Thinking creatively and making a difference

A message from the Executive Dean of Education and Arts, Professor Mary Ryan:

ACU Alumni are a diverse and proactive cohort, and I am constantly inspired by stories of their many achievements. Our alumni often travel to foreign lands, working with cultures very different to our own and sometimes in the face of adversity. It is by stepping away from the usual into the unknown that we are able to strive for greater achievement on many levels.

This is echoed in the work we do every day at ACU – looking for different pathways to help a student achieve their dream, working closely with veterans to help redefine their career, and exploring and testing new ideas and collaborations for research projects. It is reflected in our work partnering with external stakeholders to champion the development of courses that meet the needs of our communities and address some of the challenging questions in our society.

It is this willingness to step into the unknown that drive us, within the Faculty of Education and Arts, to create a brighter future for our students.

We are developing new and exciting courses at ACU that respond to market demand, placing us at the forefront of the tertiary sector, with an increased focus on government requests and tenders. The faculty is also focused on its commitment to cross-faculty collaboration in the development of courses such as the Bachelor of Criminology and the Bachelor of Human Rights, along with short courses in safeguarding children and mental health in schools. We will also continue to utilise the strengths of our institutes to inform and support the growth of our teaching and research knowledge and provide broader research opportunities.

The faculty will be announcing an exciting suite of programs within the National School of Arts and Humanities for 2023. The school is revitalising and diversifying its current portfolio of courses, with the plan to introduce short courses and bespoke arts programs that meet the future needs of our students while creating greater opportunities to foster student engagement.

In Ballarat, we are looking to build further connections and collaborations with regional community programs, including the Clunes Booktown Festival 2023 and by partnering with Sovereign Hill Museum and Ballarat Gallery to offer PhD partnerships.

Looking ahead to 2023 and beyond, we are excited about the opportunities these initiatives will bring for our students, our alumni, our staff and the university.