AGILISYS, the York-based business process services company with a £120 million task of bringing e-government to five North Yorkshire local authorities, is getting help from young brainpower at the University of York.

As part of their management, IT and languages degree in the university's Department of Management Studies, students paid their first visit to the 24/7 high-tech suite at the former Transco site at Heworth Green, York - the room where Agilisys demonstrates how councils can offer a 24-hour service to people through technology. They were met there by Marcia Rankin, ICT projects manager.

The students, working in teams of six, are using Agilisys for a business software project. They will act as consultants, pitching their e-payments solution to their "client", Agilisys.

The teams will produce a series of reports outlining the IT, finance and human resources elements of the case study, then deliver a team presentation and finally an individual report. Agilisys will then announce a winning team.

Tim Downie, head of partnerships and delivery at Agilisys and himself a York graduate, said: "So far we have been very impressed by the level of analysis, thought and preparation displayed by the teams."

Updated: 09:40 Tuesday, March 23, 2004