Students from Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology assembled at the bottom of Devonport Road to parade through town today, as part of their graduation ceremony.

Among them was Leah Jackson, a graduating Bachelor of Creative Industries student, majoring in graphic design.

She's recently completed an internship with Wave Design, thanks to a successful three years at Toi Ohomai, and also runs her own Kiwi-inspired giftware business, Daffy & Yarn. A particular highlight for her has been mixing her business with her studies.

'It was awesome to spend half a year branding my own business, and then launching it the following semester,” she says. 'I could actually see the results of my work.”

She says the course is structured so that students take more classes in their first two years, before becoming more self-directed in their final year.

'We all had studios on campus to work from. And the tutors were amazing – they're easy to talk to, and offer different perspectives.”

For Leah, other benefits of studying include meeting and collaborating with new creatives, and gaining reassurance in her abilities.

'Initially I had my doubts as to whether I was creative enough to do the course,” she says. 'But you do gain confidence.”

Toi Ohomai council chair Cathy Cooney, who took part in the parade, says she is always very proud of the graduating students.

'They've all worked very hard to get this far, supported by family, friends, and tutors – there's a whole lot of people behind the scenes.”

She says Toi Ohomai has been going from strength to strength for 18 months, with around 14,000 students and 1000 staff across five main campuses and 68 smaller sites in the North Island.

'We're the third biggest institute of technology in the country now. We're very proud of our name and the successful story we're building.”

Chief executive Dr Leon Fourie agrees, emphasising the high number of students who go on to have careers in their fields of study – more than 80 per cent are either in further study or employment within their first year since graduating.

'Student satisfaction is very high – they're enjoying their learning journey. I think our success comes from how closely we align with the industries these students want to work in.”

Around 6000 students will meet the requirements to graduate at Toi Ohomai this year, with the majority studying business or IT.