IBM and Fed Uni have celebrated a milestone partnership that has delivered big benefits for Ballarat

But now she's finished a Bachelor in IT (Professional Practice) with Federation University, an internship with IBM and is working for the company she can't imagine doing anything else.

Ms Pellow is one of hundreds of graduates of IT courses run by Fed Uni in partnership with IBM who have gone on to work with the company.

"During high school I was asked if I wanted to give up my school holidays and go to the IBM Excite camp for four days," she said.

"I loved it and there were so many memorable moments and experiences it opened my eye to what IT really was .. .not just building and fixing PCs, there's so much more to it."

For Ms Pellow, part of the attraction of doing an IT course at Fed Uni was the opportunity to apply for a three year IBM internship as part of the course and put what she was learning in to practice.

"I felt at home and being able to put real world experience back in to the university environment helped me develop that understanding while I was still studying," she said.

"Once I graduated from that it was a smooth transition in to a graduate position at IBM - it was like I'd had a three year job interview."

Now she's a junior project manager on a large government account, helping improve their websites and the customer experience of dealing with government online.

Federation University's collaboration with IBM, which has secured hundreds of jobs with the technology giant for Fed Uni students, last week received a coveted national Engagement Australia Excellence Award for Student Engagement.

The university collaborates with IBM not just in the Bachelor of IT (Professional Practice) but in its Bachelor of Business (Professional Practice) and the P-TECH program for school-aged children at Federation Technology School.

Judges chose Federation University after hearing how students gain real-world skills through the internships and access to IBM experts who lecture at the university, putting them in the box seat for jobs that open up at the IBM facility at the Ballarat Technology Park.

"This is an unprecedented roadmap for transformational collaboration between industry, university and government with massive social and economic benefits for our students, community and sector," said Federation University vice chancellor Professor Duncan Bentley.

"The economic rejuvenation has been a lifeline for Ballarat and regional Australia. As a regional university with a smaller population in its catchment area than larger city universities, this is a significant benefit and point of difference.

"Our student interns bring valuable knowledge and capability. IBM values this talent pipeline and hires a significant number of graduates, with interns having priority access to roles. Many early graduates are now in senior roles at IBM."

Ms Pellow said the number of women in IT was gradually increasing and those already in the industry were "prominent and inspiring".

She said most young girls did not understand the breadth of different jobs in IT.

"You don't have to be super techy and code mainframes and build programs," she said. "I don't think I'm overly technical. I like to think of myself as a bridge because of the experience of my degree I can speak to tech people and understand where they are going, and work with the non-tech people in our field who work in design thinking and creating user experience.

"There is such variety in IT and IT-adjacent jobs and careers you can jump through. You don't have to stay in the one land - any experience you are learning from, where you are, is applicable."

Twenty-five years ago a pioneering partnership began between IBM and Federation University to change the way students learn and address an emerging IT skills shortage.

It also set the foundations for the Ballarat Technology Park that now underpins 4435 jobs across the state, and has been responsible for innovations including Qantas' self-check-in kiosks, which were designed and built at IBM Ballarat.

The digital tech revolution started with the opening of the IBM Ballarat Regional Delivery Centre, the first resident of the technology park which now has more than 2200 employees and 62 enterprises which generate $6 million in turnover and account for almost nine per cent of jobs in Ballarat.

A Western Research Institute study commissioned to mark the milestone found IBM/Fed Uni's 25 year partnership contributed $629 million in economic value to the Victorian economy between 2018-2019 and was responsible for $381 million of household income in Victoria over the same period.

And there are plans to create about 100 new jobs at the IBM Centre in the coming year on top of its current employment of around 500 people.

Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford said the state government partnered with the organisations 25 years ago to help address an emerging skills shortage and pioneer the "earn as you learn" concept to deliver job-ready graduates.

"It's wonderful to see how the Ballarat Technology Park has evolved and how it continues to drive innovation and new opportunities for the region and the state," Ms Pulford said.

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"Innovative and collaborative partnerships like this one are central to ensuring Victoria's place in the global digital economy - generating high-skill, high-value jobs and growth for all Victorians."

IBM Australia managing director Katrina Troughton said the success of IBM at Ballarat Technology Park proved the value that corporations could gain, and give, from opening major facilities and regional Australia.

"The partnership has created one of Australia's most prestigious IT degrees - the Bachelor of IT (Professional Practice) - the establishment of the Earn as You Learn Scholarship for students, and providing the opportunity for more than 360 local and international students to graduate from the program, since 2001, with the future skills required to be successful in a digital economy," she said.