Industry rewards top ICT students

A range of key ICT industry figures came to RMIT University to meet top students from RMIT’s School of Computer Science and IT and present awards.

The 2012 School of Computer Science and IT Awards Ceremony was held in RMIT’s Storey Hall conference rooms, with recipients receiving Industry Awards, School Awards and Certificates of Recognition.

Sponsors of the Industry Awards included the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Department of Human Services – Australian Government, Australian Computer Society (ACS), National ICT Australia Ltd (NICTA), RegCap Pty Ltd and Hiser.

“I don’t want to gush, but it’s a privilege to be recognised for all the hard work – it feels good,” said Nathaniel Garbutt, who graduated last year with a Bachelor of IT and won awards from CSIRO and ACS.

“I’m absolutely rapt,” said Thomas Harris, who also won awards from CSIRO and ACS for being the top graduate in Bachelor of IT (Games and Graphics Programming).

“It’s great to get these awards and also to come along to meet up with people from the industry.”

In between award presentations, keynote speakers delivered further endorsement of student achievement and the potential for transferring the lessons learned to practical application.

“NICTA are sponsoring these awards as it’s all about getting young people excited about researching computer science,” NICTA’s Professor Pascal Van Hentenryck, said.

He delivered a keynote speech on how optimisation can save lives (for example, with kidney exchange or disaster management).

“We’re trying to recruit the best students on big projects to have a big impact on Australia,” he said.

“It’s a big priority for us right now, which is why we’re here.”

Remarking on how much she enjoyed Professor Van Hentenryck’s talk, award-winner Remya Ramesh Chithra was pleased to be back at RMIT after graduating from her Master of Computer Science last year.

Ms Chithra now works as a business analyst in Melbourne, a position she gained before graduating. “That’s the best part of being at RMIT – it really gets you the big job.”

As well as celebrating outstanding academic achievement during the 2011 academic year, the annual School awards ceremony provides an opportunity for high-achieving undergraduate, postgraduate and research students to interact with leaders in ICT.

“We have a responsibility to nurture our future workforce – at DHS we say, ‘succession management is success management’,” said Yusuf Mansuri, another keynote speaker and General Manager, ICT Strategy and Architecture, Department of Human Services, Australian Federal Government.

“It’s very important to keep new blood flowing through any organisation and so introduce new ways of doing things.”

Industry Award recipients

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Nathaniel De Morton Garbutt – Most outstanding 2011 graduate in Bachelor of Information Technology

Thomas Nicholls Harris – Most outstanding 2011 graduate in Bachelor of Information Technology (Games and Graphics Programming)

Department of Human Services – Australian Government

Matthew Bolger – Most outstanding 2011 graduate in Bachelor of Computer Science

Daniel John Arizzoli – Most outstanding 2011 graduate in Bachelor of Software Engineering

Australian Computer Society (ACS)

Matthew Bolder – Top 2011 final-year student in Bachelor of Computer Science

Daniel John Arizzoli – Top 2011 final-year student in Bachelor of Software Engineering

Nathaniel De Morton Garbutt – Top 2011 final-year student in Bachelor of Information Technology

Thomas Nicholls Harris – Top 2011 final-year student in Bachelor of Information Technology (Games and Graphics Programming)

Cheng Chi – Top 2011 final-year student in Bachelor of Technology (Computing Studies)

RegCap Pty Ltd

Jake Rodney Barnes – Best student in first year in any undergraduate program in 2011

Hiser ^(UX)

Daniel John Arizzoli – Academic Excellence in 2011 Usability Engineering (Heuristic Analysis Report)

School Award recipients

Joshua John Webb – Best student in the first year of Bachelor of Computer Science

Vu Huy Mail – Best student in the Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours)

Bjorn Juwen Ho – Best student in the Master of Computer Science and Best Student in the Master of Information Technology

Wriddhi Banerjee – Best female student in any postgraduate program in 2011

Kirsten Lee Turner – Best female student in any postgraduate program in 2011

Dhiah Al-Shammary – Best student in the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program

Certificate of Recognition – Undergraduate recipients

James Edward Thedjasurya – Academic Excellence in the Bachelor of Computer Science

James Michael Vigilante – Academic Excellence in the Bachelor of Software Engineering

Jging Fai Chong – Academic Excellence in the Bachelor of Software Engineering

Zean Qin – Academic Excellence in the Bachelor of Information Technology

Anh Tuan Pham – Academic Excellence in the Bachelor of Information Technology

Darcy Samuel Rayner – Academic Excellence in the Bachelor of Information Technology (Games and Graphics Programming)

Certificate of Recognition – Postgraduate recipients

Neda Abdullah O Bugshan – Academic Excellence in the Master of Computer Science

Remya Ramesh Chithra – Academic Excellence in the Master of Computer Science

Abdullah Mohammad I Alsaadi – Academic Excellence in the Master of Computing

David Matthew Keen – Academic Excellence in the Master of Computing

David Rovert Procak – Academic Excellence in the Master of Technology (Enterprise Architecture)

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