Engineering & IT Graduating Students Showcase Commitment

Engineering and IT Graduating Students Showcase Commitment, Collaboration and Creativity

Final year student projects for Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Information Technology, Diploma in Architectural Technology and Graduate Diploma students from engineering and IT were showcased to the public yesterday in Wellington. The projects which represent more than 450 hours of each student’s time have been completed with and for industry as part of the final year of study. Depending on the size of the company or organisation the projects are undertaken with Research and Development specialists and teams or with individual managers who are seeking to improve processes or looking to have new and original ideas applied to their business.

More than 130 intermediate age children viewed the student projects during the day with a formal function in the evening for industry and the community. Guest speakers included Chief Executive of WelTec and Whitireia Chris Gosling, Hutt City Mayor Ray Wallace, Chief Executive of Engineering New Zealand Susan Freeman-Greene and Paul Matthews from IT Professionals NZ.

The student projects covered a wide range of areas and proposed solutions for many real-world problems. They included an automated system for opening and closing existing household curtains, an Android App called “Raise your Game” for former Black Sticks Captain Suzie Muirhead where athletes can input their data and this can be used for planning and development with coaches. A group of students developed an App which allows the Wellington South Community Patrol to automate reporting to NZ Police.

A weather monitoring system for remote locations and a wireless sensor network for forest fire detection were showcased alongside seismic strengthening projects, designs for medium density housing and “Green” house design. “Emugeddon” – an online game built from scratch entertained visitors to the exhibition.

Chief Executive of Engineering New Zealand Susan Freeman-Greene told the students about the incredible opportunities for engineers and IT professionals. She highlighted the pace of change facing the engineering and IT industry which provides opportunities for new graduates with fresh ideas and technical and technological skills. “Commitment, collaboration and creativity skills are essential skills for today’s workforce and these are exactly the skills being demonstrated by the students showcasing their talent.”

Paul Matthews from IT Professionals NZ noted that industry places a high value on IT degrees and that graduates earn 17% more income than a non-degree qualified employee.

Hutt City Mayor Ray Wallace said that the students were the future workforce of “Technology Valley” which has the fourth largest number of medium and high tech companies located in the area. “We are incredibly fortunate to have such bright young minds working in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Manufacturing),” said Mayor Wallace.

ENDS

Background

WelTec’s qualifications are internationally recognised. The Bachelor of Engineering Degree is recognised within the Sydney Accord and the NZ Diploma in Engineering is recognised within the Dublin Accord so graduates can work in member countries around the world.

The Bachelor of Information Technology is widely regarded as the industry standard for entering the IT sector. There are four specialisms in the degree including Programming, Networking, Software Engineering and Information Security. Students can go on to study Post Graduate programmes and the Masters of IT.

© Scoop Media