Otago Daily Times

Students graduate from pioneering evehicle course

- EMMA PERRY emma.perry@odt.co.nz

CHARGED with knowledge of a different kind, a group of Otago Polytechni­c students have graduated from a pioneering new course.

Eleven students celebrated receiving their level 5 certificat­e in electric vehicle automotive engineerin­g yesterday.

One of the first of its kind in the country, the oneyear, parttime course involves learning how to diagnose and repair faults in electric and hybrid electric vehicles and machines.

The course provides an opportunit­y for automotive engineerin­g technician­s to specialise in electric vehicles.

Otago Polytechni­c automotive engineerin­g senior lecturer Kevin O’Neill said he was proud of the hard work from students in completing the course.

‘‘They’re the first students to graduate in this course. They’ve been studying for about a year to now be allowed to work in and around electric vehicles.

‘‘The course has been three years in the making — it’s a great moment for me personally and profession­ally.’’

Students would have the opportunit­y to return and assist in teaching future courses, he said.

The demand for electric vehicles and those skilled in working on them would continue to grow, he said.

‘‘A lot of these students are already working in the industry. Every year there are more and more of these vehicles coming out.

‘‘One of the big visions we had in establishi­ng this course was to ensure consumers buying into the electric vehicle market know they can get repairs easily, so more people can buy them confident they can access repairs.’’

Twentyfive further students were on track to complete the course which was accepting new enrolments quarterly, he said.

 ?? PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON ?? All charged up . . . Excited to receive their level 5 certificat­e in electric vehicle automotive engineerin­g yesterday are (from left) Rob Hickey, Alex Schofield, Lance Bell and Geoff Christie, pictured with automotive engineerin­g senior lecturer Kevin O’Neill.
PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON All charged up . . . Excited to receive their level 5 certificat­e in electric vehicle automotive engineerin­g yesterday are (from left) Rob Hickey, Alex Schofield, Lance Bell and Geoff Christie, pictured with automotive engineerin­g senior lecturer Kevin O’Neill.

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