The Northern Campus of the Unitec Institute of Technology in Albany celebrated its first anniversary last fortnight.
Sally Conway, Lecturer and Programme Leader in Language studies at the Campus, said that the institution serves the needs of students and the community of the North Shore and Rodney regions.
“It provides an ideal place to study for people from this region, reducing the need to travel to Mt Albert or Waitakere Campuses,” she said.
Ms Conway said that the past year has seen the Campus develop to cater the increasing needs of the communities and that it had proved to be a ‘rollercoaster ride of highs and lows.’
“We had a great first year with Pam Malcolm leading the collaboration between programmes, support staff and our wonderful student central staff who always go the extra mile. More recently, there has been an on-going commitment by all staff to maintain that special feeling of the North Shore Campus,” she said.
The campus offers learning experience for students in business, communication, IT, healthcare areas and trade training.
Ms Conway said that there was a great need for highly skilled employees in these fields of study in New Zealand.
In addition to foundation programmes, which prepare students for future employment and furthering their studies at Unitec, the Albany Campus offers Certificate and Diploma courses in many subjects.
Useful courses
The Campus also offers a Certificate and Diploma in English when international students first arrive in New Zealand, she said.
“This encourages a range of international students to consider Unitec as an institute in which to study. Unitec offers industry-relevant qualifications to equip
students for future employment. It also provides pre-apprentice training to help them secure an apprenticeship with North Shore-based companies.”
The Campus enrolled 618 students last year, with the current strength reaching 1000 students. About 75 students completed a qualification in 2011, of whom, 10 completed the National Certificate in Retail, taught in collaboration with Skills Update Training Institute (SUTI).
David Clarke, Curriculum Leader at Mt Albert and Albany Faculty of Technology and Built Environment said that the Northern Campus has continued to flourish and show its full potential.
“There is a sense of spirit that is inspirational and magnetic, an atmosphere that is electrifying which can be felt by students and staff. It is a symphony of world class education,” he said.
Unitec is the Sponsor of the ‘Best Medium Business’ Category of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards 2012.
