The City of Casey and Federation University Australia have renewed their partnership with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to continue and enhance their collaboration to drive positive outcomes for the community and the region. The MoU follows an initial partnership signed between the Council and the University in 2020.
The intent of the renewed partnership is to explore opportunities for collaboration between the University, Council and other key stakeholders with a focus on three key outcomes:
- Develop a shared voice for the Berwick Health and Education Precinct: Council and the University will work with partners and key stakeholders from industry, education and government to advocate for and realise the vision of the precinct as a hub of knowledge, technology, health, education, research and employment for Melbourne’s Southeast.
- Grow a culture of innovation across the City of Casey: Council and the University will collaborate on projects and initiatives that contribute to solutions for environmental issues (including waste management, circular economy and water management), innovative and responsive models of health and wellbeing services, and connections and resilience in current strategic and emerging industry sectors for a stronger local economy.
- Enhance the relationship between academia, industry and government: Council and the University will work with stakeholders to identify gaps in knowledge and skills, come up with strategies to develop a skilled workforce in the region and promote local employment.
City of Casey Chair of Administrators Noelene Duff PSM said, “We are pleased to renew our partnership with Federation University to develop a shared vision for the future of the region. We particularly look forward to working closely with the university and our stakeholders to enable upskilling, skill alignment and increased employment pathways for Casey residents.”
“Our economic development strategy is to stimulate the knowledge economy and enhance relationships between academia, industry and government to cultivate a skilled workforce that is aligned to the needs of our local businesses,” Ms Duff added.
Kathy Racunica, Federation University Australia’s Berwick Head of Campus, said, “We are excited to be renewing our partnership with the City of Casey so we can continue to work together to find solutions to local problems in areas like health, employment and the environment.”
“By collaborating with government and implementing the Co-operative Education Model to create programs that are collaboratively designed, developed and delivered with industry, we can identify skills and knowledge gaps and build a pipeline of qualified graduates to address local workforce shortages and help grow opportunities in the Southeast region.”
The existing partnership between the Council and Federation University has resulted in the successful implementation of projects that address workforce shortages in Maternal Child Health Nursing (MCH), joint research initiatives on environment matters and sport participation, and collaborative efforts in the region’s jobs and skills development.
With a focus on regional leadership, the renewed partnership aims to drive positive outcomes for the community.
The MoU will expire on 31 December 2024.
