Sergey’s review on his study and the way to New Zealand.
Choosing a program and admission
I completed my Master’s degree in “Management, Finance, and Public Administration” in 2006. Also, I earned an MBA in “Supply Chain Management” in 2016. You could say I didn’t have an IT education, but that’s not entirely true. For the past 10 years I’ve been involved in the IT field in various ways (working in companies that provide IT services, etc.). However, I didn’t have any substantial experience in programming. About six months before applying for the joint programme, I started learning Python and wrote a couple of small programs. It extended of my programming experience.
Choosing a programme was very easy for me, as I had already decided to change my career direction. And IT was the only field that interested me.
As for the admission process. In fact, there are two: one for SPbPU and one for WelTec. Both processes are fairly straightforward. In both cases, you need to prepare a specific set of documents. Kiwi Education will review it, and you’ll receive feedback.
Now, a few details about applying to each university:
- For SPbPU, you need to provide evidence of at least a minimal relation to IT sphere. I submitted certificates from Stepik.org for Python and SQL courses, and was also completed a Python course on Coursera.org.
- WelTec, in addition to the document package, has two additional requirements: a certificate of completion from SPbPU and proof of English language proficiency. I took the PTE exam.
Studying process online and in New Zealand
Let me talk about both study processes right away, as they are quite different.
At SPbPU, the schedule is quite intense. And you need to know Python at least at a basic level. It’s best not to postpone homework assignments. Otherwise, everything starts to snowball. All the lectures are available as recordings. Pay special attention to the courses taught by Ogul and Khokhlovsky.
At WelTec, the schedule is a bit more relaxed, but not all subjects are recorded for several reasons. For example, Dr. Bryce firmly refuses to record his lectures and doesn’t allow students to record them either. And for seminars where you will be physically present, Zoom streaming or recording is not always available.
At WelTec (during the second and third trimesters), you have 60 credits per trimester to select your courses. However, in the second trimester, you’ll have two compulsory courses (15 credits each), so you will choose two other courses yourself. In the third trimester, you will write your final research project (ARP), which is worth 45 credits. So, you’ll be able to choose only one additional subject.
Each subject includes three assignments, usually spaced about a month apart.
Teachers
The teaching staff is very diverse. All lecturers in the Master of IT programme (at least in my experience) hold doctoral degrees. You can always email them with questions about their courses, they are very responsive. In addition, there’s a Wellbeing & Safety team and a Learner Support Service. Both are always happy to help with any other issues.
The first intake of the Master of IT programme studied at the Wellington campus. However, our intake studied at the Petone campus (30–40 minutes from Wellington by bus 83). Students of Master of Management joint programme also were here. It’s a large campus, much bigger than the one in Wellington. There are lots of perks, like a free one-year subscription to Office+, access to library databases, and other small things. I’m sure I don’t even know half of them. There are also plenty of optional activities for students.
Personally, I commute to campus by bus. It’s convenient and relatively inexpensive. You just need to remember to apply for the student discount, which is linked to your Snapper card (the transport card).
Adaptation and finding housing in New Zealand
Adaptation is a personal process. It took me about 5–7 days to adjust to the new schedule. For my wife, it took a bit longer.
Initially, we rented a guest house on Airbnb for three weeks. As soon as we arrived, we started signing up for viewings of all suitable listings. Since we were searching in early February (summer), there weren’t many options available. It’s the busiest rental season. We only considered apartments or townhouses, and didn’t look at standalone houses. Because apartments and townhouses are usually newer and therefore warmer and more modern.
Our second requirement was location. Even though I study in Petone (a satellite city), we decided to live in Wellington and searched for an apartment near a school (simply for convenience for our child). We were lucky. Within the first two days, we viewed about 12–13 options, and on the third day, during the first viewing, we found an apartment that was perfect for us. We submitted the application, asked for a reference from our Airbnb host, and a couple of days later the owner approved our candidacy.
One more important detail. Most apartments weren’t available for immediate move-in, or maybe we were just unlucky. And typically you can move in two weeks later or more. In our case, everything worked out perfectly. Our Airbnb booking ended on February 22, and we could move into the new apartment on the 23rd. So we just extended our stay in the guest house by one day.
On average, finding and securing a rental takes 1–3 weeks. But of course, this depends on your circumstances and requirements.
Prepare yourself to everything in advance. Use Kiwi Education Advice Section.
Kiwi Education and Kiwi Immigration
We are very satisfied with the work of both KE (Kiwi Education) and KI (Kiwi Immigration).
Everything went perfectly with KE. I worked with Kristina. She provided all the checklists, document requirements, and instructions. And she responded to my emails quickly and clearly. Everything went like clockwork. I received my university offer in 2 weeks, and my student visa in 6 weeks.
We used KI’s services to apply for partner and child visas. And I want to give special thanks to Yana Gild and her team. The thing is, my wife was only the second person in Yana Gild’s practice whose partner visa was denied. Despite having all required documents and proof of 15 years of marriage, joint property, and so on. The immigration officer simply wrote, “I don’t believe you are partners.” We reapplied and received the visas. Yana submitted formal complaints. They were accepted. And we received an official apology from Immigration New Zealand and a full refund of the repeat visa application fees.
Read full info about Master of IT joint program
