ICT Graduate School - University of Auckland

Our students in the Auckland ICT Graduate School were fortunate to hear from IT industry leaders last week, at our Q&A Panel which is part of the Industry Workshop Series.

Thanks to Shawn Lam of NZ Superfund, Adrian Collier of , Cindy Hu of Transport (AT), Monica Zhang of Xero, Lesley Gao of Nylon and Kobe Xu of Deloitte.

Faculty of Science, University of Auckland University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau

Introducing Isaac Lin, an ICT Graduate School - University of Auckland alumni profiled in our ten-year anniversary celebration series.

“I completed my Master of Information Technology degree in early 2023. The Business courses were my favourite. Coming from a non-technical background, they helped me connect the technology I was learning to real commercial outcomes, which is exactly what I do now as a Solutions Architect. I completed my internship with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Auckland as a Solutions Architect intern.

For my industry project I built a "digital person" prototype, integrating AWS Amazon Lex with Soul Machines' DDNA Studio to create a life-like, conversational digital human that addressed a real business problem. It was my first proper taste of designing on the cloud end to end, and it is ultimately what set my career direction.

That internship turned into a full-time role. I joined AWS as a Solutions Architect in February 2024 (Auckland) then relocated to Sydney in July 2025, where I now work as a Solutions Architect in the Startups team and helping founders design and scale their platforms on the cloud, often around artificial intelligence/machine learning (“AI/ML”) and generative AI.

The highlight of my career was speaking at an AWS Summit in Sydney 2026 when I delivered two customer lightning talks to full-house 200+ audience (among the most popular in the startup zone) and built a startup-enterprise connection platform from scratch (“NovaSpark”) that has been reused across AWS summits around the Asia-Pacific and Japan region.

Beyond the stage, the most rewarding part of the job has been helping many customers move to the AWS cloud with confidence. Getting to do this, only a few years after switching careers into tech, is the highlight I am proudest of. On the credentials side, I have also earned the AWS "Golden Jacket" with all 12+ AWS certifications.

The ICT Graduate School's industry-project model is the reason I am where I am. It dropped me straight into real problems with real partners instead of textbook exercises. As a career-changer, that bridge from classroom to industry was everything. Congratulations on ten years and thank you for backing people from every background."

Faculty of Science, University of Auckland University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Waikato

Join us for the three lectures in the 2026 Ihaka Lecture Series “Thinking critically, creatively and responsibly with data” on 23, 30 July and 6 August 2026.

The first lecture on 23 July “Trustworthy data visualization” will be presented by Kieran Healy, Professor of Sociology, Duke University, U.S.A.

Visit the link for more information and to register:
Join us for the three lectures in the 2026 Ihaka Lecture Series “Thinking critically, creatively and responsibly with data” on 23, 30 July and 6 August 2026.

The first lecture on 23 July “Trustworthy data visualization” will be presented by Kieran Healy, Professor of Sociology, Duke University, U.S.A.

Visit the link for more information and to register:
https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/ihaka-lecture-series-2026-tickets-1991653429020?aff=oddtdtcreator

Faculty of Science, University of Auckland University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau

The Incredible Science event was hosted last week by the Faculty of Science, University of Auckland.

This annual event is designed to give Year 7 and 8 school students inspiring, hands-on experiences, showcasing the amazing work happening across our faculty.

The School of Computer Science and ICT Graduate School - University of Auckland were involved in:

* Students being introduced to programming and learning how to program a robot mouse to navigate a maze.
* Experiencing artificial intelligence in a fun and creative setting, taking part in AI-based games designed by Google.

Students thoroughly enjoyed both activities and engagement was high throughout the day. Thanks to all involved!

Applications for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment R&D Experience Grant will open at 9am on Monday 13 July 2026.

If you are thinking of hosting one of our ICT Graduate School - University of Auckland Master of Information Technology students over the summer, you can learn more about the grant on the website:

Please visit the link for more information:
https://www.business.govt.nz/tax-and-money/innovation-funding/r-and-d-experience-grant

Introducing Professor Gill Dobbie, the first ICT Graduate School - University of Auckland Director and profiled in our ten-year anniversary celebration series.

“The ICT Graduate Schools were established in 2015 as part of the New Zealand Government's Business Growth Agenda, with the goal of developing the highly skilled technology professionals needed for a rapidly growing digital economy. A key champion of the initiative was Steven Joyce, then Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment.

The schools were designed to bridge the gap between education and employment through innovative, industry-focused postgraduate programmes, including the Master of Information Technology.

Built as partnerships between universities and industry, they provided students with practical experience through internships, mentoring, and close engagement with employers.

For many of us involved in their creation, the Graduate Schools offered an opportunity to rethink how ICT education could be delivered. They gave us the freedom to develop the strong industry connections we had long aspired to build and to create new models of collaboration between academia and business.

I was involved in the establishment of the Auckland ICT Graduate School and served as its inaugural Director. I was delighted to help shape the School because its mission aligned closely with my long-standing commitment to building research capability and fostering collaboration across academia, industry, and government.

One of the highlights was the opportunity to reimagine ICT education and to work alongside an extraordinary group of people who shared a common vision. There are too many to name, but I would particularly like to acknowledge Pamela Moss, John Hosking, Geoff Holmes, Pauline Sheddan, Ray Delany, Graeme Muller, James Bergin, Nuwanthie Samarakone, Eli Hirschauge, and the talented academic and professional staff at the University of Auckland and the The University of Waikato who turned that vision into reality.

One memorable reminder of why the School was needed came during a speed-networking event. An industry mentor asked a student, "If we were at the pub and I asked one of your friends what your strengths are, what would they say?" The student had no answer. It was never entirely clear whether the challenge was the pub, the friends, or identifying their strengths!

More seriously, one of the most rewarding aspects of the School has been watching students develop not only their technical expertise but also their professional confidence and networks. Workshops, internships, and networking events connected students with industry leaders and researchers, often opening doors to opportunities that would not otherwise have existed. Seeing graduates grow into valued members of New Zealand's ICT community has been immensely satisfying.

Visit the YouTube links below for the Gibbons 2026 lecture series "Augmenting Scientific Discovery with AI."

Thanks to all our presenters and to Gill Dobbie for organising the series.

Dr Jörg Wicker
"AI as a Driver of Science: Making Sense of the Environmental Fate of Chemicals"
https://www.youtube.com/live/t59vWi1oiCw?si=uayaE6U-tKI23Tep

Dr Matthew Egbert
"How does Artificial Intelligence Differ from Natural Intelligence?"
https://www.youtube.com/live/vWNXoe6wDNM?si=KadpQLoupTp7IysI

Professor Steven Mills, School of Computing, University of Otago
"Computing, Culture, and Choices: Why do we do what we do?"
https://www.youtube.com/live/DOBFvWkD55A?si=F3PHaiCDe-k3kY8W

Dr. Jonathan Swain
DIY AI: Open-source AI for Drug Discovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM0GGudiSxs&list=PLrn9cK8YU6v9ROOboJ_HcEjHX_7RnmXl7&index=4

Don't forget to subscribe to our channel!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtWofk7RuHbwcDWewsVgzbA

University of Otago Faculty of Science, University of Auckland University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau

Introducing James Lam, an Auckland ICT Graduate School Graduate School alumni profiled in our ten-year anniversary celebration series.

James is currently a software engineer in Fivetran:

“Things have changed since 2017. I was originally in biomedical sciences research, sifting through data and routine statistical analysis. There was nothing fancy but the deeper I dove, the more dependent on computers and programs I became.

The ICT PGCertInfoTech program was the first avenue I tried to get into computing myself. This program quickly broke down the interaction with technology into fundamental building blocks and compositions. This fascination led me to MInfoTech and the specialised fields of AI and data.

A worthy mention is that the PGCertInfoTech course provided me with the fundamentals to comprehend one of my favourite courses - “Interactive cognitive systems.” I was not only educated in AI but the core principles emphasised being situated, embodied and the dynamics of time towards cognitive systems breeding more complex AI.

My studies led to an internship for a research lab on creating an AI system, where the project aims to lower the hurdle by automating AI model training. From there, I landed roles such as Data / Software Engineer, for an intensive data processing company and have been employed everywhere from startups to global enterprise-sized companies. A highlight has been creating a complete end-to-end automated data processing to warehouse system with lineage and governance.

I greatly appreciate how the ICT Graduate School's continuous improvement and evolution in response to the industry’s demand helped me.”

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Join us for the final Gibbons lectures in the series:

On Tuesday 2 June 2026 the talk “DIY AI: Open-source AI for Drug Discovery” will be presented by Dr. Jonathan Swain.

Visit the link for more information and to register:
https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/augmenting-scientific-discovery-with-ai-tickets-1984099954374

Livestream link:
https://www.youtube.com/live/GM0GGudiSxs

Join us for the next Gibbons lectures in the series.

On Tuesday 26 May 2026 “Computing, Culture, and Choices: Why do we do what we do?” will be presented by Professor Steven Mills, School of Computing, University of Otago.

Visit the link for more information and to register
https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/augmenting-scientific-discovery-with-ai-tickets-1984099954374

Livestream
youtube.com/live/DOBFvWkD55A?feature=share