Timely creation of new peak body to meet critical shortage of ICT students

23 Jul 2008 | Bernie Goldie

The creation of the first ever peak body to represent the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector across all Australian universities could not be more critical and timely.

One startling statistic speaks for itself -- between 2001-2007 there has been a 50 per cent decline in Australia in the number of undergraduate students enrolling in ICT degrees. And yet, according to the Federal Government’s Labour Supply and Skills Branch, the marketplace is crying out for ICT graduates with indications of strong long-term growth in employment for ICT professionals.

ICT disciplines generally include electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, information systems, information technology, software engineering and telecommunications engineering.

And in Sydney on Friday 25 July, the inaugural meeting will be held of the Australian Council of Deans of ICT at which the constitution will be ratified and members of the executive elected.

The Interim President of the Australian Council of Deans of ICT, Professor Joe Chicharo, of the University of Wollongong said the ICT sector has been fragmented for too long and now urgently needed a representative unifying body that can speak with one voice to the government, industry and other professional bodies and education providers.

The country’s universities have reacted en masse to turn around the dramatic decline in student enrolments with representatives from 38 universities attending the inaugural Sydney meeting.

Strong support for the new peak body is also coming from such organisations as the Australian Computer Society and the Australian Information Industry Association.

Professor Chicharo (Dean of Informatics at the University of Wollongong) said the meeting was also very timely because it would provide an invaluable opportunity for the new body to respond to the Higher Education Bradley Review as well as the Excellence in Research for Australia initiative.

Professor Chicharo said it was also noteworthy that the meeting on Friday was at an appropriate time just prior to the National ICT Careers Week starting on 28 July.

“ICT is a critical component of our future knowledge society and it is a primary infrastructure for all disciplines,” Professor Chicharo said pointing to the fact that ICT places significant ongoing demands for both the skilled workforce and organisations in order to keep abreast of the rapidly evolving technology.

The Executive Director of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, Professor Richard Johnstone, will be the guest dinner speaker following the inaugural meeting.

Meeting location: University of Wollongong Sydney Business School (Level 14, 175 Liverpool Street, Sydney).

Time: Media are welcome to attend from midday to 1pm on Friday 25 July ahead of the formal meeting.

Further information: Contact Professor Joe Chicharo on (02) 4221 3843 or 0419 272 908 (m).