The two scholarships will be available to students enrolled on Year 1 and Year 2 of NMIT’s Diploma in Aquaculture from 2014. The year one scholarship will cover the value of half a year’s course fees while the year two scholarship will cover a student’s full course fees for a year.
New Zealand King Salmon CEO Grant Rosewarne says the scholarships are designed to assist students financially as well as enabling them to enhance their understanding of the aquaculture industry. Paid work experience during semester breaks and during summer holidays could also be a part of the scholarship.
"Aquaculture is one of the region's major industries and we are delighted to support up and coming talent. These scholarships are part of our commitment to developing both the industry, and the excellent educational facility at NMIT.
“The Government has set a target for aquaculture in New Zealand to be a billion dollar industry by 2025. To achieve that, we need to have qualified, professional people to work in the industry,” he says.
NMIT Chief Executive Dr Tony Gray said the institute was proud to be partnering with New Zealand King Salmon on the scholarships.
“The importance of scholarships goes well beyond their monetary value. While scholarships make things easier financially for students, they also importantly provide a catalyst to get people into tertiary training and an incentive for them to stay in the region. They also demonstrate to students that our programmes are closely aligned with industry needs,” he said.
NMIT Aquaculture Programme Coordinator Dr Mark Burdass said the Aquaculture industry offered excellent career prospects for graduates. NMIT had worked closely with industry partners to develop the country’s first and only Diploma in Aquaculture which was on the cutting edge of aquaculture training nationally. Launched in 2010, the first students graduated from the two year programme in 2012 and were now working for companies such as New Zealand King Salmon, The Cawthron Institute, oyster and salmon farms in Australia, Mt Cook Alpine Salmon, Ministry of Primary Industries, Sealord, Kono and Plant and Food Research. Many had secured work before they had even finished studying.
For further information about NMIT’s aquaculture programmes and scholarships, visit www.nmit.ac.nz/programmes-and-courses/aquaculture.
