Pivot From Career Disruption: Unitec Joins Forces With Industry Leaders To Host Virtual ‘cyber Chat’

Unitec’s School of Computing and Information Technology is partnering with industry leaders to host a webinar on starting a career in cybersecurity, with the disruption of COVID-19 forcing many people to re-think their career pathways and employment opportunities.

Dila Beisembayeva, Academic Programme Manager at Unitec’s School of Computing and Information Technology, worked closely with leading New Zealand technology company, Datacom, to develop Unitec’s one-year NZ Diploma in Cybersecurity at Unitec; the country’s first tertiary institution to have developed a cyber-qualification in the pre-degree space (Level 6). The course launched in February of this year.

Other industry partners, including Spark and Computer Concepts Ltd (CCL), are now involved with the course, and between them the companies host nearly 30 students in their security operations centres for practical, on-the-job training.

Ms Beisembayeva will host today’s ‘cyber chat’ which will feature a panel discussion with representatives from Datacom, Spark and CCL, as well as Conan Bradley, a Detective Sergeant with the New Zealand Police who also lectures in cybercrime and cybersecurity at Unitec.

The webinar will also offer an introduction to Unitec’s Cybersecurity programme, and participants will also have the ability to ask questions of any of the panellists.

Ms Beisembayeva says the industry connections the programme provides are invaluable, with students working on placement one day a week. “In an industry stymied by an increasing skills shortage, we’re helping develop our own home-grown talent and ensuring we deliver what industry needs.

“We’re bridging the gap between education and industry, while at the same time providing employment opportunities for students and equipping them with skills for jobs.”

Hon Kris Faafoi, Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Government Digital Services, said at the launch of the programme earlier this year, “This cybersecurity qualification is a great example of the way vocational education in New Zealand is heading. It’s responding to a very real need. It’s based on collaboration between training providers and industry. And it enables students to train on the job as they study.”

For an overview of the Unitec cybersecurity programme, see here

Details of the webinar are as follows:

To register, click here for further information

Date: Thursday, 4 June

Start Time: 16:00-17:00 NZ time

Speakers:

· Tim Chu - Cybersecurity Operations Centre Manager, Datacom

· Julian Garthwaite - Cyber Security Guardian, Spark New Zealand

· Tim Sewell - Information Security Management Lead, CCL

· Conan Bradley – Detective Sergeant, New Zealand Police

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