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NMIT / Te Pūkenga IT student Jayden Houghton has won an internship with an IT company in South America, through the Prime Minister’s Scholarship.
IT student Jayden Houghton is embarking on what he hopes will be “a really cool experience” – both of a different culture, and to help hone his IT skills.
The 19-year-old student at NMIT Te Pūkenga is heading to Colombia this week for a six-week internship at the company, Savant International, through the Prime Minister’s Scholarship.
Houghton said he would be working under the IT part of the global staffing, technology and business automation firm in Medellín – Colombia’s second largest city.
He hoped to reinforce what he had learnt so far in his degree and “pick up some new skills” at the company, which essentially helped businesses to run more efficiently, he said.
Thirty groups comprising 387 New Zealanders were awarded the Prime Minister’s Scholarship in 2022 – a government-funded award administered nationwide by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao.
The scholarship (to Latin America or Asia) was designed as a learning experience for people who could use it to benefit the wider community and could positively represent Aotearoa overseas.
Houghton had never been to Latin America, “or any of America actually”, so hoped to learn a lot from the cultural experiences planned.
“If you want to be a leader or a business owner, cultural understanding is very important.”
Houghton, from Nelson originally, had already “wowed” kaiako (tutors) with his talent, NMIT Te Pūkenga said.
Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
Ali Kahwaji, left, Sarah Arnold and Stefan Hanspach of the Post Memory project, which aims to use augmented reality via a mobile app to bring past stories to 3D life.
He created the official website for Post Memory; a local project which aims to bring stories from the past to life via augmented reality.
Project lead, Sarah Arnold said Jayden’s professionalism, eye for detail and commitment to the project was outstanding.
Under the project, people who scanned a QR code on posts installed at sites of historic interest in the Nelson region – like the William Higgins Cottage in Brightwater – were directed to the website, where they could see information about the sites.
An app under development would help visitors take a virtual look at the story of the site, like a 3D model of the cottage, with different points to click on for information.
RICKY WILSON/STUFF
Not all technology stops us from being active. Method Digital launched a new virtual reality game which will put New Zealand gaming on the world stage. (First published in January 2022.)
Houghton found virtual reality “quite an interesting area of technology”, which had grown very rapidly over the past decade, with big companies like Meta, Apple and Playstation investing in it.
He wasn’t sure yet what he wanted to do after his degree.
At this stage he hoped to find work in Nelson, before perhaps going to a bigger city.
“But I would like to come back to Nelson eventually, I think.”
