Industry connected IT Qualification At Whitireia.

Get an Innovative, Industry connected IT Qualification at Whitireia.

IT programmes at Whitireia are a long way from the secondary school notion of IT – which consisted of little more than word processing and spreadsheets – students are now learning how to create software, install networks and setup servers.  IT students at Whitireia are engaging in creative, analytical, ground-breaking and global developments. They are in high-demand, are looking towards the future and are earning great salaries in the industry.

Newly appointed Programme Manager of Academic, Nick Wempe, who has been working in the faculty since 1995, recognises the importance of industry links when training students. “It is important to make the industry aware of what we can and do do here, as well as keeping in touch with what is in demand and is developing within the industry.”

Wempe was part of the team that introduced the Bachelor of Information Technology to Whitireia in 2000 and worked as the Programme Manager for three years. One of the issues right from the very beginning of the course has been around producing industry savvy and engaged students. Part of resolving this issue is the Industry Project that Bachelor of IT students undertake in their third year of study. This is normally an external project, where students are enlisted by a non profit organisation to develop a new product to help solve an issue or need they have. It includes problem solving, creativity and initiative.

“Our grad students have at least half a years experience working in the industry by the time they leave.” Says Wempe. “This is over and above the experience provided by other institutions.”

Currently there is a huge gap between the smaller numbers of students in IT and the huge number of jobs available. “Qualifications in IT are a ticket to a global market, not just a local one” says Wempe, who is addressing the issue of supplying the market with more IT graduates as part of his role in the Future Projects Committee.

At Whitireia students can start with a Certificate in Information Technology as an introduction to IT, or step into a Bachelor of Information Technology which begins with general skills and moves on to more specialised knowledge. There are also qualifications for those in the industry looking to further their careers

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