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Batchelor Institute welcomes official opening of ACIKE by Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Batchelor Institute Director Adrian Mitchell, Previous Vice-Chancellor of Batchelor Institute Jeanie Herbert, CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover, The Honourable Julia Gillard MP, Prime Minister of Australia, Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Leadership Professor Steve Larkin, Her Honour The Honourable Sally Thomas AM, Administrator of the Northern Territory and CDU Chancellor at the official opening of the Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education (ACIKE), Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Northern Territory. Image supplied
by Imran Naveed
B
atchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education today welcomed Prime Minister Julia Gillard in officially opening the $30 million Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education (ACIKE) at Charles Darwin University in Darwin. Supported by the Australian Government, the collaborative venture between CDU and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education focuses on Indigenous Higher Education needs and is the largest building of its
type in an Australian university. Batchelor Institute Director Adrian Mitchell said the Centre would expand Indigenous education significantly in the NT, including delivering interactive learning with connections to urban, regional and remote communities. “Through the ACIKE partnership, Batchelor Institute is bringing together the old and the new, using cutting-edge technology to deliver learning in 40,000 years of ancient culture at our campuses in Casuarina, Batchelor and the Desert Peoples Centre in Alice Springs,’ Mr Mitchell said.
“ACIKE will increase Indigenous participation in higher education, policy, employment, wealth generation and business development. “Indigenous students can get started on their pathways to higher education by studying Preparation for Tertiary Success (PTS), a free program especially designed for Indigenous students to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to be successful at university.’ Successful completion of PTS will give students the minimum entry requirements for most
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Diploma and Bachelor programs at the Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education (ACIKE), Charles Darwin University (CDU) and universities in South Australia. “ACIKE provides the ideal
platform to provide skills and expertise to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in an appropriate environment, skills that will support business ventures built around traditional knowledges to be successful and most importantly,
ensure that benefits stay with the people they belong to,� Mr Mitchell said. The Commonwealth awarded CDU $30.65 million under the Education Investment Fund.