Ben Kevey: Listen to student view on development - you might learn something

'I think the plan deserves support because it will meet the needs of students and the economy of the future', writes Ben Kevey.

Opinion

Ask students why they come to Unitec and they will probably each give a different answer. One thing I believe we all have in common, though, is that we want to walk out of here with a job, and not just any job - a career.

Being a student these days is a significant investment. Annual fees of about $6000 to $8000 mean many of us will complete our studies with the equivalent of a small mortgage to pay off. The investment for the taxpayer and the community is bigger again. And employers now need students who can be productive from day one rather than needing to go through further retraining.

It's in this changing education environment that Unitec has recently published its submission to the Auckland Council Unitary Plan on changes to its site.

Any benefits from these will be enjoyed by future students, as most of us will have graduated by then. But having followed Unitec's planning closely, I hope Aucklanders will support its direction to help make people like me worth something to my industry and society.

I believe that by creating a whole new education hub it will bring immediate benefits to the campus and the surrounding suburbs of Mt Albert and Pt Chevalier. More importantly, it will also make it possible for Unitec to provide the education future students and their employers are going to need.

I have a Diploma in Applied Technology (Building) and am completing a Bachelor of Construction (Construction Management) before going into a career in residential development. In just the last three years I have seen how much the teaching and knowledge required to be job-ready continues to change.

A few years back lecture theatres had hundreds of students taking notes. Today's teaching is more likely to involve groups working around tables as the lecturer helps them source information directly related to the working world.

For example, in a recent assignment on procurement I had to give detailed recommendations for actual housing projects we case-studied, using online information for developments in Hobsonville and Takapuna.

This is a world away from simply studying texts and is part of a new approach to vocational education that is internationally becoming the norm. Putting this into practice means new teaching methods and better use of technology. At Unitec it's also going to require better use of the site we are on.

Currently the campus sprawls across 64ha on a property developed for a psychiatric hospital in 1865. Lecture rooms can be more than 1km apart. Many buildings have water problems, are past their use-by date or score poorly on earthquake ratings.

Unitec spends millions each year on maintenance that should go to educating our industry professionals of the future.

The Unitec vision (which is on Unitec's website) would create a new education hub with landscaped open spaces, housing and businesses. I believe it will bring new life to the whole area.

But mostly I think the plan deserves support because it will meet the needs of students and the economy of the future. I'm grateful for the education I've had at Unitec and the opportunity it has given me for a career. When I think about the students who will follow me I'd love to see them given every opportunity to succeed in a constantly changing world.

Ben Kevey is the Student President at Unitec Institute of Technology.