Sir Peter Gluckman, PM's science advisor, talks about the Waterloo model being adopted here in New Zealand. I hope that involves a sandwich year for Kiwi students. Internships not only are great for students, and NZ businesses, but also for New Zealand, in my humble opinion!
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/innovation-centre-gets-new-tenants-in-nextspace
http://www.canada-nz.org.nz/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2258:sir-peter-gluckman-speaks-highly-of-canadas-technology-triangle&catid=3:newsflash&Itemid=9
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Friday, 4 November 2011
one year internships at Trimble - deadline Nov 21
QA Analyst Student Interns
-
Fixed-term (12
months), commencing in January 2012
-
Based in Christchurch, New Zealand
Trimble's GIS Data Collection (GIS)
organization, based in Christchurch, is looking for two QA Analyst Interns to
join their Christchurch team. This is a 12 month fixed-term position, working
full-time hours. The successful applicants will work directly with members of
the GIS Technical Services team and undertake a wide range of duties related to
the testing and performance analysis of GIS Data Collection software &
hardware products. You will be working in one or more of the following areas:
GPS receivers, firmware, software (datalogger applications running on Windows
Mobile and office applications running on Windows), as well as integration
& end user testing.
Preference will be
given to high achieving, qualified students who are taking a sandwich year or
taking a year between their bachelor and master’s degree. Recent graduates who
want to gain industry experience in the location-based services field will also
be considered.
The successful
applicant(s) will work one-on-one with a Master Tester and members of the GIS Data
Collection engineering teams, and will undertake a wide range of duties related
to the testing and performance analysis of software & hardware products.
This is challenging and varied work.
The following
qualifications are important for this position:
• At
least two years completed in undergraduate studies in computer science,
software engineering, geography, mechatronics or related engineering field
• Strong
computer skills such as ArcGIS, ArcPad, C# or scripting
• High
attention to detail, with strong problem-solving skills and an ability to think
creatively
• GPS,
GIS or Survey experience
• Excellent
communication skills – both written and verbal
• Willingness
to undertake outdoor, physical work as and when required.
Students with a
“hacker” approach would find this testing work particularly rewarding. One
aspect of our testing is the use of exploratory techniques, so we are looking
for people who can “dig in” and find and diagnose problems in a complex
product.
What’s in it for you? You will gain practical industry experience by
working directly with software, hardware and firmware engineers, product
marketing managers and product support specialists. You will be part of a team contributing
to the product development of handheld GPS units and software for the world
market. You will be earning money for a year help pay your University expenses.
You will gain experience in world class research & development and testing,
and you will see the changes your contributions have made on the products Trimble
delivers within the next year. Take a look at our products: www.trimble.com/mgis.
Applicants
must be legally entitled to work in New Zealand. If you are not a New Zealand
citizen, you must have the right of permanent residence or a current work visa. No
relocation assistance provided.
To apply in
confidence, please email your CV,
covering letter and academic transcript to:
Human Resources, Trimble New Zealand, PO Box 8729,
Christchurch.
Applications
close on 21 November 2011
How to hire sandwich year students
The sandwich year concept continues to evolve for 2012. If you are a business, please let me know via comments what opportunities you have for hiring student interns - either undergraduate or recently graduated - for a 6 months to a year.
Trimble has 2 intern jobs available ( see subsequent post)
Ian
Trimble has 2 intern jobs available ( see subsequent post)
Ian
sandwich year - what's happening in the US?
September 2011: I am currently in the USA and have had the chance to talk with a lot of
people who have young adult children wanting to start their careers. Its
a tough story.
Clearly the situation for young
professionals is different in the US and NZ ( the US economy is much
worse than in NZ), but I do keep in mind that young people today are
competing in a world market not just a national market. Companies are
competing for talent all over the globe. See this article in the Harvard Business review.
In
the current US market, young people are having a harder and harder time getting their first job.
The top 2% seem to be doing OK. But with unemployment rate so high for
recent graduates ( anecdotally 50% which would include under-employed),
many young people see internships as the way to get their foot in the
door and to distinguish them from others. And they do internships for free or even *pay* to
work for free! I have heard of young people not able to get a
work-for-free internship because they are all taken. My daughter's
friend applied for 67 internships with his Harvard Law degree and was
pleased to get one offer. Some students have gone back to get their
Master's degree, to wait out the recession, only to find when they
graduate again, the recession is still going, and now they are competing
with the next crop of undergraduate students - and have removed their
advanced degree from their CV so they don't look over qualified.
How
does this apply to NZ? In a tight labour market, it shows the danger of
having no work experience when you graduate. A proven work track record
is acknowledged as being a way to distinguish you from other people.
Also
companies are in highly competitive situations, under pressure to get
products delivered faster and faster. Although companies want to support
young people, it is easier to have more companies hiring interns if
there is a clear short term *business* advantage to the company to do
so.
And that is what www.sandwichyear.co.nz
is all about: Making it as easy as possible for companies to hire kiwi
interns so students get that critical start in a competitive world
market and local companies get the talent they need to get products to
market faster.
Ian
sandwich year - more businesses in chch
I had a talk with yet one more
business today - a major high tech employer. I found we had common
experience - hiring a student for the summer is best done if there is a
project set up for the student to complete but there is not enough time
to really get that student really read in to being productive in the
company.
We wondered what subjects would be best for
business for the students to have learnt. A sandwich year program would
allow students to contribute more than just a single project. A
sandwich year program would be an effective way for the returning
student to give direct feedback to faculty about industry needs.
|
new insights into value for business and university
In August 2011, I had an interesting conversation at NZi3 about the value of the sandwich year program to the university, which, frankly, I had not thought about so much since I had been concentrating on the business advantage. If the sandwich year idea does take hold and become part of the Uni program, this by itself could be used to attract more students to enroll at Uni. It would give Uni a competitive advantage in attracting new students. A student would come to uni because they get, as part of their education, one year of practical experience for their CV, a year's worth of salary to help pay their student loan, plus a greater likelihood of getting a job in their field when they graduate and be offered a higher starting salary to boot! A sandwich year uni would likely obtain higher percentage employed graduates than other universities. Then we also discussed the job market in Christchurch currently. Businesses are hiring and the demand for high tech staff is high. At the same time, it is harder for businesses to attract talent to Christchurch due to the earthquake situation. The sandwich year program could be an ideal way for businesses to bridge this talent gap while at the same time finding those top students they can hire after graduation. We gave a handout to all business people attending the upcoming Software Summit I am continuing to look for more local businesses who may be interested. If you know of any, please refer them to this site and have them register interest. |
sandwich year - does a sandwich year lose money for universities?
Sandwich year programs allow students to get a year of practical work expericee before they graduate
I had a fascinating conversation today with a person at the University. Maybe the sandwich year is not so good for the university because the university loses a year's worth of tuition.
Maybe this is one reason the sandwich year concept is best driven by business, not the university. A sandwich year is all gain for business.
The university is not losing tuition. It is in fact getting tuition deferred and then the other benefits of a sandwich year to the university will surface.
What I hope would happen is that Universities will accept that work experience is good for students and support the sandwich year.
Here are 3 money making ideas for universities:
- Make the sandwich year a for-credit course and charge tuition and the employer and professor could determine a grade for the sandwich year.
- Support sandwich years if the student also takes an evening course for credit.
- Support the sandwich year from businesses where the business enrolls several of its own employees in evening courses at the University.
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