Things are progressing at a steady pace with our aim to be Queensland’s first dual-sector university. Since the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh paid us a visit in August this year to announce her approval for merger talks to proceed between CQUniversity and Central Queensland Institute of TAFE (CQIT) (see previous blog), I am pleased to say I was in Brisbane recently to meet with Julie Grantham, Director-General of the Department of Education and Training (DET) (pictured).
During this visit, Julie and I signed a Heads of Agreement document between the State of Queensland (represented by DET) and CQUniversity that records another significant milestone in the progress of the proposed merger between CQUniversity and CQIT.
This agreement commits CQUniversity and DET to more intensive negotiations leading to a detailed merger agreement down the track. I am looking forward to continuing the work we are undertaking with DET and CQIT to ensure this proposal achieves a positive outcome not only for the Government, CQIT and CQUniversity, but most importantly for the communities in Central Queensland.
Whilst we are waiting to hear from the Federal Government about our application for funding which will assist with this process, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Nik Babovic and his team are working hard to ensure we are ready to proceed to the next level of our journey to dual-sector status.
I’m sure this will pay off in years to come with greater study choices and career pathways for our regional students, helping them tap into our ongoing resources boom.
I look forward to sharing more information with you as progress is made.
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