Scholarship winner has international collaboration in his sights
A Māori business programme increases connections across Asia Pacific.
From NMIT to a PhD
High achieving NMIT graduate Xiaodi Wang, who goes by the English name Ivy, is going from strength to strength. She was a recent participant in a joint venture education partnership between NMIT and Hunan University of Technology in China and credits NMIT for setting her up for success.
Ivy is currently studying for her master’s in accountancy at Massey University in Auckland and has adjusted to the demands of level nine courses quickly, achieving two A+ grades in her second semester this year.
The 23 year old strongly believes her academic path would have been very different if not for NMIT and the opportunities NMIT made possible for her.
“Receiving education from professional and caring teachers motivated me to study hard and pursue this further. I achieved very good grades and a certificate and that made my application for my master’s much easier.”
Originally from Hunan - the 10th largest province in South Central China and home to the founding father of the People’s Republic of China, Chairman Mao Zedong, it was here that Ivy began her academic journey. She spent two and a half years studying for her Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting at the Chinese institute before shifting to Nelson in 2015 to complete the programme with NMIT. Ivy applied herself fully while in Nelson and finished the required 150 credits in one year graduating in 2016 with strong grades.
The fluent English speaker finished her high school in Singapore with a full scholarship. She had the option to complete her final year of study in America or Europe but chose New Zealand, and NMIT in particular, for its reputation as a peaceful place. She also hoped to experience western culture more deeply while exploring New Zealand.
Her first impressions of the Nelson campus were really positive. “It is a beautiful and peaceful place to study with friendly, responsible and professional tutors. I fully understood what they taught and found myself willing to spend even my spare time to study!”
Ivy recalls a time when she was struggling in preparation for a quiz. She contacted her tutor Sue Malthus who was reassuring, helpful and eased her concerns with the gesture of a simple smile. And earlier in 2016, she needed a copy of a full length article to cite in a paper so she contacted the NMIT tutor and was met with kind words of encouragement plus the original report attached in the body of the email. This level of professionalism and support has inspired Ivy to study toward a PhD and train as a teacher so she can not only serve society but, as she says, “Educate students and offer them help and support just as my teachers influenced me!”
Ivy is a great example of the success of joint venture education partnerships such as that forged by NMIT and Hunan University of Technology whose aim is to offer participants a greater understanding of each other’s culture and business practices. NMIT has three additional partnerships in China: Hubei Polytechnic University (HBPU) in Nelson’s sister city of Huangshi in the Hubei Province, Guangdong Engineering Polytechnic (GEP), and Zhejiang University of Water Resource and Electric Power.
