CDU and DPIF collaborate on training, research
Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will guide their strategic collaboration associated with infrastructure and resources for primary industry research and training.
The Vice-Chancellor of CDU, Professor Simon Maddocks, said the university has a long history in the Katherine region focusing on rural industry training and research relevant to the pastoral and allied industries of the Northern Territory.
Professor Maddocks said the MoU was significant given the strategic importance of primary industries to future initiatives of CDU, the NT, and the development of Northern Australia.
“This partnership will enhance the role of both organisations in rural industry training and research, recognising that a strong and successful collaboration will better serve the needs of industry in the NT,” Professor Maddocks said.
The initiative formed part of a strategic assessment and realignment of CDU’s rural industry training in the Katherine region.
“This assessment has demonstrated the growing tendency for practical vocational education and training to be delivered on private properties where students are regularly employed. This is increasingly the preference of industry employers, and is consistent with trends seen elsewhere in Australia,” he said.
“As a result of these clear changes and the diminishing demand for traditional delivery methods in the sector, the university has consulted with industry, the NT Cattlemen’s Association, the Government and the CDU Mataranka Station Advisory Committee and determined that training programs currently delivered at Mataranka Station will be more effectively and efficiently delivered through a combination of intensive and practical programs at CDU’s Katherine Rural Campus and on private properties.”
The university has advised the Government and the Northern Territory Land Corporation, which holds a Crown lease in perpetuity over Mataranka Station, that it will not require the station for rural industry training from 2015.
This decision would allow CDU to focus available resources to develop activities and facilities at Katherine Rural Campus that would better meet the aspirations for improved training for primary industries and other educational services for the Katherine region.
“The MoU will also facilitate a more strategic engagement in joint research agendas for the primary industries and the broader development of Northern Australia,” Professor Maddocks said.