Prime Minister's Scholarships for Asia (SIT)

Prime Minister's Scholarships for Asia

Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) will have the opportunity to help a select number of Information Technology students build lasting connections and form global links that will be priceless in future endeavours.

This experience of a lifetime is thanks to SIT being awarded a group scholarship for a select number of their IT students under the recent round of Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia.

The Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) is a scholarship programme funded by the New Zealand government and administered by Education New Zealand. Established in June 2013, the scholarship covers costs relating to study or research in Asia.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith announced the recipients of the Scholarships, including the places awarded to SIT. This is a fantastic opportunity which will be open to Information Technology students (those currently undertaking study on the Bachelor of Information Technology, Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology and Master of Information Technology). Applications are now open for students to apply and those achieving at a high level will be in the running to experience not only intensive and higher study in the Cybersecurity alert system that is used by Japanese government departments, schools and industry, but will also be given the opportunity to learn the basics of the Japanese language, participate in cultural activities and experience local sightseeing such as visiting Osaka, Tokyo, the Imperial Palace and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office in Shinjuku.

The selected candidates will undertake an 8-week Cybersecurity and Internet of Things Knowledge Transfer and Cultural Programme at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), located in Kansai Science City, south of Tokyo, Japan. The intention of this eight-week training and exchange programme is that students will return to New Zealand with ideas for postgraduate and master’s projects that they will undertake at SIT, as well as allowing the participants to build connections, networks and friendships, develop a deeper understanding of language and culture and gain international perspective that will stand them in good stead for their future career. This exchange will also help to strengthen New Zealand’s ability to engage with key Asian trading partners.
The programme will be run by Professor Youki Kadobayashi from the Graduate School of Information Science Technology at NAIST. Deeply committed to the Asia-Pacific region, he has delivered talks on cybersecurity standards at past Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Cybersecurity Forum meetings and also delivers guest lectures on cybersecurity and cloud computing security at Unitec, New Zealand as an Adjunct Professor.

Dr John Ayoade, Academic Leader for SIT’s School of Information Technology, will accompany the students on the exchange as SIT's staff representative. Dr Ayoade will also act as the chaperone and primary pastoral care provider while the student group is in Japan. Dr Ayoade has lived and worked in Japan for almost 10 years. He undertook his PhD studies at the University of Electro-Communications (UEC) in Tokyo, Japan as a Japanese Government Scholarship recipient and subsequently gained employment with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Tokyo, and served at this renowned research institute for some years as an expert researcher at the Security Group. Dr Ayoade arrived in New Zealand in 2006 and has been employed at New Zealand tertiary institutes in Auckland including AUT and Unitec, prior to moving to SIT in 2015. With over 20 years of experience across Japan and New Zealand, which has enabled Dr Ayoade to have an in-depth exposure to both cultures, he is very well equipped to accompany the student group and provide the care and support needed to achieve the goals and objectives of this programme.

SIT is delighted to be awarded this group scholarship and the students that are successful in their application will undertake a short presentation to a selection panel, before the winners are notified of their success, receiving an experience that can’t be bought.

ENDS.

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