Curtin University this week celebrated the appointment of 77 academics focused on teaching innovation and excellence, as part of its plans to offer a personalised, interactive learning experience, anywhere in the world.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said Curtin was at the forefront of a global transformation in teaching and learning.
“The needs and expectations of our students are changing,” Professor Terry said.
“Education itself is changing and it is our intention to capitalise on the opportunities it presents both as an educational institution and as a business.
“We want to be a leader in education, globally. For that we need experts with a passion for teaching and teaching in a new environment, where students may not necessarily be in the classroom; where they may not even be in Australia.”
Professor Terry said another 85 positions were yet to be filled.
An ambitious target has been set to reach one million learners by 2017. With that in mind, Curtin is adopting a flexible, agile, progressive approach to learning, and the technologies, learning environments and partnerships it employs.
“This means Curtin will be able to take our courses – and our teaching and research expertise – to the world,” Professor Terry said.
“We will also be able to share expertise from anywhere in the world with all our students, through our collaboration with international campuses.”
In March, Curtin launched “Learning for Tomorrow”, a new model for delivering innovative education on a global scale. The University’s top 200 courses will be redesigned, enabling students to select from a mix of teaching and learning approaches in both virtual and physical learning environments.
A Teaching Excellence Framework sets out how Curtin will support the ongoing professional development and recognition of the new Teaching Focused Academics, and foster teaching and learning that is dynamic, creative, innovative and culturally inclusive.
A network of Teaching Fellows active and passionate about sharing best practice and teaching excellence will also be established through the proposed Curtin Academy.
