A Master's degree in information technology to be offered this year by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie aims to fill the needs of local and international students, and businesses.Coordinator of the Master of Information Technology at CSU in Port Macquarie Dr Sabih Rehman said the course would be offered for the first time on-campus to local students and international students coming to Port Macquarie to study and live."The program enables students to better understand modern concepts of information technology so they can contribute to the development of IT solutions for the region," said Dr Rehman, who is moving from CSU in Wagga Wagga to teach and coordinate the course at CSU in Port Macquarie."The Mid North Coast is one of Australia's most diverse regional economies, boasting a range of industries including retail, construction, transport, tourism, information media, and telecommunication. "The course will fulfil the needs of local industry and their employees who are particularly looking to develop specialised information technology skills."In addition, students from various parts of the world will also call Port Macquarie home while they complete the two-year course."Port Macquarie local Mr Rowan Smith started a Bachelor of Information Technology with CSU Online while working in remote Western Australia as an industrial electrician.Mr Smith originally aimed to improve his understanding of automation technology and has since gained valuable technical skills from the degree, from administration and design to business communication and critical thinking."I now want to pursue knowledge and understanding in current thinking in such specialist topics as cloud computing, information security, and the 'internet of things', which I hope to achieve through postgraduate study," Mr Smith said."Fortunately for me, Charles Sturt University is offering its Master's degree in Port Macquarie to start in July. I can now improve and apply existing knowledge to reach academic and professional goals with the bonus of living in a place I love."Enrolments are still open for the Master of Information Technology to be offered at CSU in Port Macquarie from July this year.