01/06/2026
Introducing James Lam, an Auckland ICT Graduate School Graduate School alumni profiled in our ten-year anniversary celebration series.
James is currently a software engineer in Fivetran:
“Things have changed since 2017. I was originally in biomedical sciences research, sifting through data and routine statistical analysis. There was nothing fancy but the deeper I dove, the more dependent on computers and programs I became.
The ICT PGCertInfoTech program was the first avenue I tried to get into computing myself. This program quickly broke down the interaction with technology into fundamental building blocks and compositions. This fascination led me to MInfoTech and the specialised fields of AI and data.
A worthy mention is that the PGCertInfoTech course provided me with the fundamentals to comprehend one of my favourite courses - “Interactive cognitive systems.” I was not only educated in AI but the core principles emphasised being situated, embodied and the dynamics of time towards cognitive systems breeding more complex AI.
My studies led to an internship for a research lab on creating an AI system, where the project aims to lower the hurdle by automating AI model training. From there, I landed roles such as Data / Software Engineer, for an intensive data processing company and have been employed everywhere from startups to global enterprise-sized companies. A highlight has been creating a complete end-to-end automated data processing to warehouse system with lineage and governance.
I greatly appreciate how the ICT Graduate School's continuous improvement and evolution in response to the industry’s demand helped me.”
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