2006 Media Releases
Wednesday, 13 December 2006
Industry alliance creates opportunities for ICT students
La Trobe University computer science and electronic engineering students will benefit from a new alliance between the University and India’s leading IT services company, HCL Technologies Ltd.
The arrangement guarantees jobs for high achieving students at the end of their courses and caters for industry need at a time of significant skills shortages in information and communication technology industries.
Head of La Trobe University Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Ian Robinson, said the University had recently signed a strategic alliance with HCL Australia Services Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of HCL Technologies.
HCL provides ICT services and solutions and remote infrastructure management services. It has annual revenues of over US $3.7 billion and employs more than 41,000 professionals globally, more than 500 of them in Australia.
Professor Robinson said the company will recruit La Trobe graduates and provide them with 4-6 months training. They will then be assigned to projects in Melbourne, or in other parts of HCL’s global network.
As well as graduate recruitment, HCL will offer internships for budding ICT specialists to boost practical workplace skills as part of La Trobe University courses.
‘Opportunities for such direct involvement with one of the world’s leading ICT companies should prove especially attractive to students seeking industry-relevant courses and enhanced employment prospects,’ Professor Robinson said.
He said the agreement enables HCL to deliver guest lectures on subjects that represent core competencies within the company and to contribute to curriculum development that ensures La Trobe subjects meet the IT industry’s needs.
‘It also paves the way for La Trobe University and HCL to carry out student-industry exchange programs and joint seminars and workshops.’
La Trobe University and HCL will also use their respective expertise to jointly bid for community and government ICT research and development projects.