SIT and ICC Look to Deepen Partnership

Invercargill City Council's management team has toured Southern Institute of Technology's campus — and left with a clearer picture of what the institute can offer both the city and its own 400-plus workforce.

Hosted by SIT chief executive Bharat Guha and senior leaders including Trish Lindsay, Nick Elder, Oscar Jenkins, and Dr Jacob Wood, the visit covered nursing simulation suites, the Creative Centre, and trades facilities. The agenda was straightforward: show ICC what SIT can actually do, and start a conversation about working more closely together.

The nursing suites were a highlight. Students demonstrated augmented reality headsets replicating real-world healthcare scenarios — practising responses to patients with complex conditions like diabetes. It is the kind of hands-on training that is easy to talk about and harder to see in action. ICC got to see it in action.

"Our creative centre is quite amazing," Guha said. "The scale and quality of SIT's infrastructure provide a significant asset not only for our students, but for the wider Invercargill community as well."

Beyond the campus tour, the visit opened up a more practical question: could ICC staff be upskilling through SIT while still doing their day jobs? The answer appears to be yes. SIT's online and HyFlex delivery options mean council employees could work toward qualifications — including a master's in applied management or a Master of IT — without stepping away from their roles.

"We want to foster a better working relationship with the Invercargill City Council and for the management to be well informed of the span of programmes that SIT now offers," Guha said.

He was frank about what the visit was designed to achieve. "What management have seen firsthand gives them a better understanding of the range of professional programmes that SIT has. Also... they're in a position of promoting the city through their connections and networks, so really it was a familiarisation visit and to build awareness and it reinforced our shared commitment to ensure Invercargill continues to prosper through education, innovation, and collaboration."

ICC group manager capital portfolio Jamie Garnett said seeing practical skills being developed across engineering, mechanical, and construction disciplines was particularly relevant. "Developing that local capability is vital to delivering our capital programme and supporting Southland's future growth," Garnett said — before adding, with admirable honesty, "From a personal perspective, I'm keen to build a mini motorbike but I'm likely to get to that in retirement."

ICC group manager 3 Waters Matt Keil flagged succession planning as a real priority. "We have a collective desire to attract some of the best graduate talent around and see mutual benefits between both organisations," Keil said.

He was also struck by SIT's equipment investments — nursing simulators, creative arts camera gear, trades facilities. "All in all, it was a great afternoon out viewing the campus in operation. We thank the SIT team for kindly hosting us and providing the opportunity to view their operations up close and in person."

No formal agreements were announced. But when the city council's management team spends an afternoon walking a polytechnic's halls, something is usually being built — even if it is just a mini motorbike.