Past Ventures

The project was initiated by the teaching requirements of the Media and Communications Program in the Faculty of Arts and extended to a wider user base across the University to address emerging demand for digital television production and services.

The need for this project was triggered by a proposal for a digital live-switched multi-cam television studio from Media and Communications in the Faculty of Arts. The proposal contends that the facility could serve the dual purpose of both a teaching facility for Media and Communications and a shared production facility for the University.

The PM Outreach Programme is a full 3-tier post-graduate learning programme delivered totally on-line over the internet to a global student base.  Developed in 1998 by Professor Ali Jaafari in the Department of Civil Engineering, the Programme has grown from just a handful of students in  1999 to over 800 enrolments in 2002, with further, exponential, growth  anticipated for 2003 and beyond.

iTEV sees the Programme as being very important largely because of its strategic nature. There are many issues arising from the Programme which have relevance to many other on-line, post graduate programmes operating in other faculties. The PMOP happens to be one of the first, and certainly the largest, on-line programme to be developed at the University. For these reasons, the Programme acts as a vanguard, a trail-blazer, developing new (for the University, at least) pedagogical, business and marketing models which require existing academic and business units to operate in a different manner in how they interact and support the Programme. It is vitally important that the PMOP evolves into an efficient, highly effective e-learning business unit, as well as continuing to build its already excellent reputation as a high-quality, in-demand, globally distributed programme.

The Establishment of Sydney University Publishing will see an e-Publishing business venture in place by the end of 2003.

An e-Publishing business varies significantly from the traditional print publishing business in that the major goal of an e-Publishing business is to manage the development, distribution, storage, use and re-use of all publishable items (regardless of the purpose of the item, the media employed or the market or distribution system), manage the various repositories where those items reside, and to manage the rights of all involved parties (author,
publisher, University and consumer).

It is through a juxtaposition of internal and external business, academic, technological and market drivers which make the implementation of a Publishing business for the University both timely in solving real problems and meeting pressing and increasingly critical needs.
The University would have its already considerable reputation as a research-intensive institution enhanced by the establishment of a well-managed publishing business, serving the publishing needs of the academic community first, and satisfying many demands from a globally distributed market eager to access the academic and research output from the University.

The principal goal of this venture is to design and implement an e-Publishing business for the University of Sydney as an imprint/brand to enhance the University's reputation nationally and internationally. This business will be known as Sydney University Publishing. As part of this business, Sydney University Press will be set up as a prestigious imprint, responsible for publishing academic texts and the output from post-graduate research.

Sydney University Press has been up and running in its current form as a digital branch of the University of Sydney Library.  It currently publishes research output of staff and postgraduate research students on-demand.  That is books ordered from the SUP Catalogue are printed and bound on-demand for the consumer.  This has enabled SUP to lower overheads but, importantly, ensures that no SUP catalogue item is ever out of print.

As per the original project SUP has also formed partnerships with the following groups:

• AUSTLIT: The resource for Australian Literature
• Copyright Agency Ltd (CAL)
• Monash University ePress
• University Publishing Service

Information about these partnerships is available from the About our Projects and Partners section of the SUP Website

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) recognises the need to leverage the substantial benefits to be derived from the appropriate application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in enhancing the delivery of teaching and learning, leading to a richer working nd professional environment for academic staff, and a superior learning experience for students, as well as opening new markets (local, national and global) and enabling the development, packaging, marketing and delivery of new and highly flexible learning programs.

The facility which will support this vision will operate at a College level and act as a service provider to the Faculties and academic units making up the College. This facility will be known as the CHASS HUB for Flexible Learning Support (the CHASS Hub).

Whilst this vision could be interpreted as simply using available technologies to better do a job, the reality is that these technologies have the capability to facilitate change to a totally new teaching and learning paradigm, one which seeks to co-exist with the current paradigm rather than replace it.

The program, Master of Veterinary Public Health Management, took its first cohort of students in Semester 1 2003. It is a distance education program incorporating an online learning environment. The program was the first coursework Masters program and the first distance/online program developed by the Faculty.

In order to develop the knowledge and expertise necessary to take on this new initiative, the Faculty accepted the assistance of Innovation and Technology in Education Ventures (iTEV). iTEV is a strategic initiative of the Vice-Chancellor in the interest of supporting University academics and staff who are working on the innovative development and delivery of ICT-enabled professional development programs. 

The program will be structured to incorporate three articulated courses: Master of Health Science (Sexual Health), Graduate Diploma in Health Science (Sexual Health), Graduate Certificate in Health Science (Sexual Health). This program responds to established demand for postgraduate learning in sexual health in Australia and internationally. The program has been developed by the School of Biomedical Sciences in collaboration with the Australasian College of Sexual Health Physicians (ACSHP), the Australian Society for Sex Educators, Researchers and Therapists (ASSERT) and the Sexually Transmissible Infections Research Centre (STIRC), University of Sydney. It is also supported by a number of international experts in the field.

The Graduate Program in Sexual Health is unique in that there is currently no comparable postgraduate coursework program locally or internationally, and it is the first postgraduate coursework program in sexual health to be offered in flexible on-line delivery mode. The program has a distinct multidisciplinary, multi-professional focus and the flexibility of the course content and structure will make it appropriate for various types of health professionals.

Overall academic management of the program is undertaken by the Academic Coordinator and a program management committee of staff from the School of Biomedical Sciences. A project manager will provide oversight of administrative and technical support and will oversee the operational aspects of the development and delivery of the program to ensure operational efficiency of program delivery.

The marketing plan for the program has a strong emphasis on both local and overseas enrolments. The key points that will be emphasised in marketing activities are the academic and vocational merit of the program, the strong management structure and resultant operational efficiency, the internationally recognised and distinguished contributors to the program, the experience of the providers in both content and presentation areas, the flexibility and choice available to students, existing and potential accreditation benefits, the link to a sexual health newsletter, connection to a research mentoring scheme, a possible scholarship scheme, and provision of worldwide internet links. 

iTEV has been involved in supporting a pilot project in ageing within the Faculty of Health Sciences. The initial program – StudyAge Online (see above) – involved developing two units of study offered to students undertaking postgraduate studies leading to a Master of Health Science (Gerontology) award. The course and its development has been led by Associate Professor Cherry Russell.  It has attracted students each semester since 2002.

It is envisaged that those units of study would become part of the Age Dimension project – possibly to be offered as introductory courses – maybe with some modification. An important distinction is that the Age Dimension program will be significantly wider in scope than just gerontology. It will include the Age Dimensions to many disciplines and professions.

Development of a teaching (as opposed to research) project on the theme of ageing has created considerable interest across the University. iTEV has undertaken a formal search for academic staff across the University whose interests include ageing. A database has been collected for informing interested staff about the project, when it is further developed, with a view to encouraging their involvement. This will be done following the appointment of an academic director to the project in the future.

The Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources in the University of Sydney has had a successful history with student enrolments.  In 2005, however, it experienced recruiting difficulties for the first time.  It is speculated that this is the start of a flattening of local demand for the programs on offer.  The Faculty is reviewing and revising its post graduate offerings, and desires to explore the opportunities for further post graduate, revenue-generating program development.  This will cover both domestic and international opportunities.

Several strands of enquiry need to be pursued:

• What markets are the most attractive to the Faculty?
  Is it appropriate to develop a strategic business development role within the Faculty to develop international and domestic opportunities?
• How can the Faculty consistently respond to and capture the interest from international markets such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and China?
• What is an appropriate model of engagement with foreign markets?
• What post graduate offerings should be developed to enable flexible, scaleable delivery?

A rigorous market analysis is required as the first step towards a strong program of flexible post graduate courses.  The Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources is aiming to optimize face to face class room delivery through the use of intensive residentials or block teaching, supplemented by continuous engagement with students through the use of online discussion groups.  Consequently, at the same time, requirements for management, administrative and operational support need to be defined .

The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery within the University of Sydney faces the immediate requirement of creating new revenue streams with a post graduate program of study.  This will minimize the significant shortfall caused by the transfer of undergraduate students away from the Faculty. 

The Faculty is in the process of identifying potential high-growth graduate programs.  They are seeking input to several questions:

• What central theme would be perceived by the market as naturally 'owned' by the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery
• What areas of demand are forecast over the next 5 to 10 years?
• What potential programs would attract sufficient student numbers to be profitable
• Given that nurse practitioners receive only minimal incremental pay increases with post graduate qualifications, what 'paying customer' can be targeted?

The primary objective of the project overall is to establish a profitable 'demand-led' portfolio of postgraduate offerings that will position the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery as a world leader in innovative and responsive education, targeting mid-career professionals for leadership in nursing practice and nursing research.

The specific objective for Stage One of this project is to conduct a market analysis, and to assess the capabilities of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in responding to market trends.