HP Joins Forces With New Computer College

HP Joins Forces With Ground Breaking New Computer College

HP makes major contribution to the knowledge economy of the future

AUCKLAND, 8 August 2001
Hewlett-Packard (NZ) today signed an agreement to donate $200,000 of its latest computer hardware to a revolutionary new computer college set to redefine IT education in New Zealand.

HP(NZ), which under its philanthropy programme makes significant contributions every year to community projects, is this year joining forces with the Christchurch College of Computing, a government-endorsed institution which may become the model for others throughout the country.

The Christchurch College of Computing, brainchild of Christchurch secondary school principals and the Canterbury Development Corporation, will offer seventh-formers a totally new approach to information and computer technology. The college will focus on creativity as well as computing, with communications, business skills and social skills part of the curriculum. A range of qualifications, from University Entrance to internationally recognized awards, will be available.

Barry Hastings, HP(NZ) managing director, says the college will make a huge contribution to developing New Zealand’s information and computer technology expertise, a key outcome of the recent Catching the Knowledge Wave conference which he attended in Auckland last week.

“HP(NZ) is delighted to take this opportunity to invest in the future of the industry and help ensure we have skilled people to contribute to the much-talked-about knowledge economy,” Hastings says. “One of the outcomes of the conference was the need to invest more in the education sector and, through our contribution, the college will be able to immerse students in the type of high tech environment that’s becoming increasingly important to all types of business.”

Graeme Plummer, former Aranui School principal and now education strategy manager for Canterbury Development Corporation, says HP (NZ) was the natural choice for the college. “We are very happy to have HP involved because of the quality and reliability of the equipment and the company’s ongoing commitment to innovation and inventiveness.”

HP’s contribution to the college includes servers, PCs, printers, CD writers and scanners. Responsibility for the design, implementation and management of the college’s IT infrastructure has been accepted by Itas, the education division of Renaissance Ltd.

Peter Moore, Itas Solution Manager, designed the system to provide a flexible high tech learning environment. “The success of the college is dependent on the system reliably and consistently delivering resources, without placing restraints on teaching creativity. This is the unique challenge of the education environment. Our key contribution to this project is the expertise in meeting that challenge.”

Plummer says the college, located in central city Christchurch, will be the best equipped IT education facility in the country. “We really want to break the mould of traditional IT education and launch a dedicated facility focused on effective learning in a 21st century environment.”

The Christchurch College of Computing will formally launch its prospectus at the end of this month, with first students due next February.

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Notes to Editors: Hewlett-Packard (NZ) Limited was one of the most awarded technology companies in the 2001 PC World magazine Readers’ Choice Awards. Best Home PC for the HP Pavilion series was one of nine awards received, that also included, Best Service and Support – Hardware and Best Removable Media for the CD-Writer plus CDRW series. HP won all six awards in the hard copy awards including best printer in four of those categories, Best Multifunction Device and Best Scanner for the HP Scanjet Family.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and solutions for an Internet infrastructure that’s always on.

HP had total revenue from continuing operations of $US 48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

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