26 Apr 2013
Joint media release with the Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP
A new IT-enabled centre in Darwin will help to transform Indigenous teaching, learning and research across northern Australia. The Prime Minister today officially opened the Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education (ACIKE) in Darwin.
The Centre will use technology to overcome the barrier of distance. It will include new research and teaching facilities and a literacy laboratory which is connected online to 16 sites throughout the Northern Territory. It will be a major boost for interactive distance learning.
The Centre is located at the Casuarina campus of the Charles Darwin University and is a joint venture between the University and Batchelor Institute for Indigenous Education.
The Gillard Government is committed to improving the participation of Indigenous Australians in higher education and this Centre will help to achieve that. The Gillard Government contributed $24.8 million to the $27.5 million centre with the University providing the remainder. The centre is part of a broader $39 million project that focuses on delivering better facilities for Indigenous teaching, learning and research.
The other elements of the project include new student accommodation and a mobile learning unit to reach out to Indigenous students in remote or regional areas. These are now completed and in use.
Federal funding for the project comes from the Education Investment Fund which is providing more than $4.5 billion to support infrastructure projects in the higher education, VET and research sectors.
Media contacts:
Minister Emerson's office 02 62 6277 7420
Press Office 02 6277 7744