SHIFT Studio Projects form a key part of the 'real-world industry' learning during the SHIFT programme. Each project runs for five or six weeks, and with a small group of three to five SHIFT learners each spending up to one hundred hours on it. During this time they build skills and capabilities, experience new areas of tech, and research and implement a range of tech solutions - the results can be very impressive!
This semester our Christchurch cohort have quickly grasped the relevant skills to complete their first project - a device management software, which tracks devices that staff use within a Game Development company. There were two groups working on the problem.
The 'Newtonia' team delivered a database which is accessible through a web application, allowing users to locate, borrow, and return devices from the comfort of their own computer.
The Newtonia Team included:
- James Shaw who has previously worked in banking.
- John McLean, an electronics and field applications engineer.
- Matt Hall wh has experience in tourism and the dairy industry.
- Chris Burn who was previously a university lab supervisor.
The 'A Team' produced a fully up-and-running web app, their backgrounds included:
- Daniel Gilmour who went from agri-sciences field research technician to front end – HTML, bootstrap, art, scrum master.
- Andrea Thom who had worked in legislative regulatory environment and project management to testing and scrum master.
- Laksana Atmaja goes from an account manager for
IT products to designing the Database (MySQL) and pop ups for the project.
- Chris Ockenden from production
manager/proposals and design engineer to working on the Bookings - Python, Flask and HTML, scrum master.
- Manpreet Narang holds a Master of Technology in
Computer Science and Engineering, and has been concentrating on the back end portion in Python and Flask.
The students enjoyed working in the Agile and Scrum format, the teamwork environment and seeing others exercise their strengths. The two teams have been reformulated and SHIFT students have now started working on their second project for The Ministry of Education, to digitize a workflow process which will make the Education Advisers work more efficient via a digital Web App.
With the latest Absolute IT Christchurch Regional Report predicting that 91% of IT employers in Christchurch will be recruiting staff over the next 12 months, we definitely need more people looking to join this career pathway.
If you are looking to up-skill into a tech career in 2020, or you may be an organisation looking for student help with your next project, please get in touch with us.
