Meet Ankur, your Flinders Information Technology ambassador

Flinders IT Sudent

 

When Flinders Information Technology student Ankur Sharma moved to Adelaide to study a Master of IT, he found himself in familiar territory.

“My home city of Chandigarh was designed by the French architect Le Corbusier,” says Ankur.

chance encounter in the 50s saw the architect take inspiration from Adelaide’s grid layout and preserved parklands, utilising the city’s example of modern urbanism in the plan for Chandigarh. “It’s very familiar to me – so I felt right at home when I got here.”

It wasn’t just the city layout that eased the transition into a new country. The combination of Adelaide’s enviable status as one of the Top 10 most liveable cities (Economist Intelligence Unit 2018), and as one of the most affordable state capital cities in Australia for students (QS Best Student Cities 2018) that sealed the deal for the IT student.

“Adelaide is a peaceful city, it’s not very crowded. That is key for most international students,” Ankur laughs.

Innovation and progressive learning

Adelaide living aside, Ankur was impressed by the reputation of innovation and progressive learning that Flinders offered.

“I choose to study at Flinders University because it is known for quality and innovation. Also, it helps students achieve their learning and career prospects by providing a supportive environment.”

No. 1 in SA in Computing & Information Systems for overall quality of educational experience and skills development (The Good Universities Guide 2020 (postgraduate), public SA-founded universities only)

As one of the Top 250 in the world for Engineering & Technology (THE Subject Rankings 2018), the University’s reputation was important to Ankur.

“Flinders is a renowned University in Australia,” he says. “I can assure that not only do you gain the best education, but the reputation of a Flinders degree will help in achieving good job outcomes as well.”

Friendly and supportive staff

Ankur is enthusiastic about the high quality of education and support across the colleges and International Student Services.

“I can give assurance to all international students that the staff at Flinders are very helpful, friendly and so humble. Whenever I have any problem I can get in touch with teachers without delay.” Ankur has also had many positive experiences with the online tutors available to international students – particularly the English Language Support Program (ELSP).

“There are English classes run by Flinders in order to help students cope with the study and improve their English level as well.”

ELSP has been developed to assist students from a non-English speaking background, specifically in an academic context. These sessions are free and run by experienced English as a Second Language (ESL) tutors – click here for more information.

“As I have completed my first year at Flinders University I can give the assurance to all the international students who are planning to study abroad and upgrading their skills that the study schedule here is the best and well managed.”

Flinders Information Technology

Infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities

While Ankur uses many of the facilities on offer across the Flinders campuses, “…including the soccer table for relaxing,” his favourite space is Tonsley. “The soundproof cabins located on the first floor is my favourite place to study.” 

Closely located to the main Bedford Park campus, the high-tech Tonsley campus houses state-of-the-art facilities – and centrally locates computer science, engineering, and mathematics. Alongside the Medical Device Research Institute and Centre for Nanoscale Science & Technology, the Tonsley Innovation District is home to some of Adelaide’s biggest businesses and industries. It provides students the ability to engage with leading business enterprises – bringing real industry experiences and practice into the classroom.

Five stars in Computing & Information Systems for learner engagement, overall quality of educational experience, skills development and teaching quality (postgraduate) The Good Universities Guide 2020, public SA-founded universities only

Additionally, Tonsley hosts the New Venture Institute, an entrepreneurial incubator that has launched over 325 startups.

Development opportunities

“The diverse and challenging assignments helped me to improve my programming and analytical skills with security knowledge, so this study is definitely taking me to the field of programming and security consultant.”

Currently doing his thesis, Ankur is interested in furthering his education. “I am very interested in developing my career plan further by completing a PhD [with Flinders] after my course.” 

Practical experience meets job-ready outcomes

“There are a lot of practical experiments that I had after studying here,” says Ankur. “For example, in my Enterprise security subject, Professor Anna Shillabeer gave us real exposure in understanding the topics. Presentations and explanations were given by renowned industry professionals from the same field.”  

It’s not just the fundamentals of his degree that  Ankur is learning – it’s the practical job-ready ‘soft skills’ that have proven invaluable.

“Professor Shillabeer also lets us prepare presentations for various topics that we will be teaching in class – which helps me a lot in boosting my confidence.”

This is an example of Flinders progressive learning in action – meaning our students graduate job-ready and prepared for the workplace.

No. 1 in SA in Computing & Information Systems for full-time employment (The Good Universities Guide 2020 (undergraduate), public SA-founded universities only)

“My favourite thing about studying at Flinders University is group work. It helps us to experience the real world work situation. It builds the habit of communicating to a wide range of different people and cultures. Everyone in the group, working together – just like you do in the workplace”

Ultimately for Ankur, it’s the job-ready experience that he has found invaluable through his time at Flinders.

“To experience real-world practical knowledge – come and learn at Flinders University.”

Are you interested in studying in Australia with an Information Technology degree? Get in touch with our friendly team today – so you can begin your education journey with Flinders. Looking for something different? Discover fellow international student Salindi Herath’s Flinders engineering experience here.
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