What our students say
Ramya Sridharan , MIT
What I really like about the MIT is the range of units - technical subjects and business-oriented topics as well. They really hit the mark. You can take electives from other departments in the university as well.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering and I'm interested in networking. A friend studying here recommended the University of Sydney and I had heard about the School of IT, that it was a really good school - and of course the uni looked great on the web, all those colourful pictures and old buildings!
The teaching style is different to what I had been used to - working on your own on assignments - the freedom is exciting and it's really up to you how well you do. It's really good having access to a 24 hour computer lab, you can study as long as you like and the security - it's safe, a girl doesn't have to worry.
This semester I am doing an industry-based project with Professor Fry. I'm really enjoying it. There's a lot of reading, a lot of literature and background to understand. It takes a lot of time but it's real learning, not just about the marks. My undergraduate degree gave me a good technical background but I am interested in a career that has more of a team/project management focus. The subjects you can choose in the MIT have allowed me to move in this direction.
Yi Ji, MIT graduate
I decided to do postgraduate coursework for my career. I have a Computer Science background and wanted to do advanced study to improve my skills and increase my advantages in the job market.
I was looking for a strong technical degree, that gives the student a lot of practical skills, and the Master of Information Technology is the one. The University of Sydney is well-known, and the School of IT has a good reputation where I come from.
The choice of units is good. There are a number of foundational units but for stronger students there are many advanced subjects. It's a good mix of the practical and the cutting edge. I'm using the opportunity to learn .NET and J2EE, which are used in a few subjects. I didn't have the chance to learn these in my undergraduate degree so having the units incorporated practical skills like this, it's a great opportunity for me.
When I finish my degree I'll look for a job. I don't mind where I work - Australia, China or anywhere - and the response is good when you say you have studied at the University of Sydney.
Swati Tyagi, MITM
Studying here is really worthwhile. Before applying I researched universities around the world. The University of Sydney is ranked in the top fifty of world class universities, and the School of IT is renowned for databases and networking. My undergraduate degree was totally technical, so the flexibility of this course is one of the best things. There are technical subjects but also industry subjects such as IT Innovations, and Professional Practice in IT – subjects that teach you decision making and increase your communication skills, and have industry relevance.
Industry does NOT just want technically skilled workers, but ones that can communicate as well, they want people with multifaceted skill sets. This is why I chose the Master of Information Technology Management.
You can work part-time too. You are able to manage your studies and manage your work. If you are really willing to learn then the support is there – everyone is very approachable. And it’s great having labs available 24-7. In my first semester I didn’t have a computer or laptop and I was in the lab all the time.
I just want to learn – everything! I had never done any research and wanted to know what it was all about. Being able to do the Research Path, with its emphasis on logical thinking – this will be really useful in the IT industry.
Chris De Lima, MITM
I didn’t do an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and have learned everything I knew on the job. I was hired by IBM at the beginning of my career and continue to work there. I had 10 years experience with IBM when I decided I needed technical consolidation. I looked at the University of Sydney - it has a great reputation internationally and the School of IT offers a great variety of subjects in postgraduate coursework degrees – there are a lot of options.
I was able to transfer from the MIT to the Master of Information Technology Management – there is quite a bit of flexibility. In my job I am involved in the business liaison/client side of things, and the MITM is spot on. For someone perhaps without a strong technical background who speaks to CIOs and CEOs, it lets them sell the value of IT, makes them think creatively. Subjects such as Innovations in IT, Professional Services – they can really assist in a move into consulting.
I always have had the desire to be at the cutting edge and being able to take the Research Path has been a great opportunity. In industry you learn what the company needs you to know for business. At university it’s about the principles, the fundamentals – ideas taught by bright lecturers who have made contributions to IT as a science. I need to know the fundamentals, of course, but to move into more consultative and analytical areas in my career, the Research Path has sharpened my thinking.
There is so much happening in IT, I’m interested in so much of it - I don’t have time to sleep!
Genliang Guan, GDC and MIT graduate
The Graduate Diploma in Computing is great for people who don’t have a background in computing and who want to move into IT. I studied English at university in Beijing and was planning a career as an interpreter, however, in my final year I decided to follow an interest I have had since high school and pursue a career in computing.
The GDC offered me a bridging course into IT and I thought it would be cool to study in Australia. I have some programming experience, so whilst the course was challenging at times I did find time to work on research projects as well as my coursework, and was even second author on a paper accepted at an international conference!
Once I finished the GDC, I went on to the Master of IT, majoring in multimedia. I took the research path, working with Dr Zhiyong Wang in with the Biomedical & Multimedia Information Technology Research Group (BMIT), my project was “Improved Concept Similarity Measuring in the Visual Domain”.
Yulie Sandjojo, MIT
Software Engineering major
Being able to choose a major was very important to me when choosing my degree. I was looking for a degree that was technical with business-oriented subjects also available, and being able to specialise – to choose a Major in the MIT – was good. I also had to fit my study around a full-time job, and you can do that with this degree.
I am taking units for both the database management and software engineering majors, but I will probably stick with the software engineering major for my degree. I work full-time as a java developer in Sydney and the subjects I do have practical use straight away at work. For example last semester I studied E-commerce Technologies, and the J2EE I learned I am using in my job right now. And next year I am considering doing my Java certification – I am ready for that because of the subjects I have chosen.
It’s hard to keep up with advances in technology but studying is keeping me up to date, allowing me to explore different areas. I love the look of the university too – there is a lot of open space, and the old buildings look like something from Harry Potter!
Wei Liu, PhD student
MIT Research Path graduate
I developed an interest in data mining during my undergraduate study in China, and decided to choose the MIT degree after came to Sydney because it allowed me to follow this interest through the Database Management major.
I was also aware of research in this area being undertaken at the School of IT, and the research path was a good option for me to learn more. I worked on a project on data mining in bioinformatics with Associate Professor Sanjay Chawla. Working on a research project was a very different experience to sitting in lectures, and writing a thesis was a lot more challenging than doing an exam or writing an assignment. But it was also a lot more rewarding, I was able to get a deeper understanding of data mining, and learnt a lot more than I could in lectures.
The research path showed me that I wanted to pursue research, and after completing the MIT degree I enrolled in a PhD. Now I am still working on data mining but combined with game theory and machine learning. The PhD funding from my industry sponsor, Capital Market CRC, has allowed me develop my research skills by working on real-world industry problems.
Cherry Ballangan, PhD student
MIT graduate
I used to teach mathematics to engineering students, mostly IT students actually, and I got interested in what IT was all about – how my maths background fit in with IT. I did some research on the web and I decided to come to the University of Sydney. It has a good reputation and the School of IT offered a program for people like me with no IT background at all – equivalent to the GDC + MIT 2-year package.
At the beginning I didn’t have a particular interest in multimedia, I just wanted to learn everything. A multimedia unit was one of the foundation units, and I got interested in it and chose it as my major. I thought it would be a fun major, presenting information not only with text, but with images and animation as well. I like people to enjoy my work, for it to entertain them. But multimedia isn’t just about entertainment – representing information through images is also very important in other areas, such as biomedicine, the area that I’m working in at the moment.
After completing my degree, I knew that this was my work. I was accepted into the PhD program here and my supervisors are members of the Multimedia lab. When I get my degree I want to continue doing research at home to Indonesia – it’s a new area there and there will be a lot of opportunities.
Xiaochen Huang, MIT graduate
PIPPS scholarship recipient
Work experience is vital to succeeding in the job market these days, and I think my internship at Qantas has enriched my education and will provide me with a competitive edge in the future.
Whilst working at Qantas I have been able to practically apply the knowledge gained during my MIT degree. The project I am working on aims to precisely predict the take-off path of aircraft, as well as fuel consumption during take-off. The take-off path is depicted by a sequence of orders, and we are trying to simulate how a certain aircraft will execute these orders. Topics covered in the courses Object Oriented Analysis and Design and Project Management in IT directly relate to this project.
As well as practical IT experience, I have gained an insight into the working of an international company, and I have also had the chance to develop my interpersonal and communication skills and improve both my written and verbal English skills.
PIPPS is a unique scholarship provided by the School of IT. The chance to earn $12,000 whilst combining education with work experience is a great opportunity. I really cannot think of any other program like PIPPS, and I strongly recommend it to future postgraduate students.
What our staff say
Dr Uwe Röhm
Director of Postgraduate Coursework
There are many great things about studying at Sydney but I think the main attraction of our postgraduate coursework programs is the flexibility. The programs are structured around the core strengths of the School, but also incorporate electives from related fields such as business, which allows you to tailor your study for your specific background and future goals. To assist you establish what you would like to achieve through your studies, we provide personal academic advice to each commencing student, and help you find the best path for you.
My own area of expertise is data management and software engineering. I am teaching several postgraduate subjects such as advanced data models and enterprise-scale software architectures. Furthermore, I am organising the School’s database research group. Our research interests are in cloud data management, transaction management, data replication, and data management for Life Sciences. If you are interested in any of these areas, feel free to contact me. Our group is always looking for enthusiastic and technically- skilled postgraduate students to take on a software development project, a summer vacation project or a research project.
When you join the University of Sydney, you become part of a large and vibrant academic community, and you gain access to a world-class learning environment. I look forward to meeting you, and helping you take advantage of all that Sydney has to offer.
What our alumni say
Mark Webb, BSc (‘94), BEng (‘96)
Director of Workforce Systems, NSW Department of Premier & Cabinet and President of USITAA
I’ve always been fascinated by technology and understanding how it works. I think the appeal of IT is that you can be creative and practical all at the same time - there is nothing like coming up with an elegant solution to a problem, then actually making it work on the screen in front of you. Although it has been many years since I have written software (my career has transitioned into management and leadership), the problem solving skills I developed at University and as a part of my career in IT have served me in good stead.
I spent the first half of my career in the private sector, but more recently have moved into government positions. I was attracted to the interesting and challenging issues that face government, and I currently work in the senior executive service at the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. I manage a unit that looks at how information technology can be used to streamline the way the public service works, and at the moment my team is working on a project to purchase and deploy an e-recruitment system that will be used by all NSW public service agencies.
IT has become a fundamental enabler, allowing organisations to achieve business objectives, which means high quality IT people are always in demand. A thorough understanding of the fundamentals of IT is necessary; specific products and technologies come and go, but a core understanding of the principles of computing will allow you to adapt and change as the industry adapts and changes. The most valuable element of my studies was not a particular programming language but rather an understanding of how languages and computers work. Knowing what IT is capable of has allowed me to solve business problems through technology, which is a vital skill in today’s environment.
What does industry say?
John Warren, Microsoft Research Asia
John Warren is the University Relations Manager for Microsoft Research Asia, and is a member of the School of IT’s Postgraduate Program Advisory Board
Having worked in the IT industry in Australia and Asia since 1977, I have seen a lot of change. The IT landscape today is very different to what it was 10 years ago. Successful career advancement requires us to stay ahead of the game ensuring that we position ourselves for the ever changing demands of employers. Visionary employers require visionary employees who have invested in their own self development, who have anticipated where technology is going and have prepared themselves in advance.
The University of Sydney’s postgraduate programs in IT certainly cover the basic IT skills required of those who see IT as an area where their education and knowledge requires further development. But this is not enough in today’s environment. More importantly the programs provide opportunities for students to acquire knowledge in developing areas such as Integrated Enterprise Systems, Managing Change, Project Management, Business Process Modelling and Knowledge Management.
The Postgraduate Program Advisory Board comprising the University of Sydney teaching staff as well as industry practitioners ensures that the programs are in touch with industry requirements and future direction.