ICT satellite school for Tauranga

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce

A New Zealand first information and communications technology graduate school in Auckland will have a satellite location in Tauranga.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today announced the University of Auckland will lead the establishment of an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) graduate school in Auckland in collaboration with the University of Waikato.

The new school will have satellite locations in Hamilton and Tauranga.

The Government has committed $28.6 million over four years for the development and delivery of ICT graduate schools in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.

The schools will accept not only computer science graduates but students who have studied in non-ICT subjects who show strong critical thinking, communications or business planning skills.

Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland, Professor John Hosking, says the graduate school will produce additional graduates in information and communications technologies to help meet industry demand.

"A significant feature of the new school is the way it allows students, who did not initially consider an ICT career, to complement their initial degree with an industry-focused postgraduate programme, making them highly attractive to potential employers," he says.

"If we are to keep pace with the rest of the world, it is more vital than ever that education in this sector is delivered in ways that will produce highly-skilled graduates with work-relevant skills."

University of Waikato Dean of Computing and Mathematical Sciences Geoff Holmes said the University of Waikato was pleased to be a contributing member of the Auckland ICT Graduate School.

"We look forward to delivering the School's programmes in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions and to closer ties with the University of Auckland."