The University of Auckland’s School of Business recently held an IT exhibition that showcased the working projects prepared to the specifications of certain New Zealand businesses. 

Among the sponsors for 2010 (the course is now in its 25th year) were Deloitte, Pumpkin Patch, NetSafe, Outpost Central and Tenzing.

Each asked a team of students to develop a working application with a specific focus to their business, which at the end of the development process, must meet the requirements set by the organisation.

Teams consisted of three or four students and were supervised by a university staff member and mentored through regular guidance from the sponsorship firm.

University of Auckland Associate Professor, Lech Janczewski, said that this year’s event was a tremendous success and there’s been no problems getting major firms to donate the $4000 needed to become a sponsor of the IT exhibition.

The course takes a total of 500-600 hours to complete, which works out at about 1-2 days per week, and acts as an interface between academia and the real world.

Students said that if full time positions became available at the company sponsoring them, they’d love to take up the opportunity post graduation.

Janczewski said he expects an equally strong turnout for next year’s showcase.