ICT Graduate Schools stakeholder workshops
Background and Preview
July 2014
The ongoing growth of ICT technology
ICT technology continues to advance at a rate of knots.
Increasingly, these developments disrupt business models and
shape our personal lives.
For example, industries are currently adapting to the disruptive combination of
› Adoption of cloud computing
› Rapid penetration of mobile devices and technologies
› Emergence of Big Data analytics
› Adoption of social technologies
As these new technologies are rolled out and adopted, they enable
further adoption of more intelligent industry-specific solutions.
The opportunity for an innovation led NZ
economy is here for the taking
In 2012 New Zealand
exported $659m worth
of IT Services1
Worldwide, the ICT industry is expected
to grow by US $1.3 trillion between 2013
and 2020 – generating $5 trillion worth
of spending in 2020 2
› This will engage billions of users and generate new technologies, sustaining a new
intelligent economy.
› It also represents a change of scale in the size and depth of the ICT market, both in
terms of the number of users, the number of connected devices, and the number of
applications and services.
New Zealand is in a unique position to benefit from growth in ICT technology,
which increasingly cuts across the geographic boundaries that have inhibited our
productivity. We see an opportunity for New Zealand to take a leading position
in the global the ICT industry.
To seize this opportunity, cutting edge ICT
education and research is essential
Developing the cutting edge technology and skills that
innovative businesses need to thrive
For New Zealand to become a world leader in ICT technology, we need more:
› Students with the high-level ICT skills needed by the industry to incite a
significant industry shift, combined with the business and entrepreneurial
acumen to succeed in a demanding, fast-paced future
› Research that is aligned to the emerging demands of industry and will help
NZ firms to compete internationally
This will create a talent pipeline for employers, while
paving clear career pathways for students into a hightech, high-value industries
The ICT skills outlook
› ICT is changing fast and so is the demand for specific technology skills
› A strong core technology and theoretical education will form a platform on
which future specific technology skills can be built
› In addition to these technical skills, “soft” skills such as business acumen,
communication, team working and entrepreneurship are becoming
increasingly essential as business models adapt to new technologies
The ICT skills market is becoming increasingly complex
and will demand significant and meaningful
collaboration between industry and education providers
Connecting students and researchers with
industry
The ICT Graduate Schools provide an opportunity to develop new
knowledge and give students cutting edge ICT skills through the
creation of genuine industry and education provider partnerships.
Budget has dedicated $28.4m for the next four years for this programme with an
expectation that there will be
› Partnerships between education providers and businesses to deliver the ICT Graduate
School programme
› Graduates with industry focussed technical and soft skills
› Connections with innovation precincts and the rest of the innovation system
› Clear and tangible career pathways for students
› Creation of cutting edge knowledge through industry focussed research
This is a chance to think about education differently.
Why take a market/RfP approach?
We want to tap into the expertise out there in industry and the
education sector - you are best placed to tell us what’s required
and how to deliver it.
A market approach offers an opportunity for you, as
industry and education providers, to work together to
develop innovative solutions around what the ICT Schools
could look like and how industry focussed ICT education
should be delivered.
An independent panel of experts, comprising representatives from
the education, industry and government sectors will assess the
proposals.
The stakeholder workshops
These workshops will provide stakeholders an opportunity to
contribute to the development of the ICT Graduate Schools policy.
There will be two discussion sessions at each workshop, focusing respectively
on two overarching questions
› What are the outcomes that we want these Graduate Schools to achieve?
› How can we ensure that the schools achieve these outcomes?
We will summarise and published the findings from the workshops so they will
be accessible to all potential tender respondents.
The output of these discussions will ultimately help to determine
the criteria that will be used to assess the models that consortia
propose.
After the workshops – next steps…
• Based on the findings from the workshops and in consultation with
our expert panel, we will formulate a set of outcomes that the
Graduate Schools should achieve.
• We will issue a request for proposals (RfP) for consortia of
stakeholders to develop models for schools that will achieve those
outcomes.
• The expert panel will assess the proposals, and recommend those that
will best achieve the desired outcomes.
• The TEC and MBIE will work with successful consortia to help
implement their proposals.
We expect final decisions on school operators to be
made early next year and implementation to begin from
mid 2015.
References and Further Reading
References
1. MBIE: 2013 ICT Sectors Report http://www.mbie.govt.nz/pdf-library/what-we-do/business-growth-agenda/sectors-reports-series/sectorreport-information-communication-technology.pdf
2. Skills Ireland: Addressing ICT Skills http://www.skillsireland.ie/media/04112013-Addressing_ICT_Skills-Publication.pdf
Other Interesting Reading
Innovation Precincts
http://www.brookings.edu/InnovationDistricts
http://www.mbie.govt.nz/what-we-do/canterbury-recovery/chip
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/vodafone-anchor-innovation-precinct
The Government’s Business Growth Agenda: Building Innovation
http://www.mbie.govt.nz/what-we-do/business-growth-agenda/building-innovation
Productivity Commission: Boosting productivity in the services sector (esp. chapter 10: Supply and demand for IT skills)
http://www.productivity.govt.nz/sites/default/files/services-inquiry-final-report.pdf
Christchurch Development Corporation: ICT Sector Workforce Survey Report
http://www.canterburysoftware.org.nz/assets/Uploads/ICT-Sector-Workforce-Survey-Report-final-301012.pdf
ICT Industry Reports
http://www.absoluteit.co.nz/tech-news-insights/industry-reports
http://www.nztech.org.nz/Category?Action=View&Category_id=295