29/04/2026
Introducing Nicole Bladen, an ICT Graduate School alumni profiled in our ten-year anniversary celebration series:
“I completed my Master of Information Technology in 2025, finishing with an internship at Altis Consulting.
I have two favourite courses from my program for quite different reasons. First was the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Computing because everything is incredibly relevant to any IT-related position. It was a foundational to my understanding of modern IT infrastructure and has helped me in my career and strategic conversations continuously.
Second was Modelling Minds, in part because Matthew is a fantastic and engaging lecturer, but also because the content was incredibly thought-provoking. In an increasingly AI-driven world, this class posed some tough philosophical questions that I’m still thinking about today – and some of the best prescribed readings!
With Altis I undertook a requirement gathering project for a major utilities’ client, with a business requirements document being the final deliverable. This was Phase One of an ongoing project which I am now continuing with after being offered a permanent consulting role with Altis.
On completion, we will migrate the client’s key data pipelines and reports from Excel and legacy systems to a modern, dimensionally modelled data platform using Snowflake and Power BI for automated, reliable financial reporting.
I am incredibly grateful to both Altis and the Auckland ICT Graduate School for all the mentorship and guidance over the past two years, I highly recommend getting involved with the speed networking night that led me to where I am today.”
Shane Davis, Client Executive at Altis Consulting comments:
Nicole caught our attention because she went out of her way to secure time with us during the industry meet and greet. She also had some industry experience that aligned with the type of work that Altis do.
During her internship, Nicole was placed in a challenging environment where a lot of self direction and self management was required. More than we ideally would have liked.
The feedback from our client was glowing despite these challenges. This is largely due to Nicole’s focus on delivering value no matter what. She sought out and received good support from within Altis. This was absolutely the right thing to do.
Nicole is a great example of the quality of graduates that the ICT Grad School produces. As long time veterans in the industry, we are nothing short of astounded by the calibre and quality of student projects.
It’s for this reason that Altis is happy to invest by way of mentoring, to ensure that the ICT Grad School is successful in their mission. This ultimately benefits industry and the country as a whole, as these highly competent graduates become available to the market.
University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau Faculty of Science, University of Auckland
