Computer Science graduates celebrate a first

16 April, 2012

Computer Science graduates celebrate a first for the University

Brian Bullas and Joe Honeyfield will have extra reason to celebrate on Friday. Not only will they be rewarded for three years of intense study, they’ll also be among the first five people to graduate with the University of Waikato’s new Tauranga-based computer science degree.

Brian and Joe have both secured permanent work in Tauranga and say the three-year pathway gave them the skills and knowledge they needed to find sought-after positions in their areas of interest.

“We covered a lot of different areas of computing which meant we could move into a variety of IT roles,” said Joe. “I’m interested in computer networking, while others have moved into software development or website design.”

Offered in partnership with Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, the new Bachelor of Science (BSc) programme allows Polytechnic students, who complete the two-year Diploma in Applied Computing, to pathway through to their third year with the University of Waikato and graduate with the BSc, with a major in Computer Science, and with a specialisation in Applied Computing. The degree can be completed entirely in Tauranga.

Joe began his studies as soon as he finished Year 13 at Bethlehem College. He’s now designing networks, and implementing new services as a Network Administrator for the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Business School, as well as managing the helpdesk for the Polytechnic’s online learning network, BayLearn.

While computers and writing software had always been a part of Brian’s life, he had not considered a career in IT until he came to New Zealand in 2008.

Originally from Canada, Brian had been a competitive snowboarder but a freak snowboarding accident five years ago in his home town of Banff left him paralysed from the waist down. With the accident forcing a change in direction, Brian soon developed a new interest in reflexology and had planned to enrol in a course upon arriving in New Zealand with his Kiwi wife. Within a few days however, he had changed his mind and enrolled in the Polytechnic Diploma of Applied Computing instead.

Three years later Brian is working for Cucumber Software as a Web Software Developer, designing web sites, writing web-based applications and integrating corporate websites with their existing internal IT infrastructures.

“After seeing the Polytechnic ad I changed my whole career direction but it has worked out really well. I find it creative and stimulating to be developing new applications and problem solving, and I still get to pursue my interest in reflexology at home,” says Brian.

Joe and Brian will be among 115 graduands attending the University of Waikato graduation ceremony on Friday 20 April at the Holy Trinity Events Centre in Tauranga.

ENDS

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