Charles Darwin University is unique among Australian universities. No other single Australian university serves such a large area of the continent in such a beautiful and remote location.
While the Northern Territory (NT) covers more than 17 per cent of Australia, it is home to just over one per cent of the population, 30 per cent of whom are Indigenous, compared with around three per cent of the general Australian population.
CDU was the first dual sector university and one of the first Australian universities to develop significant online learning programs.
In 2019, nearly 70 per cent of our Higher Education students studied 100 per cent online with 60 per cent living outside the NT. Many of these online students are in regional areas around Australia and cannot access on-campus learning environments. Many also work full or part-time and online study allows them to meet these work and family commitments.
Our national reach has enabled us to provide the comprehensive tertiary education service that the NT requires, while also connecting the University to people and communities across Australia.
Transformational leadership is needed to build the knowledge, skills and mindsets required to navigate the complexities of the fourth industrial revolution’s digital workplaces. Successful workers of the future will be agile, self-directed and reflective; they will create their vision and secure the necessary knowledge and skills as and when they need them.
In the report ‘Peak Human Potential: Preparing Australia’s workforce for the digital future’, Australian workers observed that many of today’s jobs will be displaced by automation, but also replaced with new skills to support evolving automated work. These workers expressed a preference for ‘learning-integrated work’, where they can prepare for the future by immersing themselves in disruptive work environments.
Connectivity and ‘social competencies’ will remain strong in the digital economy, as will continuous learning that allows workers to learn what they need, when they need it, in a supported self-directed environment.