The Dunedin cohort has consistently grown since the programme's
inception in 2017 when four willing and eager students helped launch SHIFT.
Last year, the Dunedin SHIFT programme grew significantly to 13, and in 2019 we have 19 full-time students, with new part-time students able to start in July .
This year the Dunedin cohort includes six fresh graduates and 13 career changers. The cohort has an average age of 35 and consists of 11 males and 8 females. Their educational and career backgrounds are varied, which brings many different perspectives and experiences to the class.
Backgrounds include:
- Music composition/Sound Engineering
- Marketing and Communications
- Psychology
- Forestry Science
- Geography
- Accounting and Business Management
- Information Technology/Computer Science
- Teaching
- Design
- German and TESOL
- Genetics
- Economics
- Chemistry
SHIFT is attractive to a wide range of people, for obvious reasons - it combines academic theory with practical application through company projects and industry internships. It also offers a convenient way for people to change careers relatively quickly and enter the exciting tech sector.
Our new students have completed their foundation papers and ICT Fundamentals, as well as being over half way through their first full-semester elective. They are now just about to embark of the first of three group Studio Projects, where they will work on a tech solution for a real organisation over a period of 5-6 weeks.
To conclude SHIFT (starting approx October) all students will complete a 200-hour industry placement. Please contact info@signal.ac.nz if you believe you could accommodate one of our students to work on a value adding project for your organisation which is going to challenge and push their new found tech skills.
The 2019 Dunedin cohort are a great bunch of friendly, funny, and interesting people. We wish them well during their studies, and as they venture into the world of tech!
