We're StudySpy.
StudySpy is a social enterprise with the mission of enabling access to education.
We make educational opportunities more visible for learners, upskillers, employers, career advisors, teachers, parents, and key influencers in the study and career landscape.
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!
Now, StudySpy provides free tools to support 140,000+ people each year make more informed decions about their education!
- 7,500+
- Courses & Programmes
- $70M+
- Scholarships
- 60,000+
- 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 StudySpy 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 their 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.
Mikayla Watson
Creative Director
Co-owner and wife of Michael, Mikayla leads StudySpy’s design, marketing, and brand strategy. She now brings Agent Elley the Elephant to life through illustration, our trusty mascot who adds warmth and personality to the StudySpy brand.
Mikayla also runs Virtual Services, a creative studio that supports education providers and mission-led teams with branding, content, and marketing. Outside of mahi, she’s chasing golden hour, spinning the pottery wheel, and planning animal-themed adventures — a Sri Lankan safari is next on the list!
Ollie Bannister
Principal 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 of 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.
Ben Marino
Technical Lead
Ben is a runner and has run the New York marathon! He’s great with computers and has written a thesis about technology's impact on society.
Ben has proud Māori & Scots heritage, affiliated with both sunny East Coast of Ngāti Porou and the lakes of Rotorua, Te Arawa.
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.
About the organisation
StudySpy is New Zealand’s education directory, helping people find their study path without the confusion, guesswork, or a million browser tabs.
We’re a social enterprise on a mission to make education more accessible. StudySpy brings together clear, reliable information on scholarships, courses and education providers, all in one place. Each year, we help over 140,000 people make more confident decisions about their next step.
Our web app is free for learners, and our data powers other platforms too, including Education New Zealand’s Study with New Zealand site via our StudySpy API.
The idea sparked when our founder changed his degree three times and realised just how hard it was to get the right info. Since then, StudySpy has grown from a Wellington flat into a trusted national platform — proudly bootstrapped, sustainably built, and always learner-first.
We’re here for the long haul, helping students, whānau, and the whole education sector stay informed and inspired.
And yes, we’ve got a secret weapon! Her name’s Agent Elley the Elephant. She never forgets to put the learner first.
Partner with us
- Course & scholarship promotion
- International student recruitment
- StudySpy API Access / Database licencing
- StudySpy Sync (automatic Course & Scholarship updates)
- Digital marketing & co-branded campaigns
- Analytics, insights & consulting
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.