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IT Clinic launches in Medway

The University of Kent has expanded the award-winning service it provides to businesses with the launch of a new IT Clinic at its Medway campus.

The Kent IT Clinic (KITC) provides high-quality, low-cost IT support, training and consultancy to small and medium-sized enterprises across the county. The KITC is a unique set-up, as all its consultants are undergraduate computing students at the University, whose work is mentored and supervised by experienced co-ordinators.

Many of the students - who can also advise on computer troubleshooting, mobile phone development and website management - have gained industrial and consulting experience through placements at major organisations including IBM, Microsoft and Lehman Brothers. The work they carry out at the clinics also forms an essential part of their final degree programmes.

The KITC, which has run at the University's Canterbury campus since 2004, was recently awarded Technology Enterprise Kent's Enterprise and Training Award for Excellence. In 2006 it was shortlisted for another major industry award, the VNU Business Publications Computing Awards for Excellence.

Professor Simon Thompson, Director of the Computing Laboratory at the University of Kent, welcomed the expansion of the KITC at Medway. 'The IT Clinic is proving a win-win situation for all - for businesses, for students, for the University and also for the regional economy,' he said.

'The feedback from employers is that we're meeting a genuine need for professional, reliable and cost-effective IT consultancy. The students are gaining exposure to the business world, and are learning all sorts of precious skills, from pricing and negotiating to time management and dealing with people.

'We as a department are teaching groups of motivated and high-achieving students, who are seeing how their lessons can be applied to business. Lastly, we hope many of our students will stay working in the region and become part of a highly-skilled local workforce.'

Business IT student Zal Asim, 21, one of the KITC's consultants at Medway, said the clinic's work was enhancing both her professional and personal development. 'Each new project means learning about new types of technology, so as consultants we have to broaden our knowledge all the time,' she said.

'But the role's not just about IT - it's about working with clients and understanding them as people. It's immensely rewarding and my experience at the clinic has even made me think about teaching Business IT as a career.'

Students from the KITC have also helped the Medway Learning Partnership develop a new website aimed at adult learners, and have run a series of workshops in Rochester aimed at helping businesses make the most of their IT and internet facilities.

Following on from the success of the KITC, the University of Kent has launched a one-year Masters programme in IT Consultancy, based at the Canterbury campus.

Contact: N.J.Ellwood@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 11:17am 12 February 2008