The Rural Extension Centre at the University of Queensland's Gatton College will mark another milestone on March 3.
That afternoon the University's Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay will launch a new Rural Extension course, the Master of Rural Systems Management.
This course offers the choice of more than a dozen subjects including group leadership and facilitation, empowering communication technologies, managing and planning projects, structured decision making and rural community development.
The Centre, which presented its first certificate course only four years ago, has since expanded its offerings to include a graduate certificate, a postgraduate diploma and now the masters, all under the auspices of the School of Natural and Rural Systems Management.
This expansion is based on a needs assessment carried out when the Centre was set up in 1993 and is part of a long-term strategy to provide ongoing education for those working in agriculture and other rural industries.
The Centre is a joint venture between the University and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) which provides a staffing and funding package worth around $400,000 per year.
Courses are targeted at professionals in the DPI and other government departments, consultants in agriculture, rural community leaders and those working in management and research within rural land and service industries.
The nature of the residential component has enabled them to be held in such remote locations as Alice Springs and at Bunbury, in Western Australia.
Associate Professor Jeff Coutts, director of the Rural Extension Centre, said the courses were proving effective in delivering relevant, work-related extension training for professionals working in the field.
'The courses now offer progression from certificate level, where people are able to start without prior tertiary qualifications, through graduate and postgraduate levels to a masters program,' he said.
'The Master of Rural Systems Management has been established because of demand from students who have completed or near-completed the postgraduate diploma extension level qualification.
'Students and their employers are keen to increase professional extension qualifications. It is likely that a number of graduates from the program will also seek enrolment in postgraduate research degrees.
'This is a unique work-based program and is an excellent opportunity for professionals in the rural extension field, including health and education, to upgrade their skills and knowledge with minimum interruption to their normal work.'
For further information, contact Associate Professor Jeff Coutts (telephone 5460 1125).
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