Campus administrators from Tennant Creek, Nhulunbuy, Palmerston and Katherine attended a round table hosted by Alice Springs administrator Di Underwood in early December to plan the future strategies of regional and remote education at CDU.
The result was a positive outlook for regional and remote education in 2007 through community engagement, delivery of relevant courses and a focus on quality outcomes of clientele.
Alice Springs campus administrator Di Underwood hosted the administrators on site, who met Charles Darwin University staff from FAS, Corporate Communication and PMD.
She said each regional campus highlighted different objectives but shared a passion for delivering relevant and valued education.
‘Outcomes are the key for clientele and local industry,’ Di said. ‘Assisting the schools to develop courses of interest and value to local people is the way ahead.’
All the administrators agreed businesses across the Northern Territory were consistently supportive of CDU’s training approaches.
Kate Young from Tennant Creek said government and industry Territory wide were moving to a shared responsibility model of training.
‘Clients deserve skills that will lead to employment,’ she said. ‘The days of training for training sake are over and we will continue to deliver employable skills.’
Katherine’s Vicki Williams said community engagement was important.
‘Word of mouth is the most important marketing tool in Katherine and if we provide quality service and product, locals will make the choice,’ she said.
She highlighted a recent audit on remote Indigenous communities around the Katherine and Arnhem region completed by remote field officer Bronte Cooper.
Regional delivery of education is enhanced by the remote field officers and Mobile Active Learning Units (MALU’s), mobile classrooms delivered via road trucks.
‘We will be able to produce accurate, targeted long term training plans for the benefit of Indigenous communities and individuals,’ she said. ‘It’s a model that we expect to expand across the Territory.’
Carina Bekkers at Nhulunbuy agrees working with the community will be key in 2007.
‘We look forward to our close relationship with the schools and faculties to deliver accurate feedback on the training needs of our local clients,’ she said.
Di Underwood said it was an exciting time to work in remote education.
‘The synergy between industries, government, Indigenous communities and CDU are already seeing positive results and we look forward showcasing more achievements next year,’ she said.
Yulara and Jabiru administrators were unable to attend.