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UNE opens rural centres in high-tech launch

July 30, 2004

Narrabri Access centre.jpgThe latest video-conferencing technology will be used for the concurrent launch of the University of New England’s new Access Centres at Gunnedah and Quirindi on Wednesday, August 4.
The three-way video-conference will link the Centres with UNE in Armidale and feature Professor Peter Flood, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), talking about the University’s Sustainable Grains Production course.
This is a new course, and the video-conference will allow external students Adrian Nelson at Quirindi and Nick Park at Gunnedah to discuss their studies with Professor Flood. They are among the inaugural intake of students taking the course.

The joint launches start at midday when Professor Ingrid Moses, Vice-Chancellor of UNE, will officially open both the Gunnedah and Quirindi Access Centres by video-conference. Professor Flood will be Master of Ceremonies at Quirindi.
Professor Moses will be joined at Gunnedah by Soil Science and Agronomy Associate Professors Robin Jessop and Brian Sindel . The conference, expected to be conducted before a joint audience of at least 80 people, is aimed at the local communities and will specifically address careers in agronomy.
At a separate event later in the day, UNE will open its Access Centre at Coonabarabran. There, Professor Moses will be joined by Professor Hugh Ford, Head of UNE’s School of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources Management. Guests at the Coonabarabran opening will also take part in a video-conference with officials back at UNE in Armidale and will discuss work being carried out at Coonabarabran with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
UNE will open four more Centres the following week: the Moree, Boggabilla, Inverell and Tenterfield Access Centres, opening on August 10 and 11. All the new Centres, including the Narrabri Access Centre opened in April, are on TAFE campuses. The new Access Centres, together with the UNE Tamworth Centre, will take advantage of recent developments that are making high-quality communications technology available to communities in north-western NSW.
"UNE takes very seriously its commitment to the people of the region," said the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ingrid Moses. "We are establishing these Access Centres, with the help of a Commonwealth Government grant, to ensure that our country communities have a competitive advantage and are not left behind in the information age. Our collaboration with TAFE in this venture, built on the strengths of both institutions, will create more opportunities for people to undertake tertiary studies while staying in their home town and district."

Posted by Lydia Roberts at July 30, 2004 12:04 PM