CDU staff celebrate namesake’s birthday

Staff at Charles Darwin University’s Alice Springs campus gathered this week (12 February) to mark the 210th anniversary of the birth of 19th Century naturalist Charles Darwin.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Maddocks, in a video-link from Darwin, said that 2019 also was the 160th anniversary of the esteemed naturalist’s seminal work “On the Origin of Species”, which went on to have such an enormous influence on humanity’s understanding of the natural world.

“And this year is also the 30th anniversary of Charles Darwin University,” Professor Maddocks said.

CDU’s recently appointed Alice Springs based Director, Regional Engagement and Development, Jay Walker, said he had begun a “deep dive” into new and existing educational delivery and research possibilities across the Territory.

“Our activity in the VET sector is already underway, with the higher education academic year set to start on 4 March,” Mr Walker said.

“Already this year we have appointed three new trades lecturers, which will boost our capacity to deliver Construction and Plumbing courses. We’ve also appointed Teresa Schwellnus as our new VET Business Educational Manager.”