Students find IT solutions for Manawatu businesses
MITRE 10 Mega and New Zealand Pharmaceuticals now have improved computer systems, thanks to UCOL Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) students.
For the past six months, 16 Bachelor of ICT students have worked with a sponsor Manawatu company, offering help with
their information systems and business processes.
They apply the results of three years of study to find real-world IT solutions to help local companies succeed.
The MITRE 10 Mega project was managed by student Adam Taylor. The mega store’s requests included a fully functional
imaging solution and a ‘Roaming Profile’ which allows managers to login and use any computer within the organisation.
Adam also created an IT equipment catalogue designed to provide information about each of the workstations and
networking equipment currently present within the IT infrastructure.
Adam worked with MITRE 10 Financial Analyst Du Randt Potgieter who says the outcomes were excellent and have been
adopted by the company. “We were especially impressed with the functionality and adaptability of the solutions that Adam
proposed,” he said.
He attended an Industry Project Showcase evening at UCOL this month, along with other company sponsors, including
representatives of New Zealand Pharmaceuticals who were full of praise for their student partner, Mike Whakatihi.
Mike worked with HR Manager Murray Turley and IT Manager David Soong to create and implement a new, more timely
computerized workflow for the induction of new employees. David praised Mike’s depth of analysis and said the solutions
he found had been “very, very helpful in creating a more effective, computer based induction process.”
Head of School for Information Systems and Computing, Catherine Snell-Siddle, says good relationships develop between
the students and the business people they work with. “Apart from helping the students apply and integrate the skills
they have learnt, the projects provide experience and contacts that often result in job offers and future employment.”
Posters on the projects by the 16 Bachelor of Information and Computer Technology students are on display in the UCOL
Atrium until Friday 30 November.
ENDS