University makes shortlist for ICT grad school

University makes shortlist for ICT grad school

A new graduate school in information and communications technologies for the Auckland region is one step closer now that a proposal from the University of Auckland and the University of Waikato has made the shortlist.

A new graduate school in information and communications technologies for the Auckland region is one step closer now that a proposal from the University of Auckland and the University of Waikato has made the shortlist.

Announcing the six shortlisted proposals today, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Steven Joyce, said the new schools would connect tertiary education and industry to deliver more of the ICT skills New Zealand will need.

The proposal from the Universities of Auckland and Waikato is a major collaborative project aimed at providing the talent and skills needed in the rapidly evolving ICT sector.

It would bring together not just the two Universities but top companies as industry partners including Fonterra, ASB, Datacom, Microsoft, Oracle, OrionHealth and Deloitte.

The Auckland ICT Graduate School provides a unique collaboration between Business, Science and Engineering disciplines. The disciplines it will draw on, its location in Auckland and proximity to the largest pool of employment opportunities, the existing links to New Zealand’s top companies, the breadth and depth of the ICT teaching and research contributing to the School are its greatest strengths and points of difference, said University of Auckland Head of the Department of Computer Science Professor Robert Amor.

“The strength of our proposal is the strong relationships developed by both Universities with some of the world’s best-known ICT companies and together we believe we will produce the best and most capable graduates for New Zealand.”

The programmes offered would provide pathways to careers that cross the gamut of ICT-based activity, he said, and academic diversity would play a vital role.

“Academic pathways will not only draw graduates from Arts, Business, Engineering and Science but will prepare graduates for careers right across the board including some that haven’t been invented yet.”

The Government is investing $28.6 million over the next four years in three ICT Graduate Schools.

Full proposals will now be submitted by March next year.

ENDS

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