UWS plan to grow jobs in Sydney’s west

16/04/2012 by
UWS

Daily Telegraph   16 April 2012 The University of Western is seeking the backing of Penrith City Council  for a consortium between the University of Western Sydney and the Penrith Business Alliance to create 400 jobs under a $28 million development in Sydney's west.  The project would create jobs in the research, education, health, wellbeing and digital communication sectors in a 7000sq m building on university land at Werrington.  UWS would commit $14 million in funding for this $28 million development and is seeking $14 million in funding from the Commonwealth suburban jobs program.  More than 60%of Penrith's resident workforce travel outside the suburb to work. NewsEXTRA Desk… … [Read more...]

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

Streamlined visas fast tracked for non-unis

16/04/2012 by
Flags

The Australian    16 April 2012 Selected private colleges and TAFEs will soon benefit from streamlined student visa processing arrangements already enjoyed by universities, under immigration reforms signed off by COAG on 13 April 2012.  The new approach means international students seeking visas to study at colleges deemed low-risk will be treated as coming from ‘level 1 risk assessment’ countries.  This vastly reduces their waiting time for visas, and scales back onerous requirements to prove that they have plenty of money to cover their expenses in Australia.  Some of Australia’s top markets for international education, including India and China, are treated as high-risk level 3 or 4 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: International, International students Tagged With: ,

COAG rubber stamps skills reform

16/04/2012 by
Skills Aust

COAG Communique    16 April 2012 The Commonwealth’s proposed skills reforms package, with an additional $1.75 billion in funding to the states over the next four years, sailed through the Council of Australian Governments meeting on 13 April 2012 without much difficulty, despite state complaints that the Commonwealth government's new funding deal leaves them “hundreds of millions of dollars” out of pocket.  Key reforms include: introduction of a national training entitlement for a government-subsidised training place to at least the first Certificate III qualification; provision of income-contingent loans for government-subsidised Diploma and Advanced Diploma students; developing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth-State relations, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , ,

The sounds of silence

16/04/2012 by
nothing-or-is-it

16 April 2012  The Easter Monday edition of ABC’s Q&A saw Cardinal George Pell (God corner) and Professor Richard Dawkins (non-God corner) square off  (1  million viewers tuned in so odds are you did see it).  Greg Sheridan, who is obviously as well versed in theology and metaphysics as well as foreign affairs,  recounted one scene:  When Dawkins explained that the universe had come from nothing, but that nothing was really very complex and, in fact, consisted of something, people laughed.  Dawkins was annoyed and, like a humourless school marm, peevishly scolded the audience: “Why is that funny?” Yes, well, “nothing”certainly can be complex.  The Buddhist notion of nirvana … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized