The Scan | #138 | 20 September 2013

20/09/2013 by
The Abbott Family

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Education and training separated There was speculation after the announcement of Tony Abbott's ministry early in the week as to who would be handling VET matters within the education portfolio. The VET side of the tertiary sector has actually landed in the lap of former and once more industry minister Ian McFarlane, along with science and research. It's a curious decision to separate the tertiary sector in that way, although not without precedent: VET was located in the business portfolio in Victoria in 2006 but reunited with  education by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ACPET, AQF, Australian Research Council, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Higher education policy, Innovative Research Universities, La Trobe University, NMIT, Research, Scan Main Edition, Schools, Science, TAFE, TAFE Directors Australia, Uncategorized, University of Canberra, Victoria University, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dawkins queries and queried on possible conflict of interest

20/09/2013 by

Australian Financial Review    |    16 September 2013 Former treasurer John Dawkins has queried conflict of interest claims after it emerged he would chair Vocation, a new education company reported to be worth $300 million, due to be listed on the stock exchange later this year. Dawkins, a treasurer and education minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, chairs the National Skills Standards Council (NSSC) and the Australian Qualifications Framework Council. The Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) has questioned Dawkins’ involvement in the company, with its CEO Claire Field stating: It is an unusual set of circumstances where the chair of a government … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ACPET, AQF, Vocational education & training Tagged With: ,

UC puts campus up for development

20/09/2013 by
UC land

The Canberra Times    |     13 September 2013 The University of Canberra (UC) is opening up 40 hectares of its main campus in Belconnen for development in the hope of generating $100 million in capital investment each year for the next decade. A specially-appointed campus development board chaired by business leader Jim Service has spent two years working on the project. UC vice-chancellor Stephen Parker said potential development could range from residential ''alumni'' villages, to health research and development bodies wanting to be in close proximity to the new UC hospital, government agencies, commercial organisations, technology parks, arts and culture complexes, sporting … [Read more...]

Filed Under: University of Canberra Tagged With: , ,

Footscray set to become “edgy university town”

20/09/2013 by
Footscray

The Age    |     17 September Footscray would shed its battler image and transform into an edgy university town in a proposal from Victoria University (VU) and Maribyrnong City Council. A report prepared by the university and council said Footscray was perceived as dated, with a ''historical association with crime and the drug trade''. Rather than acting as a welcoming doorway to the exciting west, it has been a psychological barrier. Until Footscray is rejuvenated, it will act like a cork in a bottle, hindering the west's development, rather than fostering it. VU and the council have signed a memorandum of understanding to build student accommodation and establish arts and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Victoria University Tagged With: ,

Gap year proves positive

20/09/2013 by
Gap year

University of Sydney News    |     16 September 2013 A University of Sydney study suggests students who have a gap year achieve more highly at university than students who enter university straight after school and mature age students. The findings of the research, conducted by researchers at the Faculty of Education and Social Work, have been published in the prestigious Journal of Higher Education. Another major finding was that the effects of school achievement on university achievement diminished over the first three semesters at university.  A much stronger influence on university achievement in later semesters was performing well at university in earlier semesters. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Schools, University of Sydney Tagged With: ,

The strange case of the missing science minister

20/09/2013 by
Cadestra

The Conversation   |  17 September 2013 Does it matter that, for the first time, more of less, in over 80 years that Australia doesn't have a specifically designated "minister for science"?    Probably not a lot: the highest profile science minister in that whole time was former quiz master Barry Jones who, despite his cleverness and celebrity,  had next to no clout in the Labor government of the 1980s/90s.  He is perhaps best remembered for the "cadastre" - a  spaghetti and meatballs depiction of the "knowledge nation" he devised for Labor leader Kim Beazley in 1999, when Jones was no longer in Parliament.   In this opinion piece, Rod Lamberts and Will J Grant argue that science needs a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coalition policies, Government, Research, Science, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,