With fewer than 450 students when it started, the School has rapidly grown to design and offer industry-aligned courses focused on enabling students to forge rewarding career paths while creating a positive impact in the communities they work in. To date, more than 1,300 students have graduated from various programmes offered by the School, with over 1,100 students currently enrolled across undergraduate, Master’s and doctoral degrees.
Wellington Faculty of Engineering Dean Professor Dale Carnegie says a decade of hard work, collaboration, innovation, and creativity has resulted in a programme that offers young people the opportunity to be the best at what they do.
“Technology is constantly changing and it is a great time to be an engineering or computer science student,” says Professor Carnegie. “Our experienced, international staff are of the highest calibre and are passionate about supporting students to follow their natural curiosity into new areas of study and research. Our focus on digital-based technology provides students with the knowledge to succeed in today’s modern workplace while also preparing them for jobs of the future. It is a matter of pride that what started as a dream has now evolved into one of the finest Engineering and Computer Science programmes in New Zealand.”
The Electronic and Computer Systems Engineering (ECEN) and Software Engineering (SWEN) majors in the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours degree are fully accredited by Engineering New Zealand under the Washington Accord, and the latter has further been recognised with full accreditation by IT Professionals New Zealand under the Seoul Accord.
In recent years, the School has introduced various subjects in emerging fields, including computer graphics, cybersecurity, and renewable energy systems. As part of the industrial work experience component of the engineering degree, more than 500 students have undertaken paid internships, both domestically and internationally, with organisations across the public and private sectors, including Google, Xero and TradeMe.
The School’s internationally renowned artificial intelligence and machine learning research group is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, bringing together nearly 50 staff and students who collectively have a wealth of expertise. The School’s artificial intelligence specialisation, offered at undergraduate and postgraduate level, prepares students for a future where sci-fi can become reality.
Located within the Wellington Faculty of Engineering, the School offers a four-year Bachelor of Engineering with Honours degree with a choice of three majors, and four majors as part of the three-year Bachelor of Science degree. The Faculty also offers a full range of postgraduate courses across the School of Engineering and Computer Science, the Computational Media and Innovation Centre, the Robinson Research Institute, and Wellington ICT Graduate School.
Snapshots of companies Engineering and Computer Science alumni are involved in
Company: Eight360
Founder and CEO: Terry Miller, BE (Hons) in Electronics and Computer Systems Engineering
Eight360 is a Wellington-based VR start-up building world-class motion simulator platforms designed to deliver thrilling and immersive experiences for both training and entertainment. Terry Miller’s expertise in mechatronics allows him to combine software, electronics, and mechanical engineering knowledge to create ground-breaking technology. Eight360 has been named a finalist in the Engineering New Zealand ENVI Awards announced this week, and Mr Miller is a finalist for the Young Engineer of the Year award.
Company: PikPok
Co-Founders: Tyrone McAuley and Mario Wynands, Bachelor of Science, majoring in Computer Science
Wellington-based PikPok makes internationally loved and recognised games for smartphone, tablet, and desktop that surprise and delight players with their high-quality art, intuitive gameplay, and immersive audio design. Its many games include collaborations with top-flight partners as well as original titles Into the Dead®, Shatter®, and Flick Kick® Football Legends.
Company: GleeTech
Founder: Abdul Wahid, PhD in Computer Science
GleeTech is a full-service technology consulting company specialising in AI transformation and providing machine learning/bigdata solutions to start-ups, SMEs, large corporates and the public sector. With 14 years of experience in developing software solutions, Abdul Wahid has been part of multiple start-ups. He is involved in organising technical conferences, delivering lectures on AI and arranging Wellington-based AI/data science meetups.
Company: Raygun
Founder: Jeremy Boyd, Bachelor of Science, majoring in Computer Science
Raygun provides error, crash and performance monitoring software that helps software teams diagnose issues in their codebase that are causing bad software experiences for end users. Currently, more than 100,000 software developers across 120 countries use Raygun. The company has been recognised as a finalist for The Wellington Gold Awards 2016, won the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards Start-up of the Year 2015, and won the Innovative Hi-Tech Software Product of the Year 2014.