Off to a flying start

Even though I haven’t had a chance to fly my plane yet in 2012, we are certainly off to a flying start at CQUniversity.

My holiday started just before Christmas with my wife Anita’s 50th birthday party in Cairns, which was a 1960s-themed party. It was a groovy fun night which we shared with close friends and family. As you can see I got into the 1960s swing of things!

So after a wonderful Christmas break, it’s great to be back in the office with so much happening already this year.

With our QTAC offers up from this time last year, 20 new programs ready to kick off for Term 1 and loads of construction projects in progress across our campuses, I’m very excited about what this year will bring.

Something we will be focusing closely on this year is widening university participation among underrepresented groups of people. CQUniversity recently gained around $3.3 million in Federal Government funding aimed at breaking down barriers to university through outreach to schools and engagement with indigenous communities between now and 2014.

CQUniversity has established a good track record and evidence of success for Widening Participation projects, which are designed to raise educational aspirations without promoting any particular degree or campus.

CQUniversity currently works with 33 high schools and 107 primary schools to build collaborative partnerships, raise aspirations and smooth students’ transition into university and TAFE programs.

I am also very pleased to see staff moving into our newly refurbished research precinct in Rockhampton – the Central Queensland Innovation and Research Precinct (CQIRP). Our IT and Facilities teams have been working hard to have the new space ready for the start of the year and I must say it is looking very impressive.

This week also marks the first official week of operation of the Appleton Institute, our new research facility in Adelaide. Professor Drew Dawson and his team of human factors researchers have now fully migrated to CQUniversity and, by all reports, are settling in nicely to their new home. I look forward to exploring ways of better integrating our Adelaide operations into the University as the year progresses.

CQUniversity Noosa has also had a facelift recently. Head of Campus Kevin Tickle tells me the new library space and collaborative learning areas are absolutely state-of-the-art and I’m sure our students will benefit greatly from these new facilities.

Construction of the Queensland Government’s Trade Training Centre on our Mackay campus continues, which is a significant project for Mackay and will help initiate the commitment we have to CQUniversity becoming Queensland’s first dual-sector education provider. CQUniversity Mackay also had an early Christmas present last month with the finalisation of new clinical nursing facilities.

A number of cutting-edge developments for the Gladstone region are also on the horizon for this year.

Among the proposed developments are a much-needed marine research and rehabilitation facility, an early childhood education and training hub, and a mixed-use affordable accommodation complex for students and the wider community. I look forward to sharing more details on this as things progress.

I hope everyone has had a relaxing and safe holiday break with their loved ones and are feeling refreshed and ready for the new year. I get the feeling 2012 is going to be a big one!

With all this activity to keep us busy, and preparing for our new intake of students, I hope I get the chance soon to fit in a quick flight before the rain sets in.

Thank you and Merry Christmas

The past couple of weeks have been hectic!

I have been attending graduations at the Metropolitan Campuses. I never tire of meeting with our graduates and their families. It was a special week for me because my son graduated. Here is a picture of him with his Mum Anita. I could really relate to how the families at the CQUniversity ceremonies were feeling.

We are fast approaching the end of the year and what a year it has been.

We have had a great deal of success in our teaching and learning, research and engagement. Our teaching quality was recognised by the Good Universities Guide and with the outcome of our AUQA audit review. We are also seeing an improvement in our student retention which is very pleasing. We are really starting to ramp up our research efforts and I am sure we are going to excel in coming years. It is great to see so many world class researchers choosing CQUniversity as their academic home. We have defined what we mean by engagement - and our efforts are being recognised nationally and internationally.

Many of our new programs have gotten off to a great start in 2011. This year we had the highest percentage increase of first preference applications of all the Queensland universities. Many of our staff have been working very hard to write new programs and to renew programs for next year and we are seeing very strong applications for 2012 – this is all very good news.

We have also received quite a few early Christmas presents this year. The Federal Government has awarded us more than $70m in SAF and EIF funding (see previous blog) and we have also won over $3m in HEPPP funding which will help us to improve university participation in Central Queensland. On top of this we have been given over $2.5m from BMC and BMA for scholarships. Success follows success and we certainly are very successful!

So the year comes to an end on a high note. I want to thank all the staff of CQUniversity, including those employed through our C Management Services subsidiary, for their hard work this year in moving us towards being one of Australia's truly great universities. In this respect I would also like to thank those who do not work directly for the University but who have also contributed greatly over the past year. This includes Council Members, Engagement Committee members, work placement supervisors, volunteers, alumni and community supporters. Thanks to you all.

I get the feeling 2012 is going to be an even bigger year, with more programs being introduced, many exciting new campus developments and a time when we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary since becoming a university.

I am off early this year for a Christmas break. It is Anita’s 50th birthday on Saturday and we are having a party in Cairns so I am really looking forward to that.

I hope you will have time to view a short Christmas video that has been put together by Elizabeth Tansley - http://youtu.be/JVLxJsVxHS0

Have a safe and happy Christmas and I look forward to continuing the great work next year.

Celebrating 20 Years

One of the things I love most about my job as VC are the opportunities I have to chat with students – whether it’s at a BBQ lunch on campus, celebrating their success at a graduation ceremony or welcoming them to campus at orientation week – it is always refreshing to remind myself of the role we play in helping students reach their full educational potential.

I had the chance to meet Renee, one of our BA Professional Communication students recently, who is currently completing her third and final year at CQUniversity. Over the summer semester, Renee is undertaking a work placement with the CQUniversity Corporate Communications team.

CQUniversity offers one of the best mixes of classroom and workplace-based learning of any Australian university and the Corporate Communications team were very keen to have Renee on board for this opportunity.

Interestingly enough, the project Renee has been tasked with during her placement is CQUniversity’s 20th anniversary celebrations. 2012 is a very special year for CQUniversity – and Renee. Although founded in 1967 as an institute of technology, 1992 was the year we gained full university status. Renee just happens to be holding her own ‘20th celebrations’ next year as she was born the same year we became a university.

You might say 20 years doesn’t seem very long in the world of higher education and you’d be right. I like to think of us as being ’20 years young’. One definition I found for young was “being in the first part or period of growth”. I think this describes CQUniversity’s current period of renewal perfectly – this is only the beginning – there are bigger and better things to come.

We have a unique history and a most interesting story to tell. There are countless achievements and successes to be proud of over the past twenty years and I’m very excited to have CQUniversity’s Professor Denis Cryle compile our history since 1992. You’ll be hearing more about our plans to celebrate our 20th anniversary and I’m sure Renee will do us proud – as one of our students – to help bring this all together.

$73.8m funding boost for CQUniversity

It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have confirmation!

It was extremely pleasing to receive official word from the Commonwealth Government last week regarding our funding application for higher education investment monies.

CQUniversity has received $73.8m, part of a total pool of $377m from the Structural Adjustment Fund (SAF) and Education Investment Fund (EIF) for 2011.

These funds will allow the University to enter its next phase of development and is a major step forward in the process to revolutionise post-schooling education to better meet the unique skills needs of this region.

At a special briefing event held this morning to mark the funding announcement, it was fantastic to be joined by so many supporters such as Member for Capricornia Kirsten Livermore and Central Queensland Institute of TAFE Director Gary Kinnon. A large crowd of university and TAFE staff joined with community members, Rockhampton region Mayor, Councillors and representatives from Capricorn Enterprise, the CQ NRL Bid and Central Queensland Indigenous Development to hear how the funding would be utilised.

There are several major projects set to benefit from these funds:

• readying the university for our proposed merger with Central Queensland Institute of TAFE, including new interactive teaching and learning spaces across the numerous CQIT and CQUniversity sites in Central Queensland, to allow for better interaction between campuses;
• a new state-of-the-art engineering precinct at CQUniversity Mackay which will feature purpose-built workshops and learning centres; and
• a further stage of the public-access allied health clinic at CQUniversity Rockhampton.

I believe this funding announcement demonstrates just how crucial CQUniversity is to the national higher education sector and to the communities of the booming Central Queensland region.

These funds represent one fifth of the overall SAF/EIF funding pool for 2011, which is a massive vote of confidence from the Government in the CQUniversity, and our plans for dual-sector status and the development of a world-class engineering school in Mackay.

I look forward to sharing more details about these projects as they progress, but for now, I would like to express my thanks to the Commonwealth Government for its foresight in recognising the immense contribution a dual-sector university, offering world-class engineering programs, will make to a region like Central Queensland and to the many staff who helped put this funding application together – it has certainly been worth the effort.

Leading Australian nurse authors

Earlier this year, CQUniversity was extremely fortunate to appoint one of its senior researchers – Professor Brenda Happell – as an Engaged Research Chair for Mental Health Nursing. We always knew at CQUni that Brenda was an amazing person – an esteemed researcher and Professor with a highly-regarded research track record.

So I was delighted to see a recent Journal of Clinical Nursing (JCN) article confirm what many of us already know – that Brenda is one of Australia’s top nursing academics, based on a detailed analysis of research publications undertaken by the JCN.

The analysis of research citations published in the JCN includes a special index where a score between 10 and 14 indicates an ‘excellent publication record'. Professor Happell's special index of 20 puts her in the top three on the ranking table.

CQUniversity has a strong and proud history in the nursing discipline. From our first offerings on the Rockhampton campus, we have now expanded to be located on another four campuses of CQUniversity – Mackay, Bundaberg, Noosa and Emerald – with both on-campus and distance learning. 2012 will see CQUniversity celebrating not only 20 years as a university, but also celebrating 20 years of graduating nursing students.

As the JCN so aptly put it “despite the many ways that publication outputs can be measured, calculated and ‘crunched’, it is important not to lose sight of the primary aim of nursing research – that is to improve patient care, enhance the health care experiences of patients and families, and strengthen the skills, sustainability and well-being of the nursing workforce.”

Whilst we are extremely proud of Brenda’s ranking in the JCN, it is the dedication and skill of Brenda and her colleagues that we are most proud of.

Representing Queensland on the world stage

I had a very busy and productive visit to Brisbane earlier this week.

I was very honoured to join the Deputy Premier and Treasurer Andrew Fraser for the launch of a new industry-led peak body the Study Queensland Industry Council (SQIC) on Wednesday. I was invited to be a member of this board – Chaired by Professor Bill Lovegrove, VC of the University of Southern Queensland – which aims to represent Queensland’s international education and training sector on the world stage.

CQUniversity is already one of Australia’s leading providers of international education and I believe this peak body will assist greatly with presenting a cooperative and holistic face for Queensland when we market overseas.

Mr Fraser spoke yesterday at the launch about how the SQIC will expand Queensland’s reputation as a world-class base for education and training services.
Education services are already Queensland’s third largest export industry, generating over $2.8 billion in export revenue in 2009-10 and providing jobs for around 17,000 Queenslanders – and CQUniversity is very proud to play a major part in this.

Internationalisation permeates all aspects of CQUniversity and the concept of international activity is not new to us. Over the past two decades, CQUniversity has grown to be multi-campus, multi-city university focused on preparing highly diverse learners for internationally-engaged and effective professional practice wherever they may be situated.

I think Queensland will have plenty to gain by boosting cooperation among providers, as international students may wish to experience ‘lifestyle’ study locations along the coast as well as city and rural campuses, while moving seamlessly between vocational and tertiary programs.

Speaking of our international students, I had a great evening with a group of CQUniversity Alumni in Brisbane following the launch of SQIC yesterday. Chancellor, Rennie Fritschy and I joined staff from the Brisbane campus and our Office of Development and Graduate Relations to host a reception for graduates and university donors. It was wonderful to hear stories about what our alumni have been up to since graduating and all said it was a nice feeling to be back ‘on campus’.

This was also an opportunity for me to thank our donors and other supporters as we truly value these relationships and love catching up with past students whenever possible.

Dual-sector progress

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.