Programme details

Academics-Industry Collaboration in Programme Development and Delivery: A Case Study Analysis

Thursday 11:30am - 12:00pm, (CITRENZ 2 Room)

This paper discusses the collaboration between academics and industry during the development and delivery of an academic programme. The New Zealand Diploma in Cybersecurity offered at Unitec New Zealand Limited is used as a case study, as there was a need from the industry to develop such a programme to fill the skills gap in the market. The collaboration started as early as the creation of the qualification document by the national education authority. During the development of the programme, the industry was consulted as a key stakeholder to provide feedback and input on the structure and the content of the programme. During the delivery of the programme, industry professionals took on different roles. They delivered some of the contents as guest speakers or they delivered the entire course as a contractor with Unitec. They also played a vital role in providing internships for the programme. Programme statistics show that the collaboration between the academics and industry in the cybersecurity discipline is successful for two main reasons; the number of applicants increases every semester, and the high employability of the students while they are studying and after they graduate.

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