Council has reaffirmed its close association and support of James Cook University with a commitment to signing a new five-year Memorandum of Understanding.
The two organisations signed a five-year MOU on 19 May 2014, with the intent of establishing a collaborative relationship to enhance and benefit the Cairns community and Tropical North Queensland.
Key projects have taken place in relation to urban design, environmental sustainability, innovation, arts and culture, social enterprise, Internet of Things, data science, economic development and strategic planning.
There have been more than 25 significant collaborative projects and activities including:
- Support was provided for IT and Engineering students to develop design responses and prototypes for regional sustainability challenges in the JCU Design Sprint. A new educational tool has been developed for Council through this process.
- JCU was a major sponsor of the 2018 Tropical North Queensland Innovation Awards, and presented a workshop as part of the partnership. The Social Enterprise Network for the Tropics was launched at the Awards.
- Collaboration to improve urban design in the tropics through the Tropical Urban Design Lab (TUDLab). One project uses smart temperature and humidity sensors throughout the CBD to better understand the urban heat island effect and help inform Council’s future decision making.
The intent of the proposed new MOU remains consistent with the previous one, although some detail has been amended to reflect changes in the education industry and the evolution of JCU.
