Credit card spending pays off for Waiariki | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Investment on overseas travel is paying off for Waiariki Institute of Technology, with international student numbers growing to more than 400.

Chief executive Pim Borren was recently listed among the top credit card totals for public sector bosses by the Sunday Star Times, but he told The Daily Post the $77,359 spent on his card in the past two years was largely on travel for himself and other staff to existing and new sources of fee-paying, international students.

This was part of the $350,000 spent by Waiariki staff on overseas travel during that period.

"We invested $350,000 and our revenue from international students is now more than $5 million. That's a return no board would ever argue over. This is a wonderful success story for this organisation."

The institute's international sector has grown from 70 fulltime equivalent students to more than 400 and revenue has increased from less than $1 million to the current level.

Dr Borren said building relationships with partner institutions was critical to achieving this and, in countries such as China and India where status and relationships are highly valued, it was important to build those relationships at chief executive/president level.

About 70 per cent of international students at Waiariki come from India, where it has partnerships with four Indian institutions. It also works with four Chinese organisations, which account for about 20 per cent. The remaining 10 per cent is made up of a range of nationalities.

Japan, Korea and South America are areas in which Waiariki is building relationships, with the goal of increasing student numbers. "We have 10 students coming from Chile on a government scholarship programme."

Dr Borren said he had not been to South America at this stage because the discussions and relationships were between government bodies, but he expected to start seeing results in the next couple of years. "It takes time to build up those relationships."

He said travel budgets for all staff were approved before they left and there were strict rules on matters such as how much could be spent per night on a hotel or on food.

Only senior management staff have credit cards and spending needs to be signed off by somebody at a higher level. For Dr Borren, that means his spending is checked and approved by the board chairman.

He said travel expenses were generally charged to Waiariki credit cards because this was seen as more secure than staff carrying cash, it was a convenient way to track spending and the institute could save money by booking online.