Southern Institute of Technology

, image = Southern Institute of Technology (New Zealand) logo.jpg
, image_size = 200px
, motto =
, tagline =
, established = 1971; years ago
, faculty = 387 FTE 2005
, head_label =
, students = 13,758 (2017)
, city = Invercargill
, country = New Zealand
, affiliations = Public NZ TEI
, website
www.sit.ac.nz
, address = 133 Tay Street, Invercargill, New Zealand

Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Murihiku) is a public tertiary education institute (NZ TEI), established in 1971. It is one of the New Zealand’s largest institutes of technology, with 13,758 enrollees in 2017 contributing to a total of 4,922 Equivalent Full-Time students (EFTs), 3,989 domestic, 933 International.

SIT is famous for its ''Zero Fees Scheme''. The scheme, which is open to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, sees students save thousands of dollars on the cost of their tertiary education. The Institute is also renowned for the quality of its facilities and equipment. On 1 April 2020, Southern Institute of Technology will be subsumed into Te Pūkenga (the New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology) alongside the 15 other Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs).

SIT offers over 200 programmes in a range of academic, technical and professional subjects at postgraduate, graduate, bachelor, diploma and certificate levels. SIT is a member of the International Association of Universities.

Campuses

SIT has several campuses around Invercargill (SIT Tay Street, Downtown and SIT Sound) with other campuses located in Queenstown, Gore, Telford, Christchurch and Auckland, and has a distance education faculty, SIT2LRN. In 2018 SIT acquired MAINZ, the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand, and operates MAINZ campuses in Auckland and Christchurch.

A new campus, the SIT Creative Centre will open in 2020, on the site of the historic St Johns Church.

SIT has three campuses in Invercargill. The main campus is situated on either side of Tay Street. ''SIT Downtown'' is situated in the center of Invercargill’s business district and is home to new media and arts programmes. ''SIT Sound'' in the Invercargill Radio Network Building hosts audio production programmes.

SIT has undertaken a major campus redevelopment plan over the past fifteen years. This includes the completion of new classrooms, development of the SIT Library complex which includes the ''Literacy and Numeracy Resource Center'' and ''Teaching and Development Support Unit'', and the redevelopment of the Student Services area.

In 2012, SIT completed a NZ$5.5 million redevelopment of the trades and technology teaching and learning areas which included a new ''Industry Training Center''. 2012 also saw the redevelopment of the School of Nursing, which included the addition of a new multi-million dollar ''Nursing Simulation Center'' and the refurbishment of related facilities.

The Gore campus provides a base for the catchment areas of Eastern Southland, Northern Southland and West Otago.

The Queenstown campus operates from a new facility in the Remarkables Park retail and commercial development area in Frankton. The campus offers business, administration, computing, hospitality, tourism, sports, beauty therapy and hairdressing programmes.

SIT’s Christchurch campus is based in Hornby. The campus offers specialised training in a number of areas including carpentry, electrical, refrigeration and air conditioning, roofing, automotive, sports, and mental health support.

The Telford (Balclutha) campus extends over 921 hectares of farmland with halls of residence and facilities, technical workshops (machinery, carpentry and welding), classrooms and livestock units.

The SIT campus in Auckland operates on Level 2 of the MAINZ building and offers blended delivery programmes in conjunction with SIT2LRN

The Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand is a faculty of the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) with campuses in Auckland Central and Christchurch. MAINZ offers a range of programmes designed with the music industry in mind including Music Performance, Audio Engineering/Production, DJ, and Event Management

In 2003, two years after the launch of the Zero Fees Scheme, SIT launched its flexible mixed mode delivery (or distance education) faculty, SIT2LRN. SIT2LRN was made possible through a partnership with Southland TV (now CUE TV) where SIT could use television and internet technology to provide distance learning. Initially, SIT offered just one academic qualification – a Diploma in Tourism and Hotel Management – and attracted an online student body of just 22. By 2012, SIT2LRN offered over 30 different programmes in a range of subject areas.

Zero Fees Scheme

SIT is the only tertiary provider in New Zealand to offer a ''Zero Fees Scheme'' where New Zealand citizens and permanent residents are only required to pay material costs and not tuition fees. The scheme has been credited with revitalising Invercargill after it attracted thousands of students south. The Zero Fees Scheme has also been extended to international students, in the form of Zero Fees English and Foundation Scholarships.

The Zero Fees Scheme delivers significant savings for students who study at SIT compared with other tertiary institutions. Since students need only pay for their material costs, many students graduate debt free. Students can save between NZ$7,000 to $14,000 on the cost of their bachelor's degrees.

The scheme was initiated in an attempt to jumpstart Invercargill’s economy. In the late 1990s, Invercargill was suffering from job losses, closing businesses and a declining population. In an attempt to reverse this situation, and attract more young people to the city, the Zero Fees Scheme was implemented.
The scheme saw community funders contribute $7.2 million over three years to effectively pay students’ tuition fees. All students had to pay was their material costs – for things like uniforms or textbooks. The expected boost in the student population meant that, after that time – with more government funding for the extra equivalent full-time students – the scheme would become self-funding.

The success of the Zero Fees scheme has meant SIT has been able to keep fees for international students low. The Zero Fees Scheme has even been extended to international students, in the form of the Zero Fees English and Zero Fees Foundation Studies programmes. These programmes allow international students to study English or Foundation programmes for free when they subsequently enrol in a one-year or longer mainstream academic programme.

In early August 2022, Te Pūkenga's acting-chief executive Peter Winder announced that SIT's zero fees programme policy would be phased out from 2024 as part of the planned merger of SIT into the new mega polytechnic entity in January 2023. While SIT would maintain its zero fees programme for the 2023 academic year, Winder indicated that Te Pūkenga would be adopting a "unified fees approach" in the near future.

Facilities and equipment

The SIT Library has more than 25,000 books, 750,000 E-books, multiple online databases, and also magazines, DVDs and novels. Additional services include multi-function printers, wireless internet access and more than 20 computers for student use. There is also a group study room furnished with an overhead projector.

The SIT Gym is located on the corner of Tay and Conon Streets. It has recently undergone a complete refurbishment. Programmes are available for fitness, rehabilitation, strength, health and high performance.

The School of Hospitality has two commercial training kitchens that can fit up to 20 students each. Each kitchen is equipped with equipment for each workstation, including six burner gas hobs and convection or gas ovens. The Bungalow Restaurant is an onsite restaurant which is used for training and theory as well as practice restaurant service operations open to the public throughout the year. Café and Bar service students also operate from the Bungalow Restaurant. The Vault Café is used as a real life training environment where students prepare and present food and coffee to the public on a regular basis throughout the year.

SIT Research Institute and Journal of Applied Research

SIT runs an applied research programme designed to support the development of its community and New Zealand industry. The SIT Research Institute is an organisation which works across the faculties and schools to support and promote staff research at SIT, as well as carrying out research in collaboration with local and regional partners.

Since 2010 the SIT Research Institute has been involved in a number of local and national research projects including research projects with Water Safety New Zealand and Sport Southland to support safe swimming practices and with the Centre for Research on Children and Families at the University of Otago and Our Way Southland to strengthen parenting in the region. The SIT Research Institute also led ''The Committed Learners Project'', a collaborative research project with other New Zealand Institutes of Technology that identified practices to foster student engagement.

The Southern Institute of Technology Journal of Applied Research (SITJAR) is an online journal that specialises in applied research in the vocational and educational sector. SITJAR is a double-blind, peer refereed journal, that is freely accessible.

Industry and community links

Industry links

SIT offers a range of learning modes. These include full-time and part-time, flexible mixed mode delivery, workplace locations (including work place training and assessments), apprenticeship schemes (managed and modern), multi site arrangements with secondary schools and articulations. Many courses have work experience components and practicums. Southland Museum and Art Gallery

Community links

SIT has developed links with a range of community organisations, including local councils, iwi, trusts, government agencies, businesses and other organisations. SIT worked with the Community Trust of Southland, the Invercargill Licensing Trust, the Invercargill City Council, the Southland District Council and many Southland businesses to launch the Zero Fees Scheme as well as subsequent initiatives. SIT has active relationships with Venture Southland, the region’s economic development agency, and the Southland Chamber of Commerce.

SIT has sponsored and supported numerous Southland community organisations, such as Rugby Southland, Netball Southland, Basketball Southland, Southland Art Foundation, Southland Artist in Residence, as well as Southland’s national motor-racing champion and Southland’s Olympic representatives and Paralympic medal winner.

SIT provides SIT Centrestage for the benefit of the Southland Arts community. This includes the provision of weekly music and drama performances in the theatre by SIT students, and the annual Kids’ Concert for approximately 2,500 children.

SIT helped secure the Southland filming of Robert Sarkies film ''Two Little Boys'', Claire Kelly’s ''The Jub Jub Bird'' and the joint New Zealand–Denmark produced ''Weight of Elephants'', in which SIT film students gained valuable work experience and subsequent employment in the industry. In 2010, SIT hosted the University Games for the first time in Southland. In 2011, SIT gifted the use of the SIT Arcade in Invercargill’s central business district as the venue for the 2011 Rugby World Cup Fan Zone in Southland.

Internationalisation

SIT hosts a rapidly growing number of international students. SIT's international strategy was adopted as an explicit attempt to address labour shortages in Southland. In 2012, over 626 students from 42 different countries around the world studied at SIT. SIT also has a cosmopolitan staff, with an eighth of its staff in 2012 hailing from overseas.

SIT has a number of international partnerships and is a member of the International Association of Universities.

Student accommodation

SIT offers accommodation at the SIT Apartments. and homestay is available for international students.

From 2018 SIT offers the Mayor Tim Shadbolt Accommodation Bursary, open to students studying in Southland who are in their first year of tertiary study.

References

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Invercargill
Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology
Education in Southland, New Zealand
2020 disestablishments in New Zealand
Organisations based in Invercargill