Bringing together universities and industry

More opportunities will be provided for Australians to upskill and reskill in areas of industry need, in line with the recommendations in the University-Industry Collaboration in Teaching and Learning Review, released today.

The review led by Emeritus Professor Martin Bean CBE and Emeritus Professor Peter Dawkins AO made seven key recommendations to build closer ties between universities and industry.

Acting Minister for Education and Youth, Stuart Robert, said access to high-quality industry experiences for students is vital to ensuring future graduates are work ready.

‘We need universities and businesses to work together to give students access to practical work experiences and real-world technology so they can develop the skills that industry needs,’ Minister Robert said.

‘The Morrison Government will support higher education providers to continue to deliver short courses in 2022, and we’re supporting the development and piloting of innovative microcredentials.

‘Higher education short courses were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage Australians to upskill and reskill, including in areas of national priority. Feedback from industry, students, and providers has shown short courses are an important study option as they provide flexible, fast-tracked higher education qualifications.’

Universities and eligible non-university higher education providers will be able to continue to deliver these important courses using 2021 unspent funding allocations.

From the continued funding for short courses, the Morrison Government is providing $32.5 million to develop and deliver microcredentials to domestic and international students. This includes $8 million for Australian industry to develop up to 70 globally relevant microcredentials for delivery offshore.

Scaling up industry-focused microcredentials was one of the seven key recommendations of the University-Industry Collaboration in Teaching and Learning Review.

The review findings complement the Government’s existing efforts to support the delivery of microcredentials and other innovative higher education models, research commercialisation and reform of the Australian Qualifications Framework.

The full report is available at www.dese.gov.au

/Public Release. View in full here.