VC’s corner
campusreview.com.au
Innovation, partnerships, mobility
and optimism – these are the keys
to a flourishing future workforce.
By Paul Wellings
K
Partners in
prosperity
20
eeping Australia globally competitive
requires much more than the
pursuit of providing a better skilled
workforce through education. More than
ever, universities need to increase their
partnerships with industries and their
communities to create innovative solutions
together. This is not just to ensure the best
outcomes for our graduates and to prepare
a workforce for the future, but to support
existing industries and grow new ones.
We are now globally connected and the
future workforce will flourish if we focus
on four things: innovation, partnerships,
mobility and a good measure of optimism.
Regional centres are driving innovation,
and the University of Wollongong (UOW)
is a great example of how universities are
regenerating traditional industries and
building regional innovation ecosystems.
For more than 40 years, UOW has been
an anchor for the Illawarra’s economy,
providing for the transition to new
industries and new jobs. The university has
been highly adaptable to changing needs
as the Illawarra experiences a significant
economic transition. As a result, we still
train engineers and metallurgists, but
we now train entrepreneurs, educators
and innovators as well.
An economic impact study released
last year shows UOW is playing a leading
role in driving growth in the Illawarra and
Australia. Our total direct, indirect and
induced economic contribution to gross
domestic product in 2015 was $1.2 billion,
and the various activities related to UOW
helped generate $2.2 billion in gross
output annually.
During the State of the State address
at the Committee for Economic
Development of Australia in July this year,
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian cited that
NSW is pivotal to growth in Australia and
that regional NSW contributes about half
the jobs of the state. However, we cannot
afford to become complacent on these
great results. We need to remind ourselves
that about one-third of the skills necessary