Two new degrees have been unveiled this week, both in the IT space, both developed in conjunction with private partners.
In the olden days (approximately two years ago) co-ownership of a course by a private organisation was more frequently seen as a bit of a no-no. What do academic staff own in terms of specialist expertise and/or knowledge base if business folk can come along and do half the course for them?
So is this a trend? And is it a good or bad thing?
Monash and CyberCX spilled the beans on the new Bachelor of CyberAI they cooked up together to the Financial Review earlier in the week and officially launched the program to the hoi polloi yesterday.
It’s a three year degree developed in collaboration with the Accenture-owned CyberCX (who said the big consulting firms were on the nose?) and promises the skills and industry experience required to plug some of the many vacancies in cyber security in Australia (and presumably also offshore).
Meanwhile, up at Our Nation’s Capital, the VC with more media attention than half the sector combined, Bill Shorten, has unleashed a specialised Grad Cert in Law focused on Data and AI, focused on strengthening the data ethics and AI governance capabilities of public servants. The UC program is being delivered in concert with Google.org and Google Cloud – and will no doubt prove popular. Is it possible that UC will be teaching ATEC staff how to manage AI ethics so they can go and apply their newfound insights in deploying carrot or stick at universities?
Both degrees sound like winners. Both are leveraging the expertise of industry specialists, both in terms of program development and marketing.
Now of course there have been industry boards and guest lecturers and all manner of collaboration for years, but the question arises, if the private sector are doing a chunk of the work in developing a course, what sort of cut do they get, who gets the final call on course design and should this be happening even more often? Or is this simply an IT thing?
And what are the limits? What about a fast food chain collaborating on a new nutrition degree? Jason Clare co-designing a Bachelor of Regulation Studies? The possibilities are huge. In case you are looking to put together a specialist program on HE cat herding, just let me know. I know a guy.