is to pass on the IELTS test with an excellent grade, but she's gotta study for that, since her spoken English is bad (she can read and listen very well). She is a dentist and has a Masters degree, Doctor's degree and 2 post-doctorate works. She has works published - as a researcher on her post-doctorates - on Nature (Cell Biology and Immunology) and other high impact factor science journals. She's been trying to get in touch with other cell biology and immunology researchers from Otago University to see if there are any open positions there for researchers.

author: Dubbie
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 19, 2016, 09:18:39 pm
content: Avonmore Institute is really just one of those degree mills where they only care about getting your money and getting you out the door. It wouldn't be a respected degree I don't think. Have you tried one of the more traditional universities such as AUT or Auckland University?

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2016, 09:32:29 pm
content: Quote from: Dubbie on October 19, 2016, 09:18:39 pmNot yet, but I will. I had the meeting with people from an office called "Australian Centre", and they recommended this institute, and I did a quick Google search on college rankings in NZ and their names didn't even come up in any of them. They are, however, accredited by the NZQA, but I believe that this accreditation is a legal requirement if their diploma is to be worth more than the paper it is printed on.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2016, 11:37:11 pm
content: Can you just go along as your wife's dependent while you sort through the educational thing?It would seem with her qualifications, NZ would be happy (and lucky) to have her!

author: zl2wrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2016, 11:46:32 pm
content: Hi AlxDroidDev,A word of warning from a "kiwi", we appear to be "enjoying" a real estate bubble here in NZ at present...The cost of housing relative to wages & salaries is nuts eg $1M NZD to buy the average house in Auckland, and something like $380k NZD in a provincial town like Napier

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2016, 12:05:17 am
content: Quote from: rstofer on October 19, 2016, 11:37:11 pmThank you on her behalf! NZ has a points system to approve immigration and we both would need very high scores to be approved as a couple. On one side, we need to demonstrate that we have enough $$$ to support ourselves there for 1 year. I can prove that, but she can't. I am also proficient in English and would get a good IELTS score w/ minor effort (this English test is a requirement), but she's not ready for the test yet. So, as you can see, we would depend on each other, and that wouldn't give us many immigration points.On a side note, I have submitted my CV to over 100 companies in the USA, including Google, MS and Avenue Code. Still no response from any of themQuote from: zl2wrw on October 19, 2016, 11:46:32 pmThat's a really important piece of information. That is a huge amount of money. Even if I sell my apartment here before moving, I'd still short on a liver and a kidney!BTW, do new zealanders take any offence in being called kiwis, or is it normal?Thanks!

author: Dubbie
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2016, 12:10:19 am
content: No offence.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2016, 12:13:56 am
content: Quote from: AlxDroidDev on October 20, 2016, 12:05:17 amNo different to Australians being called "Aussies". It's perfectly normal.

author: Mr.B
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2016, 12:17:47 am
content: We are quite proud of the term Kiwi.Unless you are referring to us as if we were the fruit.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2016, 02:24:18 am
content: Doesn't NZ have very restrictive immigration rules?In the 70's when I looked into it, I think only farmers were allowed in. When I was there, they like to brag about a millionaire from the US being refused.One thing I would look into are sand flies. The meanest, worst, evil insect in the world, it is a combination fly and mosquito that is suicidal and bites like a knife jab. The kamikaze of the insects. I rode around the So Island on a bike and they would chase me and bite me while peddling. Sometimes I would have to dive into my tent and could not come out (no matter what). I think Capt Cook said they came from hell. So be careful ! But I do not remember any in Christchurch ? Any one here know ?

author: Mr.B
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2016, 02:34:13 am
content: You have to watch out for the mosquitoes on the West Coast...As long as you have a tennis racquet you are fairly safe.The hotels have standard 2" chicken mesh as mosquito screens on the windows, that keeps them out.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2016, 02:34:34 pm
content: Quote from: zl2wrw on October 19, 2016, 11:46:32 pmIt's not a housing bubble. It's a simple consequence of your current account deficit, they have to spend their NZD on something.Your government should be hung, it allowed your economy to fall into foreign hands. Every year a trade surplus, every year a current account deficit. TPP only got you deeper into shit, by making any type of taxation to fix this almost impossible.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2016, 01:06:56 pm
content: News update:She'll be attending the English course in University of Otago in Dunedin, which is a highly respected uni in NZ, and she'll travel in March '17. After 6 months of English studies, she'll take the IELTS exam.Where can I find info about NZ such as power plug standard, cellular network type, AC mains voltage & frequency (110/220V, 50/60Hz), and so on?Thanks.

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2016, 07:11:01 pm
content: Quote from: Marco on October 20, 2016, 02:34:34 pmHouse prices went up due to a combination of high net migration, very low interest rates, Auckland running out of land due to planning restrictions and a historic lack of spending on the transport network.Under the TPP, Stamp Duty is a tax which can still be levied on foreign buyers, that was in the news here (i.e. in NZ) about a year ago. The thing the TPP prevents NZ from doing is banning foreign buyers outright.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2016, 07:21:11 pm
content: Quote from: hendorog on December 01, 2016, 07:11:01 pmThat helps only a little, to correct the fundamental imbalance in your economy and ownership you have to discriminatingly tax foreign owners on their ongoing income, not just the purchase price. Until you do, every year a trade surplus, every year a current account deficit, every year rising real estate prices. It's inevitable, they have to spend their NZD on something and they'll preferably spend it on rent generating assets ... which just gets your country deeper into the mess.Of course that will scare away foreign investors, horror of horrors ... because first world economies need foreign investors for ... wait, why do we need foreign investment again?

author: hendorog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2016, 07:54:14 pm
content: Quote from: Marco on December 01, 2016, 07:21:11 pmThat makes sense except for the bit about rent producing. Due to the price growth, rents are very low compared to debt servicing costs. The return is the growth on the house price. Which means property turnover is required to make money and each property transaction would attract the stamp duty.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2016, 08:11:40 pm
content: It doesn't matter if rent income is low. There is no advantage for foreigners to flip the houses, they have nothing useful to do with the NZD except put it in more real estate.They are not buying it with debt, they are buying it with surplus NZD they have no other use for ... increasingly more NZD.

author: zl2wrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2016, 11:46:07 pm
content: Quote from: AlxDroidDev on December 01, 2016, 01:06:56 pmMains power here in NZ is 230 V 50 Hz ac and we use the same plugs as Australia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS/NZS_3112We have 3x mobile phone companies with repeater networks (plus a few virtual mobile network operators): 2degrees, Spark and Vodafone.2G GSM/GPRS, 3G WCDMA/UMTS and 4G are widely supported, however, Spark does not support 2G GSM/GPRS. Reception in cities is generally quite good, but often non-existent out in rural areas.Otago gets pretty cold in winter (snow is not unheard of), and some student flats (rental houses) in Dunedin are pretty cold and drafty in winter - warm clothing is essential.

author: zl2wrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2016, 06:13:24 am
content: Quote from: Marco on December 01, 2016, 08:11:40 pmSince we have a floating exchange rate, I would have thought that an excess of NZD held overseas would drive down the value of the NZD, which would make our exports cheaper for foreigners to purchase (so they buy more of them), and imports more expensive for kiwis to purchase (so we buy less) - to me this sounds like negative feedback which should stabilise the system?

author: orin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2016, 06:16:23 am
content: Quote from: zl2wrw on December 01, 2016, 11:46:07 pmI'm told the concept of insulating house walls/attic spaces is unheard of in Dunedin.My SO's son teaches at the University of Otago and we visited a few years back. Very nice city and surrounding area. Four flights each way from/to Seattle!AlxDroidDev - good luck to you and your wife. If you don't mind the climate, you should like it there.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2016, 08:00:55 am
content: Quote from: zl2wrw on December 02, 2016, 06:13:24 amThere is no excess NZD held overseas, they are investing it in rent generating assets. That's the whole problem, they are buying some goods yes ... but mostly they are buying New Zealand. They can afford to pay off the trade deficit with their rent income and then some.New Zealand increasingly is an indentured servant, until they assert sovereignty and readdress the balance with discriminating taxation.