Unitec Signs Collaboration Agreement with IBM
Thursday 09, August, 2012
Unitec signs collaboration agreement with IBM
On Friday of last week (3 August, 2012) Unitec signed an exciting new collaboration agreement with global company IBM.
The agreement - a development that has been years in the making - will see IBM’s first New Zealand Delivery Centre established right here on Unitec’s Mt Albert campus.
It’s anticipated for the Delivery Centre to open in February 2013, and will employ full-time and part-time professionals, including Unitec graduate and undergraduate students.
Within the next two years, IBM anticipates that the Delivery Centre will employ up to 400 people, primarily comprised of our students.
This agreement is a great example of collaboration between an education provider and industry, and presents a number of benefits for both Unitec and IBM – and more importantly, our students.
Benefits for Unitec and for you, our students
IBM has a long history of collaborating with the university sector, developing graduates with the right skills to work in today’s services oriented economy.
Under this agreement, several initiatives will be put in place that Unitec students will directly benefit from, while they study and once they graduate.
This will include an industry-based ‘Earn As You Learn’ programme with IBM right here at Unitec. Selected students in Computing, Management and Marketing, Accounting and Finance and Communications degrees will gain valuable experience working in the IT industry linked to their studies.
Students who successfully complete the ‘Earn as You Learn’ programme will also be guaranteed job opportunities with IBM upon graduation.
Furthermore, part-time employment opportunities will be available to students studying in any department right across Unitec, as part of the flexible workforce in the Delivery Centre. More details about this will be available as we get closer to the launch of the Centre.
“This collaboration provides Unitec students with the experience they need to get a head start in the job market,” says Unitec Chief Executive, Rick Ede. “Working with a highly respected global company will give our students the experience and expertise they need to get a great job when they graduate.
“Bringing innovative businesses such as IBM into the education environment is about matching the skills of our students with the demands of business and providing students with the experience they need to make a difference in their communities and in New Zealand.”
Jennifer Moxon, Managing Director, IBM New Zealand said, “This is a great example of progressive collaboration between industry and the education sector to provide economic benefits and employment in Auckland.”
“The agreement with Unitec will develop graduates with the right skills to work in today’s services oriented economy as well as create job opportunities for New Zealanders.
“By bringing global investment and leading practices to New Zealand our objective is to make Auckland a strategic delivery centre for our global and local client base,” said Ms Moxon.
IBM's investment in the agreement will also include annual scholarship programmes to be made available to students, as well as jointly developed guest lectures, mentoring, internship and graduate hire programmes.
This collaboration will be based on IBM’s successful model at the University of Ballarat Delivery Centre in Australia and represents a multi-million dollar investment.
The Ballarat Centre was established in 2005 and continues to create employment and economic benefits in Victoria today.
Impact of short-term changes for students
The new Delivery Centre will be based on the top floor of Building 172 at our Mt Albert campus, and refitting work starts at the end of this month. This means classes that were scheduled for the lecture theatre and rooms on that top floor will be relocated to new rooms from the 23 August, 2012.
All affected classes will simply move to new rooms – no time or day changes were necessary to make this changeover possible. That’s great news for students who may have planned their schedules for this semester around work and other personal commitments.
Our Timetabling and Facilities Management teams, with the support of those affected departments, have done a great job minimising the impact to both students and staff.
Some Department of Marketing and Management (DoMM) staff will be relocating their offices to Oakridge House, and DoMM students will be kept informed on where and how they can contact those staff.
To stay on track with a planned 1 February, 2013 opening date of the Delivery Centre, all the above changes come into effect from the 23 August, 2012.
Check out your updated timetables on your department’s page on the Unitec website, on Moodle, via MyUnitec, or check with your department staff or lecturers.
Benefits for IBM
The IBM New Zealand Delivery Centre will strengthen and expand IBM’s global footprint of Global Process Services, adding to over 50 delivery centres that already exist across five continents. The Centre will provide IBM’s clients with innovative business process and ICT services, in areas including Human Resources, Supply Chain Management and Finance & Administration, Customer Relationship Management; Remote Technical and ICT support, and Consulting.
For more information about IBM, please visit http://www.ibm.com/nz/en/
Chair of the Unitec Council, Ted van Arkel, shakes hands with Jennifer Moxon from IBM at the signing of the agreement last Friday.
Jennifer Moxon, Managing Director, IBM NZ signs the agreement in the Unitec Marae.