Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Consultant, Data Base Systems Officer, International Marketing Specialist and such
like. Business Information Systems targeted jobs such as Systems Analyst, Database
Programmer/Analyst/Administrator and information technology consultant and advisor.
The Postgraduate Diploma in Secretarial Studies continued (with large numbers of
students still applying). The Postgraduate Diploma in Commercial Data Processing
also still continued (with large numbers of students applying and growing). 1988 also
saw the launch of the first Bachelor of Business (Marketing) in the Faculty of Busi-
ness. In addition, application had been made to the appropriate authorities to change
the names of several courses currently offered by the faculty. It is pertinent to note
that at that time all programs were fully funded by the Government and places were
offered to students on a competitive basis, students did not pay fees.
1.9 Consulting and Industry Engagement
The department and its academic staff had arisen from demands of industry for job
specific training. This was (and is) reflected in working conditions and priorities. Until
recently PhD qualifications were seen as irrelevant as the role of the college of ad-
vanced education was “ more applied and less research-oriented than universities
[3:121]. The Martin Report [4] tabled in 1964-65 recommended the creation of col-
leges of advanced education rather than the expansion of universities to cope with the
demand for more universities places. The mission of the College of Advanced Educa-
tion (CAE) was therefore very different from that of a university.
Rather than research, RMIT, CAE academics were required to teach or consult into
industry and maintain close links with industry. In her interview Audra Lukaitis de-
scribes this priority
“It was a very heavy load to work in industry as a consultant and then
work full-time as an academic. Nevertheless this experience was to prove ab-
solutely invaluable to me and has informed my whole approach to computing
education. To industry I was able to bring fresh ideas, concepts and theories
garnered from research in my fields, and from industry I was able to bring
back real world case studies that informed all assignments, approaches and
curriculum content. I was able to see firsthand what really went on in indus-
try as a participant and bring it back to the classroom.”
In an interview, Stas Lukaitis remarks
Perhaps it might be of interest to note that AMIC - Australian Micro-
computer Industry Clearinghouse - was created by an enterprising Tony Ad-
ams and others in response to the “sudden” arrival of microcomputers onto
the scene. The demand for short courses and consultancies on the use and
deployment of micros, their software e.g. - Visicalc, Lotus, MultiMate,
WordStar, Dbase was huge and AMIC blossomed. Several BIS staff were re-
cruited from the ranks of the consultants who worked at AMIC (e.g. Peter
Viola who was a Manager at AMIC for many years).
Academics who worked at AMIC were actually paid at standard industry
consulting rates. It was this that created a great deal of angst from the
Chancellery who demanded that academics stop being paid so much. That
was the start of the demise of AMIC, the birth of the MDC and the end of
academic input into University education engagement.
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