Auckland ICT Graduate School and AWS collaborate to shape industry-ready talent
For universities, bridging the gap between academia and industry is crucial to keep up with the changing technological landscape.
Technology is evolving at lightning speed, reshaping industries and creating new challenges and opportunities that demand innovative solutions. For universities, bridging the gap between academic learning and industry practice is crucial to keep up with this changing landscape.
The Auckland ICT Graduate School, part of the University of Auckland, is getting ahead of the curve with its strong industry partnerships. The University’s Challenge programme gives Master of Information Technology students an opportunity to get hands-on experience solving real business problems. This 10-week programme, partnering with industry leaders, is designed for students who don’t manage to secure an industry-hosted internship.
This year, the University collaborated with global cloud and AI provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create the AWS AI Challenge – a programme designed to simulate real-world IT projects. Nine teams of students worked on business scenarios inspired by real AWS customer engagements.
“The idea was to give the students a taste of what real use cases in the industry are like,” says Roger Wang, Senior Solutions Architect, SaaS, AWS New Zealand, who led the AWS AI Challenge initiative alongside Jan Richter, Solutions Architect, AWS ANZ.
Adopting customer-centric design and practice
Importantly, each scenario was deliberately written without technical requirements. “The projects were very business scenario driven. Anybody could read it and understand there was a problem that needed to be solved.” says Roger.
Adopting a 'working backwards' approach commonly used at Amazon – a process that starts with customer needs and works backwards to create solutions, rather than starting with technology – students focused on customer impact before technology choices. Auckland tech leaders on the University's Industry Advisory Group consistently reinforce that customer-centric design is one of the most important skills for emerging IT professionals.
Each group was paired with a mentor from AWS whose role was to provide students with the perspective of the business stakeholder.
The projects were designed to encourage students to step out of their comfort zones of being builders. “We observed that all the students were already quite strong on the technical side,” says Roger.
They were challenged to think about why it matters, ask the right questions and communicate in clear business language. These are essential capabilities for any builder entering today's fast-moving technology landscape.
Shaping industry-ready talent
The Challenge culminated in a competition where each team presented its business problem, the proposed solution, and demonstrated a working prototype, articulating the value of their solution. It was also a chance for the students to hone their public speaking skills, another key focus of the challenge. The top two teams presented their products at AWS community events.
The whole experience ensures graduates enter the workforce not just with technical skills, but with the resilience and problem-solving mindset needed to build products and services that genuinely solve real-world problems.
"Working with the AWS New Zealand team has been incredibly rewarding for our students,” says Deb Crossan, Industry Engagement Manager at the ICT Graduate School. “It teaches them the importance of customer-centric design, sharpens their technical and business skills, and ensures they graduate ready to solve problems that matter.”
For AWS, the collaboration reinforces its commitment to upskill people in Aotearoa by supporting the country’s long-term digital capability and developing the next generation of cloud and AI talent across the country.
As of September 2025, AWS has trained more than 50,000 Kiwis with an intent to address shortages in cloud skills in Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s a skill gap that affects various areas, including cloud architecture, data engineering, cybersecurity, and AI, impacting operational delivery and increasing costs for businesses.
“As a global leader, we believe scale comes with responsibility,” says Roger. “AWS is committed to fostering AI and digital skills in New Zealand, and with partnerships like are a great way to inspire and upskill the next generation of tech talent in Aotearoa. Students can develop the mindset and skills that will make them future leaders and valuable contributors wherever their careers take them.”