Software engineering degree proves just the ticket

university-of-waikato

Fri May 01 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Software engineering degree proves just the ticket

Friday, 1 May 2009, 10:41 am
Press Release: University of Waikato

Media Release
April 30, 2009

Waikato software engineering degree proves just the ticket

A degree in software engineering has proved just the ticket for University of Waikato student Jonathon Stichbury. The former Fraser High School student has secured a job with Hamilton-based company SmarTrak, which makes GPS vehicle tracking systems.

“Part of my job is customising software for clients who might need specific features, such as reporting data on when vehicles enter specific zones, and machine productivity data on hours driven, hours idle, hours stopped,” says Stichbury, who graduates next week (May 4) with a first-class honours degree.

Stichbury chose the Waikato Bachelor of Software Engineering because of its compulsory work experience component. He worked as a programmer at WaikatoLink, the University’s commercialisation arm, where he picked up a good deal of useful experience. “The programming languages I’m using in my new job, Java Script and C Sharp, are what I used at WaikatoLink.”

Stichbury won scholarships worth $7,000 to study at Waikato, and puts his success down to hard work and a stimulating environment. “Our lecturers were pretty demanding, plus you’re around people who are very smart – so it makes you work harder.”

He also had the opportunity to spend three months in Austria on the Leonardo student exchange programme, and was one of a Waikato team of four representing New Zealand at the world finals of the 2007 Imagine Cup, a student software design competition hosted by Microsoft.

“Being exposed to a mixture of engineering practices and computer science, you get to do some really interesting projects,” he says. “The software engineering degree was flexible enough to pursue my own interests in game development while also providing an excellent base of programming theory and methodologies to enter an extremely varied industry.”

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