ICT industry to benefit from new Curtin alliance

Last week I visited Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia. The Curtin Business School is offering credit for postgraduate courses for people who have done ACS's Computer Professional Education Program:

A new alliance between Curtin University of Technology and the Australian Computer Society (ACS) will provide students with a clear pathway to leverage their postgraduate studies at Curtin’s School of Information Systems.

The Articulation Agreement enables ACS students who have completed its Computer Professional Education (CPE) Program to transfer to Curtin and attain an internationally recognised Masters or Postgraduate Degree by gaining credit for the subjects they have completed through ACS.

Curtin is the first Western Australian university to offer this pathway, joining an exclusive group of only four universities in Australia to sign this agreement with the ACS.

Head of the School of Information Systems, Dr Vanessa Chang said that she welcomes the alliance with ACS and says it will go a long way to further develop the ICT industry in Western Australia.

“The ACS and the School of Information Systems both work towards the same goals; the education and professional development of ICT professionals, and more broadly the development of the ICT industry in Australia,” Dr Chang said.

“ACS membership requires high qualification and experience standards. This Articulation Agreement therefore ensures students of exceptional ability which is crucial as it allows the School of Information Systems to continue delivering degree programs at a very high level.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor of Curtin Business School, Professor Duncan Bentley said that this agreement is important for both Curtin and the ACS.

“The agreement is a mechanism for promoting and encouraging life-long learning which will help meet the increasing demand for highly skilled professionals in the ICT industry over the long term,” Professor Bentley said.

The Professional Development Director of the ACS, Mr Tom Worthington, travelled to Perth to formally announce and sign the Articulation Agreement at an event held recently at Curtin’s Bentley campus and to consult Curtin staff on new ICT initiatives in green ICT.

“This agreement will provide a direct link between the ACS CPE Program and Curtin degree programs. The ACS is committed to providing our local and overseas students with the best possible educational experience and this new partnership will offer postgraduate students more flexibility and choice,” Mr Worthington said.

“The ACS courses are particularly appealing to students in India and China, and this new alliance will provide them with the option to leverage their studies at Curtin.”

The ACS is the recognised association for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals and is the public voice of the ICT profession and the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the ICT industry.

For more information on the Articulation Agreement please visit http://www.cbs.curtin.edu.au/business/acs-articulation or call Karen Clarke on 08 9266 4489 or email her at K.Clarke@curtin.edu.au

Note to Editor: Photographs are available on request

Contacts: Monique Billstein; Public Relations; Curtin; 08 9266 3353; 0401 103 018; M.Billstein@curtin.edu.au

From: ICT industry to benefit from new Curtin alliance, Media Release, C116/08, Curtin University of Technology, 21 April 2008