Bright Sparks Members Shine as Winners Announced

MEDIA RELEASE

Bright Sparks Members Shine as 2005 Tertiary Scholarship Winners Announced.

Auckland, 5 May, 2005

Seven of the eight Bright Sparks Tertiary Scholarship winners announced by ETITO in Auckland this week are current or former members of the Bright Sparks Club. Two of the winners, Brendon and Justin Port from Auckland, have been active members of the club since fourth form – excelling at national and international competitions both inside and out of the Bright Sparks Programme.

For Ross Petersen, Bright Sparks Manager, the numbers of Bright Sparks Club members applying for scholarship is confirmation that ETITO’s school to industry transition programme is working. “The number of students entering tertiary programmes who have participated in some aspect of the Bright Sparks programme is demonstrably increasing. We are getting good feedback from the tertiary sector on this one.”

The industry judges commented that the quality of applications this year was exceptional, with particularly full and detailed responses provided by the shortlist of sixteen students, from which the eight winners were chosen. The high quality of applications was seen as a positive outcome for the hi-tech industry.

The 2005 Bright Sparks Scholarship winners are:

Brendon Port, Bachelor of Engineering, University of Auckland, Year One*

Justin Port, Bachelor of Engineering, University of Auckland, Year One*

Jonathon Platt, Bachelor of Engineering, University of Auckland, Year One*

Byron Howard, Diploma in Electronics, Manukau Institute of Technology, Year One*

Thomas Stevens, University of Canterbury, Bachelor of Engineering, Year Two*

Mikael Stewart, Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Year Two*

Jane Man, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours, Third Year, Bachelor of Commerce, Year Two, University of Canterbury

Robert Turner, Bachelor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury, Year Two**

* Current Bright Sparks Club Member ** Former Bright Sparks Club Member Bright Sparks Scholarships are awarded annually by ETITO with the support of industry sponsors, Navman, PDL Electrical Products, Schneider Electric, Gartner Superlux, ITL Technologies Ltd, Transpower and Broadcast Communications Ltd.

Bright Sparks

Bright Sparks is an ETITO initiative that aims to develop a strong pool of talent to propel the future growth of its industries. Bright Sparks works directly with schools and young people to get them on the pathway to an exciting Electrotechnology career. There are over 1000 members of the Bright Sparks website and email club and 2,600 young New Zealanders are currently enrolled in ETITO developed, NCET electronic qualifications in 170 secondary schools across the nation. For more information visit: www.brightsparks.org.nz

ETITO

ETITO is a leading-edge provider of human capability solutions to eleven New Zealand industry sectors through a national network, located in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. A not-for-profit organisation, ETITO operates on behalf of its industries and for its industries to: determine future skill needs; develop national competence standards, qualification programmes and supporting implementation and assessment resources; design and manage national quality assurance mechanisms for assessment and; direct government funding to support industry.

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