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Heavier IT courses for Aussies

ASEE Prism, Sep 2002

SYDNEY-Since the dot-com meltdown, IT students in Australia have been flocking to more focused and rigorous courses such as software engineering. "When times are tough, students demand a qualification that will give them an edge," says John Rosenberg, dean of the faculty of information technology at Monash University in Melbourne.

The nation's largest IT school, Monash enrolls some 7,200 information technology students-up 16 percent since 1990. "Because of our size, we're a good indicator of the trend," says Titian De Colle, Monash's marketing manager.

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Among students applying to Monash this year, interest in software engineering is up nearly 30 percent, business systems 25 percent, and computer science 6 percent. "This is really significant growth at the harder edge of IT," says De Colle. "There's been increased demand for more technical and heavier courses, while interest has slipped in more generalist courses."

Part of the reason is that many of the jobs lost during the downturn required less expertise. The dot-com market was so hot that even self-taught people could snare fat paychecks. But a recent Australian Information Industry Association survey shows that half the country's IT jobs now require university backgrounds.

While demand for courses in software engineering, computer science, and digital systems are on the rise, other areas are experiencing declines. The university's bachelor of e-commerce is no longer offered due to lack of interest, and applications to the bachelor's program in information systems and management has fallen 23 percent.

Rosenberg says the "softer, generalist IT courses" will eventually stage a comeback. "Companies still need computers, they all need a Web presence and, in the end, are going to go back to hiring people to support those functions," he says.

"Generalist e-commerce studies may one day again be a route to a good career," De Colle says. "But, for the moment, students are making their decisions according to what they see in the recent job market."

Copyright American Society for Engineering Education Sep 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

Heavier IT courses for Aussies

ASEE Prism, Sep 2002

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