10 December 2013 An ultra-fast investment in land-based skills

Lincoln University’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr Andrew West, has announced the University’s intention to invest approximately $180,000 towards installing ultra-fast broadband (UFB) at the University’s Telford campus in Balclutha.

The UFB investment signals the University’s continued, long-term commitment to its Telford campus at Balclutha. It also represents an increased commitment to taking education in the land-based industries into schools through the Government’s new Network4Learning.

Lincoln University through its LincolnFirst offering has a long tradition in delivering unit standard courses directly into schools throughout the country via an eLearning model that includes videoconferencing. Investing in UFB at Telford, Balclutha will greatly improve service quality, allow for a broader range of educational content and expand overall reach.

Known as Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR) courses, these eLearning papers include a range of NZ Qualifications Framework Levels Two and Three options in general agriculture, dairy, cattle, sheep farming, equine and horticulture.

“This is about getting more young people to take on careers in the land-based industries,” says Dr West. “Increasing the ease and quality of delivery will increase appeal to secondary school students. Doing just that is especially important to meet the employment demands of our most important industries and regulators.”

As well as improving educational outcomes, Lincoln University’s new UFB network will increase the appeal and scope for research collaborations between the University and primary industry organisations. The University has been particularly active in this space of late; buoyed by the announcement earlier in the year of the Government’s intention to support the Lincoln Hub.