Since 2020, Catalyst IT Australia have been a part of QUT’s ‘Work Integrated Learning’ (WIL) program, providing Bachelor of IT students with the opportunity to work on real life projects.
In addition to ‘giving back’ to the wider pool of young talent, Catalyst have employed some of the students as a result, with the current retention rate of 100%.
“As one of the largest, enterprise open source software companies in Australia, and a Premium Certified Moodle Partner of 20+ years, we believe we have a lot to offer to students who participate in the QUT’s IT Capstone Project ,” says Peter Burnett, Senior Developer and Team Lead at Catalyst IT Australia.
“Each Project lasts 12 months, with participants meeting weekly in our office in Brisbane. It is an excellent way to get ‘real world’ exposure, and technical guideance and mentoring.”
Peter had run the program for almost six years before passing over the baton to Matthew Hilton, who initially was a student of Peter’s – participating in the QUT’s IT Capstone project in 2020, and then joining Catalyst team in 2021.
“When I first received my project allocation as part of my QUT Capstone project – to develop a Moodle plugin at a company called Catalyst IT – I remember thinking that it sounded kind of boring,” says Matthew.
“As I went through the project however, I came to appreciate the complex inner workings and engineering expertise that goes into a learning management system which seems simple. Meeting with Catalyst every week for project updates gave me a glimpse inside the real world of software, and I appreciate the experience.”
“It’s great to see Matt, who joined us as a result of the Program, growing in his role and now continuing the legacy that the Catalyst team have created,” says Peter.
“QUT’s IT Capstone Project provided us access to some of the best young talent, and we are definitely not looking to stop this initiative.”
“Of course, we’d like to think that we add great value to all students who participate in this Project, not just the ones that we hire,” says Peter. “During the five-plus years of running the program, I have tried my best to offer a lot of guidance to all participants and help them succeed.”
“And it’s not a tick box exercise for Catalyst either. This initiative is an important part of living our company values of Collaboration and Open Source Community.”
So far, Catalyst has hired three fantastic developers from the program, including Abhinav Gandham who joined Catalyst in early 2026.
“It was a fantastic experience,” says Abhinav. “I think the biggest takeaway for me is just how much better I got with using industry standard tools after participating in the Project.”
“The ongoing support was also a big factor in my enjoyment. Peter Burnett was our Project Lead, always ready provide guidance in our learning and progress.”
Learn more about QUT’s IT Capstone Project here.
Learn more about Catalyst IT Australia and explore more stories on our blog.
