More doctors in the house
We have some good news on the Postgraduate Education front with James Turnell and Rebecca Forder having completed all the requirements for their Ph.D. degrees.
Bec is off to Kentucky on a Poultry CRC Internship and James is about to commence a Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Kelly Tivendale should receive her examiners’ reports very soon and we are looking forward to having some new Masters students, based in industry, in 2008.
Poultry Science Units
The project has commenced to place the two University of New England undergraduate units in poultry science (PLTY300/500 and PLTY 301/501) into fully online format.
PLTY 301/501 online will be offered in Semester 2, 2008 and PLTY 300/500 online will be offered in Semester 1, 2009.
FarmBis Update
The Queensland FarmBis Targetted Industry Initiative project is progressing well with testing of the new training materials to be conducted during February.
FarmGate Training of Brisbane will also be undergoing RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) with some people in the industry. Please contact me if you wish to be involved in the testing process.
Training Materials
Progress has been made with the updating of the Murrumbidgee College training materials.
Dr. Tom Grimes has now been through the Commercial Chicken Meat and Commercial Layer Management Health and Welfare manuals.
Mr. Rowly Horn has been right through the Commercial Layer Management manual and Emma Daley is working her way through the Commercial Chicken Meat Management manual.
When the manuals are in a suitable form, they will be circulated to all interested industry personnel for comment and feedback.
The list of poultry education and training resources has been updated and copies have been obtained for the CRC library of many of the items on the list.
This list will be made available on Poultry Hub.
Queensland WPSA schools project
The highly successful Queensland WPSA schools project will be extended to three additional states in 2008: NSW, VIC and SA.
Support from industry members for this project – in the form of anything from free birds or feed to providing information or just general moral support – will be most welcome.
WPC2008
Don’t forget the World’s Poultry Congress 2008 (WPC2008) of which the Poultry CRC is a sponsor.
See the WPC2008 web site for more details.
Poultry Hub
The development of Poultry Hub as a “one-stop-shop” for information about the poultry industry, including information about education and training, is ongoing.
We are currently working on a “Virtual Chicken” which will be an online interactive resource covering the anatomy and basic physiology of the chicken.
Rural Training Package Review
The Stage 2 Review of the Rural Training Package with the merging of three training packages (Rural Production, Conservation and Land Management and Amenity Horticulture) is ongoing.
Meg Parkinson, a member of the AFISC Rural and Related Industries Standing Committee, is also the coordinator for feedback and input concerning the rural industries part of the new training package.
If you wish to contact Meg directly, her contact details are:
Ms. Meg Parkinson
Victorian Farmers Federation, Farrer House,
24 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9207 5503
Fax: (03) 9207 5516
Mobile: 0408 514 048
Email: Meg Parkinson
To find out more about the review process, visit the Agri-Food Industry Skills Council web site.
I wish you and your families a very happy, peaceful and restful holiday season and look forward to working with you in the New Year.
Best wishes,
Julie
