CQUniversity and the Bundaberg Regional Council have signed a five-year agreement to partner and collaborate on new initiatives that will help bring about improved community sustainability outcomes.
As part of the agreement, Council will work with the University to inform course and training delivery to upskill and increase capacity of the region’s future workforces.
The organisations will also work together on collaborative research projects in key areas such as new energy technology, water and environmental management, health, community engagement, and economic and regional development.
Mayor Helen Blackburn said the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would increase collaboration between Council and the local university on initiatives that would benefit the whole community.
“The Bundaberg Region is growing, and Council is committed to supporting this growth to ensure it occurs in a sustainable and strategic way,” Mayor Blackburn said.
“This MOU with CQUniversity will see us partnering to tackle big issues which align directly with Council’s economic development and advocacy priorities.
“We are committed to working together to create a more sustainable community, grow and attract skilled workforces, increase investment in the region, support and grow industry, protect the environment and improve community health and resilience.”
CQUniversity’s Associate Vice-President, for the Wide Bay Burnett Region, Mr Luke Sinclair welcomed the formalisation of the partnership by saying that the University was in a unique position to support the Council through its scope of education, training and research offerings.
“CQUniversity has established courses and research programs that directly support the needs of communities and industries in the regional communities we serve,” he said.
“As Queensland’s only dual sector university we provide a full spectrum of training and education offerings from micro-credential to postgraduate level, meaning we can support not only Council’s training and workforce needs but so too the broader needs of the key industries in our region.
“CQUniversity is also a research leader in areas such as agriculture, education, environmental science, First Nations issues, health and renewable energy, with dedicated research organisations working with stakeholders across Australia and the globe on collaborative projects.
“As Bundaberg’s local university we also have established networks with industry and a direct understanding of the challenges and opportunities that are unique to the region.”
The activation of the memorandum of understanding between the Council and CQUniversity will be activated through an Advisory Committee made up of members of each organisation.
The Advisory Committee will work together to prioritise goals and plan and deliver initiatives.
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Reexamining what industries we need to focus on is like a good idea. Bundaberg is not a farming reliant town anymore. Farming has suffered the largest sustained slip post COVID still our 3rd largest industry but continues to show negative growth. We have substantial growth in many fields.
https://economy.id.com.au/bundaberg/employment-by-industry?sEndYear=2020