IT Graduate Program opens new career pathways

Participants in the inaugural program are building great careers at the University, taking on full-time permanent roles.

UNSW IT launched its Graduate Program in February 2022 to provide opportunities for recent graduates who are passionate about technology and its contribution to business success.

Director IT Corporate Services Rajiv Ram led the program’s development. He said the IT team was impressed with the strong field of candidates for the first intake. 

“From a list of more than 200 applicants, we narrowed the field down to two young, enthusiastic grads and, boy, did we strike it lucky,” said Mr Ram.

Sumayyah Ho and Jigs Sharma were the successful candidates. Ms Ho graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science), while Mr Sharma recently completed a Bachelor of Information Technology with a major in E-Business. During the 18-month program, they completed three rotations across Cyber, Enterprise Testing, Strategy and Architecture, and the CSD Infrastructure and Service Management Office. 

“Everyone who has worked with Jigs and Summayah these past 18 months agrees that they bring a level of enthusiasm, fun and professionalism to everything they do,” said Mr Ram.

“No challenge is too great, and they have both been recognised for many achievements. UNSW IT is proud of what they have achieved as graduates, and we feel extremely lucky that both chose to start their professional career with us.”

Graduate Program opens many pathways

The IT Graduate Program has been a stepping stone towards building a career in technology for both Jigs and Summayah, who said they would recommend the program to other new graduates.

“I was so humbled to be accepted and that IT invested so much time to ensure our experience covered such a breadth of challenges facing technology at UNSW each day,” Jigs said.

For Sumayyah, the program was an opportunity to consider pathways that she hadn’t previously explored. 

“The program was a 10 out of 10 for me,” she said. 

“I felt I could fully embrace every project in which I was involved and feel empowered to do my best work. It has opened countless opportunities and potential pathways that I had not been exposed to prior to embarking on this journey.”

Ms Ho and Mr Sharma  both recently began permanent roles in UNSW’s Cyber team.

The IT Graduate Program has been made possible thanks to the support of many who believe in the value that graduates bring to our organisation. The IT team is particularly grateful to the Graduate Program working group, our HR Business Partners and the team managers and Buddies who welcomed Ms Ho and Mr Sharma into their teams and supported the start of their journey.

A huge congratulations to Ms Ho and Mr Sharma who, like many alumni, are now making a difference and contributing to professional life at UNSW.