Southbank Institute of Technology

The Southbank Institute of Technology (formerly known as Southbank Insitute of TAFE) is the largest Technical and Further Education college in Queensland, Australia. The Southbank Institute of Technology operates in the highly competitive post secondary education sector within South-East Queensland, and currently receives a significant proportion of government funding (about 60%). The Institute is currently undergoing a significant redevelopment project (hundreds of millions of dollars) to rebuild and revamp its facilities. This major renewal project was initiated by the Queensland government through the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Queensland. The college offers 300 courses and each year 30,000 students pass through its doors, but it also provides fee for service style courses and corporate training. [ [http://www.southbank.edu.au/site/about/index.asp About Southbank Institute] ] According to the TAFE Queensland website (2007), the Institute is ‘… creating an internationally recognised metropolitan centre of learning in collaboration with our many business, government and educational partners and clients around the globe’ (Sherrin 2007, p.1). The revamp of facilities will lead to significant opportunities and challenges over the period of reconstruction.

Southbank Institute is composed of three campuses including the main site on the south bank of the Brisbane River, the Morningside Campus and the Kangaroo point Campus. [ [http://www.southbank.edu.au/site/about/campuses/index.asp Southbank campuses] ] The Southbank Institute is a popular destination for international students [ [http://www.southbank.edu.au/site/International/english/programs/pathways.asp Southbank programs] ] and has agreements in place with many universities to receive credit on a University degree for diploma level courses completed at Southbank.

The Southbank Institute of Technology is also undergoing a major technology refresh, including delivery of content by pod and vodcasts, wireless networking and use of personal devices on campus. It is well provisioned with Information Systems, including Blackboard for Online Delivery, Horizon Library Portal and Careerhub Student employment system.

The Institute is also moving to become more autonomous from the other TAFE colleges, and is moving into para-professional areas of tertiary education such as offering vocational degrees and so on.

References

External links

* [http://www.southbank.edu.au/site/ Southbank Institute of Technology webpage]