New international director taking on the world

Expanding Massey’s profile to attract more overseas students in the midst of a global economic downturn might sound like Mission Almost Impossible. Not for Massey’s new Director (International) Arthur Chin. The Singaporean-born former bank executive is an irrepressible optimist who sees opportunities galore.

“History has shown that during an economic downturn there is an increase in the number of people who will choose to up-skill, re-train or focus on emergent opportunities,” Mr Chin says. “Massey’s emphasis on quality, its range of specialised programmes and established networks with quality institutions globally will ensure that we are at the forefront of education providers.”

Since joining Massey’s International Office at the Manawatu campus at the end of May, he has wasted no time in making new global connections throughout Asia, as well as working to forge new collaborations and to strengthen established relationships.

During a typical day the fluent Mandarin speaker spanned a sizeable chunk of the international market by chairing strategy meetings focused on the emerging Middle Eastern markets, and attending a Memorandum of Understanding signing at the Manawatu campus with an Indonesian university before lunch. Then he worked on budgeting to ensure support for Massey’s Internationalisation Strategy, before embarking on an eight-day road show and partnership negotiations in Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan and Singapore.

His role, newly created as part of the International Office’s launch of its internationalisation strategy, is to extend the Massey’s local, regional and global profile through a raft of collaborative partnerships with industry partners.

There are some formidable challenges, however. Locally, he cites the impact of the Christchurch earthquake, the strength of the New Zealand dollar eroding our cost competitiveness, and the crowded New Zealand tertiary sector – which he says requires a more cooperative, rather than competitive, mindset – as critical issues.

“At the international level, there is a shift in paradigm where countries such as Singapore and China, who are traditional consumers of international education are now becoming suppliers of education,” Mr Chin says. “This means we have to work harder to ensure that the gaps in expectations and perceptions across the different cultures are narrowed.”

In his previous roles Mr Chin straddled the banking and education sectors. Before joining Massey he was head of Asian banking for ANZ and National bank, with portfolios including the strategic focus for Asian customers across 60 ANZ and National bank branches, mortgages, and the China-New Zealand student and migrant business development project. Prior to that he was Business Development Manager (Asian markets) for HSBC bank.

Born in Singapore, he came to New Zealand in 1996 to study for a Bachelor of Commerce at Canterbury University, and was then the first Asian to graduate with an honours (management) degree. While doing his Masters in Communication at Victoria University he worked as a senior teaching fellow.

When he is not boarding a plane to talk up Massey’s profile offshore, he finds time to mentor young bankers and volunteers at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau as a Justice of the Peace. Long walks and cooking are his downtime passions when he needs a break from pursuing world domination on Massey’s behalf.