interruption to his studies, before finally returning earlier this year. Qazi was one of the quota of 1000 international students the Government allowed back into the country after Covid-19 closed the borders and pulled the handbrake up on the stream of students coming to New Zealand universities. The whole time Qazi, originally from Lahore, was away he was wanting to get back to New Zealand as soon as possible. He was away with his wife, 3-year-old son, and daughter, who was born in November.
He was finally shortlisted to be part of the quota of students allowed back, then it was finally confirmed. Having completed part of his study played in his favour, but it wasn’t easy on his nerves. He stated that “It was hard to get through that. You are with your family, your PhD has stopped, it’s not like a holiday, you are still stressed and you have something in your mind that you have to complete your PhD in time.”
His supervisor was supportive and he was able to do some work while he was away. His PhD completion date was extended by a year to 2023. The family had to cancel their rental and move their belongings to a friend’s garage. Even his laptop was left behind.
His PhD, which is done through research centre the Riddet Institute, focuses on food technology and how food structures integrate in the human stomach. Of the 1000 students allowed into New Zealand, about 160 are Massey students, which has been some help to the university. Massey’s vice-chancellor Jan Thomas said some international students had come back, but no new international students had caused a “significant financial challenge”.
Jan Thomas said “Of course our [international] students are gradually all pipelining out and when the borders reopen we would expect to see returning students. At the moment the Government is prioritizing the returning of students who have already commenced their study before Covid at senior level or who are nearing completion.”
