ITI Articles

Natcoll Design Technology has received funding from TEC for an exciting new project aimed at improving learning pathways into further study and completion rates for Maori and Pacific Island students.

Natcoll National Principal Sue Allard says, “Maori and Pacific Island students starting straight into a diploma were not getting as high completion rates as other ethnic groupings.”

The project delivers Natcoll’s foundation course to Maori and Pacific Island students in their community.

“One of the barriers to these students,” many of whom are from South Auckland, “was having to travel into the central city,” says Sue.

The iCreate Foundation Certificate course is being run on site at Mangere College. Using digital still and video cameras and computers, students produce a wide range of original art that combines traditional and digital media. They also learn digital illustration techniques and how to create images and pages suitable for web publication. Their work is complemented by studying a wide range of art and creative practices to further enhance their skills base.

The course equips the students with the skills needed to move on to diploma level study and provides a pathway into Natcoll's Diploma of Animation and Digital Video, Diploma of Computer Graphic Design, Diploma of Interactive Design or Diploma of Web Development.

If students pass all the unit standards on the course, they also qualify to apply for a National Certificate in Computing, Level3.

The $90,000 Natcoll received comes from the TEC Encouraging and Supporting Innovation Fund, which is new in 2008. Natcoll has used the funding for setting up teaching space at Mangere College, adapting the course for Maori and Pasific Island students, and providing transport and required materials for the students.

Two courses will run in 2008; one is already underway and the second will begin in August.

“So far,” says Sue Allard, “it’s going very well. We have 16 places in each course and there were 10 enrolments for the first one, which is a great result.”

The Natcoll course is a joint project with Manager College, which provides staff expertise and rented teaching space at the College for the students.