Feb
5
2025
Romy Stein had trouble finding a suitable placement to complete her Master of Counselling course at Edith Cowan University in Perth. “I originally intended to work with adults, but there is a shortage of placements and sometimes you have to go with what’s available,” she says of her extensive hunt for suitable on-the-job work experience. She was …read more
Dec
10
2024
Kate Paterson and her husband David left their home in Melbourne’s Richmond in July last year for a new life in Italy. With their two children, now aged two and four, the couple moved to an apartment they had rented on-line in Lucca, a town west of Florence in Tuscany. They had never been to Lucca before, …read more
Nov
27
2024
Recruitment professional Michael Walters launched the Mergent Group agency midway through the pandemic. As COVID spread, the private sector was forced to institute widespread lay-offs and stand-downs; investors were skittish and workers confused and angry. There was a growing need for professional recruitment expertise, particularly in regional Australia.
Nov
19
2024
The demand for post-graduate education in Australia continues to grow – up 18 per cent since 2018 – and evolve to include an increasingly varied range of courses with a focus on flexible and relevant career-aligned options. UNSW dean of lifelong learning Nick Wailes says working adults are looking for flexibility in their study. Would-be learners …read more
Nov
19
2024
The explosion of education options beyond the traditional university degrees is poorly understood by the general public, experts say. Consumers can now choose from a vast array of short courses, micro-credentials (short courses with certification), and enterprise education options offered by Australia’s universities and colleges, as well as courses from less traditional providers such as …read more
Nov
19
2024
As Australian undergraduate student numbers decline and postgraduate education morphs to include shorter and more concentrated online courses, universities are working to ensure students can tailor their own educational experience. Yet big institutions can move slowly, and in a time-poor and increasingly competitive world, students insist on flexibility and value for their money. “To put students at …read more
Sep
25
2024
As many as 60 per cent of university students have used generative artificial intelligence to produce academic work, forcing universities to adapt and respond to make sure students are actually learning, experts say.
Sep
25
2024
When Hutchins School boys climb the steep face of a cliff or spend time entirely alone in a self-built wilderness shelter, or cook their own food over a campfire, they are building essential qualities of maturity: resilience, independence, self-reliance and flexibility. “The boys love anything outdoors and hands-on, and certainly having challenge-based activities, especially when we …read more
Sep
16
2024
Executive education gives working adults the additional skills and knowledge they need throughout their working lives, says the University of NSW’s inaugural dean of lifelong learning, Professor Nick Wailes. “We all need to be thinking about what we’re going to learn next,” he says. “It’s not a terminal journey. You don’t get to an end-point. It’s something …read more
Sep
16
2024
Rather than having a mid-career break to take a six-month or year-long executive education course, upskilling and reskilling is now considered a decades-long endeavour, spanning an entire working life and potentially consisting of multiple short courses. Executive education directors say successful executives are constantly looking to learn and understand more about their professional fields and how …read more