UCOL Manawatū was proud to host a ShadowTech25 event last Friday, welcoming 21 Year 11 students from Palmerston North Girls’ High School, two from St Peter’s College, and one from Freyberg High School for a day of inspiration, innovation, and insight into the world of technology.
Paula Richardson, Academic Portfolio Manager
ICT &
Business, says
ShadowTech25 at UCOL was delivered in partnership with the Manawatū Business Chamber, TechStep, and ManawaTech.
“ShadowTech25 offers girls in Years 9-11 an opportunity to discover the world of tech, spark their curiosity and explore career pathways. This year, we brought local industry leaders together to share their experiences and the range of pathways into ICT to encourage and inspire these young women to consider careers in
Information Communications Technology (ICT).
The day featured two engaging panel discussions, each showcasing three women working in various areas of ICT across multiple sectors. These panellists shared their personal journeys, discussed the diverse pathways into ICT, and offered advice on navigating the industry as women in tech.
“A huge thank you to these women: Heather Todd from Yorb, Claire Durant from Trio Technologies, Theresa Byrne from Te Whatu Ora/Health NZ in our first panel, and Kerrie Hardgrave from UCOL’s IT team, Harriet Lockett from FMG, and Clare Thomas from Nodero in our second panel.
Students also took part in two hands-on activities: a rapid-fire challenge to develop an app concept on paper followed by an interactive session using an online app builder to create the app concepts. These activities encouraged creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving - key skills in the tech industry.
PNGHS students Scarlett Baker and Isabelle Tan both in attendance, loved the opportunity to hear from the panellists.
“Neither of us are sure what specific career we’d like to go into but are open to what comes our way,” says Tan.
“One of the key points for me from the first panel was that there are so many different tech pathways and the different journeys the women had come from – from costume making to planning to work in sport at high school,” says Baker.
While they’re looking forward to moving into computer science in year 12, they’re both captivated by the scope of opportunities for careers in ICT.
“We definitely enjoy the problem-solving aspect of IT - I can’t even imagine how many problems are waiting to be solved through technology. We’re not sitting around coding in a dark room all the time like people might imagine,” says Tan.
(Isabelle Tan and Scarlett Baker)
The event also featured keynote speaker, Nancy Taneja, Chief Information Officer at Toyota New Zealand, whose kōrero showcased her personal journey into ICT and offered a powerful message about overcoming self-doubt, the importance of learning, leadership, resilience, and the future of technology.
Nancy says ShadowTech25 is about more than just exposure to tech careers.
“It’s about showing young women that there’s a place for them in this industry. No matter where they’ve started, whether they’re interested in cybersecurity, coding, design, data, or leadership—there are so many pathways, and we want them to see what’s possible.”
Nicola King, a long-time supporter of UCOL opportunities and Digital Technologies teacher at PNGHS, has been instrumental in connecting students with these events.
“It’s fantastic to see our young women engaging with real-world tech professionals and gaining confidence in their own potential. The industry is constantly changing, which is exciting, so regardless of whether our girls are looking at going into animation, film, coding or any tech-adjacent roles there are opportunities out there for them to incorporate their passions into tech.”
“Events like this are critical in getting our rangatahi interested and involved in careers that Aotearoa needs more people in,” says Richardson.
“ICT careers are included in the Government’s long-term skills shortage list, and it’s one of those skills that are needed across all industries – whether it’s ICT for education, government, health, trades, or private business. The opportunities in filling this skills gap are vast, so to enable that first step is fantastic.”
With lunch and goody bags provided by TechStep, the day was both educational and energising - leaving students inspired to explore what a future in tech could look like.