We're StudySpy.
StudySpy is a social enterprise with the mission of enabling access to education.
We make education opportunities more visible to learners, upskillers, employers, careers advisors & teachers, parents and key study & career influencers.
StudySpy was created out of necessity after Founder, Michael, changed his degree three times, feeling misinformed about his study options. He learned that he wasn’t alone and that 55% of recent graduates in New Zealand also felt they’d make the wrong study decision! Literally the majority of students.
Now, StudySpy provides free tools to support 160,000+ people each year make more informed decions about their education!
- 7,500+
- Courses & Programmes
- $70M+
- Scholarships
- 70,000+
- Searches per month
What does StudySpy do?
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Search and filter every tertiary course and programme in New Zealand, from apprenticeships to degrees, here on StudySpy!
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Discover over $70 million worth of scholarship opportunities on StudySpy, New Zealand’s largest scholarships directory!
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Search every secondary and tertiary education provider in Aotearoa, from high schools to universities, Kura to Wānanga!
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Get to know what different locations across New Zealand have to offer, from their tertiary programme options to secondary schools.
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We support international students on their journey to study in New Zealand with our education consultancy partner.
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We're always looking for opportunities to improve StudySpy and further serve the students of Aotearoa. If you have any brilliant ideas, we'd love to hear from you!
Meet the herd!
Michael Watson
Founder & Managing Director
Michael changed his degree 3 times after feeling misinformed around potential study options. After learning 55% or recent grads felt the same way, he started StudySpy to help students make more informed decisions about thier education.
Mixed-accent Michael is a Scottish Kiwi with an entrepreneurial mindset. He’s passionate about education, technology, social enterprise, linguistics and the evolving culture of remote work.
Ben Marino
Technical Lead
Ben is a runner and has run the New York marathon! He’s good at computers and is doing a thesis about technology and society.
Ben has Māori & Scots heritage, affiliated with both sunny East Coast of Ngāti Porou and the lakes of Rotorua Te Arawa.
Mikayla Yee
Head of Creative
Mikayla hails from sunny Nelson and chases the sunshine around the country in her converted campervan. A natural creative, you’ll find her working on anything from our social media posts to UX designs. She’s a pro at making anything look good - even our elephant spy agent!
When she’s not doing mahi, you’ll find Mikayla creating in other ways whether it’s photography, videography or painting up a storm.
Sheridan Jamieson
Finance Director
Sheridan’s career in business banking & finance took an unexpected turn after attending an impromptu presentation about social enterprise and purpose-led business. The concept of combining purpose & profit resonated deeply and led him to found Nurture - a social enterprise that provides virtual CFO services to impact-focussed businesses.
Sheridan helps organisations like StudySpy build long-term viable, sustainable business models in order to ensure their ongoing impact.
Ollie Bannister
Software Engineer
Ollie is a software engineer who loves to build things. He has a passion for learning and is always looking for new ways to improve himself. Outside the office, you’ll find him down by the beach, out in the bush, or out on the slopes.
Ollie's technical background helps StudySpy build the best possible platform for students, helping them to find the best study options for them.
About the organisation
StudySpy is a social enterprise with the mission of enabling access to education. We put the learner at the heart of everything we do and provide tools that open educational and career opportunities. A social enterprise is a cause-driven organisation that applyies commerical strategies to improve social objectives and serve the common good.
Check out the Asia New Zealand Foundation article written here by our Founder following a Social Enterprise Visit to Vietnam. Michael joined 4 other NZ social entrepreneurs to explore the social enterprise sector in Vietnam and connect with local entrepreneurs.
Built out of necessecity, Founder Michael changed his degree three times after feeling misinformed about his study options. StudySpy came to life in a Wellington flat after being inspired by a startup weekend and entrepreneurship bootcamp, before officially launching in Feb 2018.
From launch until now, StudySpy has been bootstrapped - meaning it has been self-funded, financed using only existing resources and passionate people. This is often regarded as an unconventional approach compared with venture capital or debt funding, but it’s arguably a far more sustainable approach. StudySpy operates a successful business model that not only sustains the operation but is designed for growth, with international aspirations.
StudySpy has been designed this way to be here for the long term to support learners and the education system as a whole.
Partner with us
- Course & scholarship promotion
- International student recruitment
- API / Database licencing
- Studyspy Sync - (automatic updater)
- Digital marketing & co-branded campaigns
- Analytics, insights & consulting
- And open to exploring new product developments!
FAQs
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It's a breeze to update your provider profile on StudySpy through our user-friendly admin portal – and yes, it's entirely free! Your organisation's team can effortlessly manage all profile and listing information. For added convenience, we offer a paid option to seamlessly sync your data with your IT system.
We encourage you to sign up below for access to your profile, or get in touch with us to learn more!
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StudySpy extends a no-cost experience to both students and educational organisations. Our platform's fundamental features, including the admin portal for programme and scholarship management, come without charges. To sustain this, we generate revenue by selling targeted ads across our network, facilitating the recruitment of international students, as well as offering tailored technology services to educational organisations. This approach ensures StudySpy remains accessible and valuable to all users. If you’d like to partner with us, we’re all ears (big elephant ones!)
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While 'programmes' is the academically precise term, we opt for 'courses' based on the student perspective. Students commonly search for and discuss 'courses' rather than 'programmes'. Our goal is to maintain simplicity and minimise educational jargon, ensuring our platform is user-friendly. This choice also grants us the flexibility to present wider relevant results like 'short courses' and individual 'courses' within larger programmes and enhancing search relevance.
By using 'courses,' we aim to provide clarity and ease of use, ensuring that all learners can effortlessly find the educational opportunities they're looking for on StudySpy.
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Our choice of an elephant as our logo and mascot stems from our aim to infuse our brand with a sense of joy and playfulness, reminiscent of how New Zealanders recognize Harold the Giraffe from the Life Education Trust. In the early days of StudySpy, our focus was on addressing the issue that a staggering 55% of recent New Zealand graduates regretted their study choices. While this issue resonated with many, its magnitude wasn't widely realised. To highlight this, we often began our initial pitches with the phrase "The elephant in the room is that 55% of recent graduates in NZ felt they’d made the wrong study decision…”
It's a memorable and friendly mascot that embodies our mission to make education opportunities accessible to all.