Founded in 1971 in Invercargill, the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) is a prominent New Zealand public tertiary institution operating across five main campuses: Invercargill (Tay Street and Downtown), Queenstown, Christchurch, Gore, and Telford (Balclutha). SIT gained worldwide renown for pioneering the Zero Fees Scheme in 2001, providing tuition-free tertiary education to domestic learners and industry-leading, cost-effective fee structures for international students supported by the community and the Invercargill Licensing Trust (ILT). SIT delivers career-focused, government-accredited qualifications ranging from certificates and diplomas to applied bachelor’s, postgraduate diplomas, and master’s degrees across high-demand disciplines such as Nursing, Information Technology, Engineering Technology, Audio Production, Screen Arts, Construction Management, Applied Management, Environmental Management, and Culinary Arts.