Cracking the code for industry collaboration at NextEd Group Limited
Next Ed Group Limited Partnerships Coordinator Steven Hiotis and Partnerships Manager Laurien Duits have shared how they integrate industry partners.
NextEd Group Limited has developed a framework for student success, and it involves integrating industry participation right from the start of each student’s learning journey.
The group’s Academy of Interactive Technology (AIT) and its brand Coder Academy, both offer vocational and higher education qualifications and have developed industry partnerships to support relevant and responsive training.
Through industry partnerships and collaborations, with organisations including Unreal Engine and South by Southwest, learners are regularly given opportunities to build industry knowledge and connections.
This includes Master Talks, industry talks for all students, featuring industry leaders sharing experiences and advice, opportunities to volunteer at events and conferences, the sharing of local meetups and networking events and involvement of industry panels in key projects.
Partnerships Coordinator Steven Hiotis says these initiatives help students to learn about current industry trends and to gain networking and communication skills.
“All these opportunities build their confidence to be able to strike up a conversation and share their ideas,” he says.
These skills are helpful when it comes to securing and attending work placements or internships.
“If you’ve got really confident creatives and developers who are happy to talk to anyone about their work, it becomes much easier to find opportunities,” Steven explains.
Partnerships Manager Laurien Duits says there can be challenges in building and maintaining industry partnerships, such as finding organisations with the resources to spend time with students.
She says work placement is vital to help students stand out in the competitive tech job market and gain a foot in the door.
“Industry placement is often the number one reason students sign up for our course,” she says.
“They can add to their resume that they built something and were exposed to an organisation’s code base and stack, which is invaluable.”
Ultimately, Laurien says after completing placements, students report they learnt more than they expected and gained valuable insights into their new career.
“The important thing is that we teach them how to learn and this allows them to pick that up and get the ball rolling.”
Our Towards effective ICT training: A needs and gaps analysis of the ICT Training Package identifies challenges and opportunities to strengthen vocational ICT training. This includes recommendations to encourage greater collaboration between Registered Training Organisations and the tech sector.