Victoria’s student numbers are growing steadily, with indications that enrolments of both domestic and international students for 2016 are up on the previous year across undergraduate and postgraduate courses. While enrolment numbers are still to be finalised, at the beginning of this week there were over 300 more domestic Equivalent Full Time Students (EFTS) enrolled at Victoria than at the same time last year and nearly 80 more international EFTS.
A significant part of the domestic growth is from students who live in other parts of the country. In the last five years, the number of school leavers from regions other than Wellington enrolling at Victoria has increased by more than 1,000.
Auckland is a particular area of growth—in 2015, there were 1,971 students from the Auckland area studying at Victoria, at all levels, including over 500 school leavers.
Victoria’s growth trajectory is also reflected in the student accommodation it is providing—the University is offering 331 more beds in 2016 than it was five years ago and has plans to further increase its bed numbers in 2017.
“Our students bring a diverse range of talents and skills that they contribute to the city in myriad ways, including part-time jobs, internships, volunteering and the creative industries,” says Victoria’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Guilford.
They also significantly boost Wellington’s regional economy by what they, and their visiting friends and families, spend. The estimated expenditure per student, excluding fees, is $15,000 to $20,000 per year.
Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown says Victoria University is a leading global capital city university.
“The University students provide a rich source of future employees, employers and leaders, and offer commentary and advice on important issues facing New Zealand.
“Wellington also benefits from the University’s staff and student creative and cultural contributions and the research and innovation partnerships that help drive a high-value economy and a great quality of life,” she says.
Professor Guilford says many of the students flocking to Wellington will be away from home for the first time.
“With this in mind, I very much welcome the culture of collective responsibility that I see in the Wellington community.
“People do go out of their way to provide support, guidance and the best possible environment for our young people to thrive and make the contribution to Wellington that they are capable of.
“As a university, we are very appreciative of this partnership approach. A great university and a great student city can achieve much together.”
Professor Guilford says Wellingtonians will have many opportunities throughout 2016 to engage with Victoria students and staff and take advantage of the leading-edge research, thinking and creative exploration taking place at the University.
Victoria’s public lecture series runs throughout the year and is delivered at a range of venues in the city and on the University’s campuses. It includes Victoria’s programme of inaugural lectures by new professors, which begins on 5 April, and also features a series of pop-up lunchtime talks to be held in the CBD.
“We encourage the community to take of advantage of the many events and facilities Victoria offers, which range from concerts by young musicians from the Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music and exhibitions at the Adam Art Gallery to showcases of the latest ground-breaking work by students from our schools of Design and Architecture and our annual open day at Victoria’s Coastal Ecology Laboratory.”
New Victoria students will be officially welcomed at an event in Kelburn Park on Friday 26 February.
To receive details of upcoming events at Victoria, members of the public are invited to email events@vuw.ac.nz with ‘Stay Informed’ in the subject line.