Information technology and mathematics opportunities
Engage with our students and foster the talent of tomorrow
UniSA STEM is regarded as having one of the leading applied mathematics departments in Australia and is one of the largest providers of information and communications technology in South Australia. Our mission is to educate students and produce tomorrow’s leading professionals. We offer a comprehensive choice of industry relevant degree programs that combine real-world experience with the expertise to succeed in a career in a diverse range of disciplines.
Collaboration with industry is essential to ensure our graduates learn through exposure to the real working world. UniSA has a core commitment to deliver academic programs that are informed by and respond to the needs of industry. Our degrees achieve this with direct industry involvement in the student learning experience. We offer our students a range of opportunities for work-based learning experiences to ensure that at the completion of their degree, our graduates have a range of skills and capabilities ready for the workplace.
We are offering an exciting and unique value proposition for students to gain both formal tertiary qualifications and direct industry experience, supported through a paid six-month internship. This partnership is mutually beneficial. Industry can assess future talent while having students assist during peak periods, providing a fresh perspective with new ideas.
Our IT programs, while being technology focused, integrate business and professional development skills along with direct industry experience to produce well-rounded industry ready professionals. To ensure the degree maintains industry relevance, we engage with industry partners in co-developing and reviewing our courses.
Challenge our students with a real-world project
UniSA STEM offers a comprehensive choice of industry relevant degree programs that combine real-world experience with the expertise to succeed in a career in any of the diverse disciplines that fall under the ICT umbrella. We achieve this mission by maintaining a strong focus on direct industry involvement in the student learning experience. Key to this experience is the Capstone project course, which provides students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in the early part of their study to help a client with a real-world problem. The project is usually undertaken in the final year of an undergraduate program or toward the end of a postgraduate program.
Discipline areas
Students available for placements or projects come from a range of disciplines within UniSA STEM such as:
Undergraduate Postgraduate
- Information technology (IT)
- Software development
- Networking and cybersecurity
- Mobile application development
- Games and entertainment design
- Software engineering
- Mathematical sciences
- Information technology (IT)
- Data science
- Project management
- Cybersecurity
- Information management (archives and record management)
- Information management (library and information systems)
Interested in hosting a UniSA student placement?
If you’re interested in hosting a placement, please complete the industry project/proposal form.
Proposal form
IT internship duration
Our flexible model provides the optional opportunity to extend the paid six month internship to our fourth year Software Engineering honours students. This enables them to undertake an additional internship in their fourth (honours) year.
In their second year, an internship student will undertake an unpaid placement of twelve weeks to orientate themselves to the business, and will then undertake a paid internship for six months during the second semester of the final year of their program.
During the internship, we ask our industry partners to offer each student a rounded experience by assigning tangible workplace deliverables and client facing experiences. The internship has some specific academic deliverables including achieving a selected industry certification and the completion of an industry-based research project related to their work for the company. During the internship, students learn first-hand how to apply their IT skills through a formal program of training as well as gaining additional industry specific skills. Ultimately the graduating students will be better prepared with industry relevant qualifications and skills to successfully transition into the workforce.
Industry partners are requested to assign a mentor/supervisor within the business who has a relevant skill match to the assigned students. Supervisors are to be available for the duration of the internship to provide feedback and guidance on tasks provided. These tasks should be meaningful and appropriate to the level of the student.
Supporting our industry partners is also important and therefore we assign Course Coordinators and Academic Supervisors who provide regular mentoring and contact with students and industry partners throughout the internship.
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Option 1: Bachelor of Information Technology (3 year program)
Year 1
IT core coursesYear 2
IT major courses
12 week placementYear 3
IT major courses
26 week internship -
Option 2: Bachelor of Software Engineering (honours)
Year 1
IT core coursesYear 2
Major in software engineering
12 week placementYear 3
Major in software engineering
26 week internshipYear 4
Honours electives
26 week internship (honours)**second 26 week internship is optional
More information
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Benefits to industry
Industry partners, through their contribution of industry based projects, can derive significant value that otherwise may not be realised due to personnel, financial or time constraints. Projects such as assessing the application of new technologies, developing proof of concept solutions, and analysing business processes are some examples of the types of projects that are commonly undertaken by our students. Another significant benefit is that as the project is an academic requirement there is no fee for the service. Experience has consistently proven that the benefits and value received through industry participation in students’ projects more than compensates for the contribution a partner invests in the program. In addition, participating industry partners enjoy the advantage of assessing potential future employees before they are available to the broader business community.
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Industry obligations for projects
Industry Projects provide professional and personal development opportunities designed to supplement the student’s academic studies. Within these parameters, the student and organisation will engage in discussions to plan and agree on the goals and objectives to be achieved within set time frames. Organisations are asked to:
- Allocate challenging tasks and responsibilities, which are within the capability of the individual student/s
- Adhere to OH&S guidelines and the Fair Work Act 2009 (for Australian-based organisations)
- Supervise student work and/or provide professional advice and guidance in accordance with learning objective agreed at the beginning of the project
- Provide feedback at the end of the project.
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Available support
We support our industry partners by assigning support roles such as Course Coordinators, Project Facilitators, and Academic Supervisors who provide regular mentoring and contact with students and our industry partner. In addition, dedicated learning hubs located at City West and Mawson Lakes campuses are available for students, industry partners and University staff to meet, present progress and work on projects. We offer a number of engagement options designed to ensure the project delivers valued outcomes and protects the interests of both the industry partner and students. Important considerations such as intellectual property and confidential information are addressed through an agreement negotiated with all parties prior to proceeding with the project.
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Project time frames and deadlines
Projects and internships must finish prior to the exam period of the relevant study period. They usually take place in either Study Period 2 (February to June) or Study Period 5 (July to November). Ideally, they should not commence more than two months before the start of the relevant study period. For academic term dates, please view our academic calendar.
Get in touch
For more information, you can submit an enquiry to our team and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
