Internships key to communications degree

Communications graduate Nathan Champion. Photo / Angela McCarthy

The Bachelor of Communication degree at Unitec includes an internship at level three during which students negotiate to work for 200 hours on a project for which they _ or a team they work in _ are responsible. The schedule is worked out between the organisation and student and can range from one day a week for 15 weeks to three weeks full-time; paid or unpaid.

The student must also produce several assignments as part of the course requirements. The internship sometimes leads to job offers.

The Communication Studies department has business links with many communication-related companies, including Konica Minolta, TVNZ and Greenpeace.

Students get opportunities for voluntary industry work experience for events such as the Auckland Home Show, Air New Zealand Fashion Week, Telethon and Christmas in the Park.

Last year the degree was restructured into four majors:

* Event management.
* International communication.
* Media studies.
* Public relations.

Graduate Nathan Champion gained his degree before the majors started.

THE GRADUATE

Nathan Champion.
* 24.
* Service delivery manager for Datacom Systems, Wellington.
* Starting salary: $70,000 because of other technical experience. New graduates' salaries range from $35,000 to $45,000.
* Finished course end of 2008.

During my high school years I had a mix of high school-based and home schooling, Microsoft and CISCO training and help-desk work.

I decided to do Unitec's communications degree because it seemed a good all-round qualification. I chose communications over IT because I felt the writing skills and creative learning would create more flexible career options. As I progressed through the degree I found a passion for writing and spent a lot of time doing articles for the student magazine.

After my first year I took a year off to train for the WorldSkills competition as New Zealand's PC and network support technician representative. Then I spent another year working as a network engineer at Datacom, returning to my degree study part-time in 2007 and 2008.

The course was very practical and classes small _ between five to 30 students _ so it was very interactive. My lecturers were always easy to touch base with.

Intercultural communication was a great paper because we were given the opportunity through role play to step outside our own culture and experience what it is like to be in another; that was a real eye-opener.

I also really enjoyed the news writing for media classes. However now I'm doing more technical writing than external mass communications.

The business writing paper was extremely helpful. I learned how to format and structure all kinds of business documentation. Once you get your head around the principles formal writing is much easier, which has helped me a lot in the workplace.

The internship paper was really great. I had already had a six-week internship with Saatchi & Saatchi through winning the 2007 yMedia Challenge with an AUT friend.

But it didn't meet Unitec's internship requirements so I did a second internship at Youth Law, helping put together an internet-based programme for people working with youth.

I developed a short video clip demonstrating a scenario around the Education Act involving a suspension. I managed the project; scripting, finding film crew, actors and locations and then editing the footage. It was a cool project and made up for the lack of film study at Unitec.

My job now at Datacom is great because it uses my IT and technical background as well as drawing on the project management and technical and professional writing knowledge I gained at Unitec.

My manager calls me a gate keeper because I interface with our customers, technical teams and managers.

I'm not sure where everyone in my degree ended up. I know one has started his own company, one did post-graduate film and animation, and another went travelling

THE EMPLOYER

Ian Smith

* Datacom Systems Outsourcing Services Manager

The qualities required for a service delivery manager include the ability to manage client relationships, cope with stress, be self-motivated and strategic and innovative. But most of all, you need to be able to communicate at all levels, internally, externally and to third-party vendors.

Nathan's communication degree has prepared him well for the role. He has good writing skills which he needs to write reports and proposals and is able to verbally communicate effectively and efficiently with a variety of stakeholders, including staff, management, customers and vendors.

He also has a good understanding of business and can develop solutions that address business needs and think laterally to overcome bottlenecks.

Nathan has well-formed opinions on how to behave ethically and treat stakeholders equitably.

The major issue for the IT industry is that the industry is ever-changing.

Potential employees need to adopt the mindset and be proactive about upskilling and adapting. Failure to do so may end up with people being unemployable.

TRAINING PLACE

Qualification: Bachelor of Communication.
Where: Unitec, Mt Albert Campus.
Contact: Ph (09) 815 2945 or 0800 10 95 10; courses@unitec.ac.nz; www.communication.unitec.ac.nz.
Entry requirements: NCEA University Entrance or equivalent or 72 credits at Level 2 in best four subjects, including English. Applicants over 20 years need proof of aptitude and appropriate work experience. Applicants may be interviewed and all applicants must be at least 16 years old. Separate English requirements for non-native English speakers without University Entrance.
2009 tertiary fees: $4415.
Intakes: February and July; 80 to 90 places a year across the four majors. Length: Three years full-time with part-time options. Also some online learning options. In the first year communications degree students gain a solid grounding in communications theory and develop professional writing and digital media skills. In the second and third years they move into their chosen major, focusing on areas such as communication ethics, event management, media writing and public relations.

angela@careerideas.co.nz