Tag Archives: education
Got a Great Business Idea? Toowoomba Workshop Could Help Bring it to Market
A one-day workshop for budding entrepreneurs will be held in Toowoomba at the Queensland Government Conference Centre on Tor Street,this Thursday, 4 November 2011. The Ideas2Market Introductory workshop is run by the QueenslandGovernment’s Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) in conjunction with the Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC). It is designed to help those considering starting their own business and provide the skills required to turn a great idea or invention into commercial success. Attendees will learn about the different paths to market, how to ensure their idea is feasible and what markets they should target, how to structure a company, write a business plan, find funding, protect their intellectual property and create a successful brand. Sessions are included from intellectual property specialists, marketing and finance experts and other successful local business owners, who will share their experiences and lessons learned from starting and running an enterprise. Genevieve Langbien, Education Manager at the AIC, said past workshops had received fantastic feedback. Genevieve Langbien “The Ideas2Market Introductory workshop is packed full of essential information on how to start a business; we know attendees leave with a far more solid plan and action list than they had at the start of the day,” Ms Langbien said. The Ideas2Market Introductory workshop is $110.00 per person. For more information or to register please visit www.ausicom.com/ideas2market or call the AIC on (07) 3853 5292. Continue reading
Collaborating Universities Announce Sustainability Education Milestone
In a world first, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and City University of Seattle have collaborated to develop a bachelors level accounting degree designed around the United Nations Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI is an international standard for business to report against a range of key indicator protocols under the categories of economic, strategy and profile, product responsibility, society, labour practices and decent work, human rights and the environment. By co-accrediting two new courses developed by CityU of Seattle, to be delivered in the existing USQ Bachelor of Accounting and Sustainable Business (BASB), the program has become the first to comprehensively embed the principles of the GRI within the curriculum. USQ BASB Program Coordinator Dr Geoff Slaughter said while many programs dealing with sustainable business cover the general principles of the GRI, USQ was the first to use the GRI indicator protocols as a basis for curriculum development. “This will give our students a great advantage, as they will have a clear understanding of what the GRI protocols entail and how to report against them,” Dr Slaughter said. “The BASB program is accredited by the Australian Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA) Association and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (ICAA). It is designed to produce graduate accountants equipped for a world where sustainable business, and all its associated reporting requirements, is not only a reality but a priority. “To achieve this, unlike normal accounting degrees, there are courses in environmental science, sustainable business, sustainable accounting and finance. The program now also includes two newly co-accredited CityU courses of Corporate Social Responsibility and Fair Labour Practices.” Associate Dean of the CityU School of Management, Tom Cary said the GRI principles are the future of responsible businesses. “We are preparing students to have a thorough, detailed knowledge of its requirements. The partnership between USQ and CityU brings a unique and global perspective on sustainable business for the students.” Dean of USQ Faculty of Business, Professor Allan Layton, said the relationship USQ has with CityU has the added benefit of including a number of co-accredited courses allowing graduating students of the USQ BASB to also qualify for the award of CityU Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Sustainability. “Students thereby receive two degrees – one from Australia and one from the US – for their four years of study of the USQ BASB, a really terrific outcome for students,” Professor Layton said. Director of USQ Springfield Campus, Doug Fraser, said the redesign of the program more clearly defined what sustainable business education was about. About the University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) has forged a reputation as one of Australia’s leading providers of on-campus and distance education programs in Australia. With more than 75 per cent of students studying via distance or online, USQ is at the cutting edge of flexible delivery of resources and technology. From Arts, Business and Education to Sciences, Engineering and Surveying, the University continues to develop programs and courses that reflect the changing needs of society. USQ has three campuses located in Toowoomba, Springfield and on the Fraser Coast and welcomes international students from more than 100 countries each year. About City University of Seattle Founded in 1973 in Seattle, Washington, City University of Seattle is a private, not-for-profit university that serves more than 8,000 students worldwide each year, with more than 45,000 alumni worldwide. City University of Seattle’s mission is to change lives for good by offering high quality and relevant in-class and online education options to any person in the world with a desire to learn. The university is comprised of the School of Management, the Gordon Albright School of Education, and the Division of Arts and Sciences. Headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, City University of Seattle offers classes at locations throughout Washington, Canada, Mexico, Slovakia, Greece, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, and China as well as through its collaborative arrangement with USQ in Australia. www.cityu.edu Jo-Ann Sparrow, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 4119 Continue reading
Glennie School’s New Hospitality Centre Officially Open
Students and staff at The Glennie School for in Toowoomba have celebrated the official opening of their new hospitality training centre recently. Member for Toowoomba North, Kerry Shine said the new centre was a major asset for the school community. “The hospitality centre offers an excellent training facility for hospitality students,” Mr Shine said. “It has a commercial training kitchen containing a barista-style coffee machine, and an industrial oven, and the neighbouring classroom can double as a function room for school events. “The hospitality students are putting it to good use – they helped cater for the Glennie Foundation cocktail party and have prepared morning tea for the official opening.” The State Government contributed $250,000 in capital assistance funding to the project, adding to the $850,000 raised by the school. From left: Right Reverend Rob Nolan (Anglican Bishop West Region), Kerry Shine MP, Wendy Ashley-Cooper (Head of Glennie School). The Member for Toowoomba North represented the Minister for Education and Training Geoff Wilson at the opening. Mr Wilson said the Queensland Government was pleased to help support the school’s ongoing development. “Over the past five years, The Glennie School (an Anglican school for girls) has received more than $5.6 million in recurrent funding and $1.9 million in capital assistance from the State Government.” Further Information Phone: 4638 5755 or Email: toowoomba.north@parliament.qld.gov.au Continue reading
Inspiring Nursing graduate triumphs over difficult past
Tiffany Zimmermann is a firm believer in pursuing academic dreams. This Saturday (April 24), when the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Master of Mental Health Nursing graduate steps onto the stage to accept her Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Award for the highest grade point average, it will be a triumph over a difficult childhood and troubled teenage years. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the life I have now or the achievements I have made, it blows me away,” she said. “I would never have considered that one day I would have a Bachelor’s Degree, a Master’s Degree and be working towards a third degree.” Tiffany, 36, a mother-of-two who was born in Toowoomba, describes her past as “somewhat gruesome. I was raised by a single parent and moved around a lot – 10 moves and nine schools by the time I was 14,” she said. “I was put in the care of the Department of Child Safety Services at 14 years old, kicked out of home at 16, unemployed and living in a caravan in Miles at 17 and pregnant at 18.” At 20 years old, Tiffany undertook a natural therapies course and discovered she had a passion for women’s health. “I decided I wanted to be a private midwife and repeat Year 12 so that I could go to uni.” Since then, Tiffany has undertaken study in pregnancy counselling, completed a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing Science and a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Nursing, and is currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s Degree in Midwifery. “I am also planning to train as a doula later this year,” she said. Currently residing in Cairns with her husband Rene (a doctor), daughter Ivory and son Raven, Tiffany said her dream was to work as a private midwife, providing community and home-based intrapartum care and birthing services to women and their families. “I would like to find a way to meld my mental health training with midwifery training,” she said. ‘”I have a particular interest also in perinatal mental health and am part of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health group in Cairns. I would like to do a doctorate one day and maybe write a book about hyperemesis gravidarum (a severe form of morning sickness) for Australian women.” Tiffany will join more than 1100 Sciences and Education students celebrating the conferring of their degrees during USQ’s Autumn Graduation Ceremonies at the Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre this Saturday, April 24. The Faculty of Education graduation ceremony will be held at 10am and the Faculty of Science graduation ceremony will get underway from 2.30pm. Nursing graduate Tiffany Zimmermann has overcome many challenges to achieve her academic dreams. Submitted by Madeleine Tiller, USQ Media , +61 7 4631 1163, 0400 025 429 Continue reading
