Southern Institute of Technology

SIT has three campuses in Invercargill. The main campus is situated either side of Tay Street. SIT Downtown is situated in the center of Invercargill’s business district and is home to new media and arts programmes. SIT Sound in the Invercargill Radio Network Building hosts audio production programmes.

SIT has undertaken a major campus redevelopment plan over the past fifteen years. This includes the completion of new classrooms, development of the SIT Library complex which includes the Literacy and Numeracy Resource Center and Teaching and Development Support Unit, and the redevelopment of the Student Services area.

In 2012, SIT completed a NZ$5.5 million redevelopment of the trades and technology teaching and learning areas which included a new Industry Training Center. 2012 also saw the redevelopment of the School of Nursing, which included the addition of a new multi-million dollar Nursing Simulation Center and the refurbishment of related facilities.

The Gore campus provides a base for the catchment areas of Eastern Southland, Northern Southland and West Otago.

The Queenstown campus operates from a new facility in the Remarkables Park retail and commercial development area in Frankton. The campus offers business, administration, computing, hospitality, tourism, sports, beauty therapy and hairdressing programmes.

SIT’s Christchurch campus is based in Hornby. The campus offers specialised training in a number of areas including carpentry, electrical, refrigeration and air conditioning, roofing, automotive, sports, and mental health support.

The Telford (Balclutha) campus extends over 921 hectares of farmland with halls of residence and facilities, technical workshops (machinery, carpentry and welding), classrooms and livestock units.

The SIT campus in Auckland operates on Level 2 of the MAINZ building and offers blended delivery programmes in conjunction with SIT2LRN

The Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand is a faculty of the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) with campuses in Auckland Central and Christchurch. MAINZ offers a range of programmes designed with the music industry in mind including Music Performance, Audio Engineering/Production, DJ, and Event Management

In 2003, two years after the launch of the Zero Fees Scheme, SIT launched its flexible mixed mode delivery (or distance education) faculty, SIT2LRN. SIT2LRN was made possible through a partnership with Southland TV (now CUE TV) where SIT could use television and internet technology to provide distance learning. Initially, SIT offered just one academic qualification – a Diploma in Tourism and Hotel Management – and attracted an online student body of just 22. By 2012, SIT2LRN offered over 30 different programmes in a range of subject areas.

The Zero Fees Scheme delivers significant savings for students who study at SIT compared with other tertiary institutions. Since students need only pay for their material costs, many students graduate debt free. Students can save between NZ$7,000 to $14,000 on the cost of their bachelor's degrees.[7]

The scheme was initiated in an attempt to jumpstart Invercargill’s economy. In the late 1990s, Invercargill was suffering from job losses, closing businesses and a declining population. In an attempt to reverse this situation, and attract more young people to the city, the Zero Fees Scheme was implemented.

The scheme saw community funders contribute $7.2 million over three years to effectively pay students’ tuition fees. All students had to pay was their material costs – for things like uniforms or textbooks. The expected boost in the student population meant that, after that time – with more government funding for the extra equivalent full-time students – the scheme would become self-funding.

The success of the Zero Fees scheme has meant SIT has been able to keep fees for international students low. The Zero Fees Scheme has even been extended to international students, in the form of the Zero Fees English and Zero Fees Foundation Studies programmes. These programmes allow international students to study English or Foundation programmes for free when they subsequently enrol in a one-year or longer mainstream academic programme.

SIT offers a range of learning modes. These include full-time and part-time, flexible mixed mode delivery, workplace locations (including work place training and assessments), apprenticeship schemes (managed and modern), multi site arrangements with secondary schools and articulations. Many courses have work experience components and practicums. Southland Museum and Art Gallery

SIT has developed links with a range of community organisations, including local councils, iwi, trusts, government agencies, businesses and other organisations. SIT worked with the Community Trust of Southland, the Invercargill Licensing Trust, the Invercargill City Council, the Southland District Council and many Southland businesses to launch the Zero Fees Scheme as well as subsequent initiatives. SIT has active relationships with Venture Southland, the region’s economic development agency, and the Southland Chamber of Commerce.

SIT has sponsored and supported numerous Southland community organisations, such as Rugby Southland, Netball Southland, Basketball Southland, Southland Art Foundation, Southland Artist in Residence, as well as Southland’s national motor-racing champion and Southland’s Olympic representatives and Paralympic medal winner.

SIT provides SIT Centrestage for the benefit of the Southland Arts community. This includes the provision of weekly music and drama performances in the theatre by SIT students, and the annual Kids’ Concert for approximately 2,500 children.

SIT helped secure the Southland filming of Robert Sarkies film Two Little Boys, Claire Kelly’s The Jub Jub Bird and the joint New Zealand–Denmark produced Weight of Elephants, in which SIT film students gained valuable work experience and subsequent employment in the industry. In 2010, SIT hosted the University Games for the first time in Southland. In 2011, SIT gifted the use of the SIT Arcade in Invercargill’s central business district as the venue for the 2011 Rugby World Cup Fan Zone in Southland.