The time has
finally come for all of us at CQUniversity to usher in a new era in education
and training. Today is the last day of the last week before the University
undergoes the most significant change in its history. On Tuesday the long
awaited merger with CQ TAFE will become official and a more comprehensive university
will be born, paving the way for a smarter more innovative approach to
education and training in the region.
Tuesday, 1
July will be a day of celebration and every CQUni campus across Australia will mark
this date and join in. While most of the benefit will be felt directly within
the CQ footprint itself, there will be a flow on effect beyond the region with
students able to explore many new opportunities and study pathways, regardless
of their location.
Going forward
students won’t just come to CQUniversity to complete a degree, students will
come to us to complete enabling programs that will provide them with the skills
and confidence to go on to further study, they will come to us to complete
trade certificates, diplomas and short courses, and they will come to study
degrees fresh from leaving school or to enrol in postgraduate study to take
their career further. They will also come to us to up-skill, gaining
specialised qualifications in their area of expertise or to set the foundations
to embark on a career change.
What’s more
at any point in time during their study journey they will be able to seamlessly
transition between different levels of study – for example engineering students
might elect to complete a welding qualification on top of their degree or a
sports science student might take up a fitness qualification in their first
year of study allowing them to work in the industry while they are studying. Likewise,
graduates might come back to study VET programs to further expand on their
skills and knowledge in a particular area.
It is because
of this new approach to education and training that our region can look forward
to having much needed childcare professionals, engineers, scientists, midwives,
enrolled nurses, tradespeople, service providers, community workers and allied
health professions. Delivering skills and knowledge to these professionals will
boost our local economy and build not just our region but others like ours, both
here in Australia and overseas.
The merger
between CQ TAFE and CQUniversity is a first for Queensland and each and every
one of us that call central Queensland home, or who are a part of the
CQUniversity and CQ TAFE community should feel very proud to be involved in
this revolutionary approach.
On top of
this I think the fact a regional university is taking a lead with this approach
in Queensland is something very exciting!
Finally,
between now and Tuesday there is still a lot of work being done behind the
scenes to ensure a smooth transition, things like merging data between systems
and getting all new systems up and running, welcoming 400 plus staff from TAFE,
unifying programs and courses, building new state-of-the-art infrastructure,
and getting the message out about how we are making this change for the better.
I’d therefore like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication shown by so many
staff across both organisations, during the merger transition process. Getting
to this milestone would have simply not been possible without so many great people
behind the cause.
Be sure to
check my blog again next week for more updates on the merger!
