Vanessa Lam
3 August 2015: More than 400 high school students from across Canberra and regional New South Wales visited the University of Canberra for the BiG Day In road show, an information and communication technology (ICT) careers conference.
Run by the Australian Computer Society Foundation (ACSF), this was the first time the event had been held in Canberra and highlighted career choices in the field of ICT, which is the study or business of developing and using technology to process information and assist communications.
The event included exhibits and presentations from leading industry experts and companies including Microsoft, Adobe, HP and the University's Faculty of Education, Science, Technology and Maths.
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More than 400 high school students visited the University of Canberra for the BiG Day In road show. Photo: Vanessa Lam
Students from 21 schools discussed their career opportunities in ICT, such as becoming a database analyst, software developer or telecommunications engineer.
Year 10 Melrose High School student Siobhan Barrett said she is interested in studying IT in the future and that the event was great opportunity to see what coming to university is like.
"I really enjoyed the Microsoft presentation, I thought it was interesting because it incorporated videos with it and we also heard about the speaker's own personal experience in ICT," Ms Barrett said.
ACSF executive director John Ridge AM said the aim of the conference was to try and provide insights and information about careers in ICT and that it was a great way for students to hear from people in the industry about their own careers.
"What we set out to do is give an opportunity for students who are interested in those careers to hear from real people in the industry, as they discussed their careers and the opportunities in ICT, which is an exciting and rewarding field," Mr Ridge said.
"Presenters shared their stories of how they got to where they are, as well as information about their organisation and the types of careers that they can offer. It was a great way for students to get a perception about the industry and all the different types of careers that are available."
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Nick Klomp and former Labor Senator Kate Lundy opened the conference on 11 June.
Overall, more than 5,600 students attended the 2015 BiG Day In road shows in locations across Australia.
