Program 5 Education, Skills Development and Technology Transfer
Program Leader:
Dr Philip Eberbach
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga
Research leading to the development of more sustainable farming systems underpins the Rice CRC and whilst development of new ideas is integral to the function of the CRC, the channelling of new knowledge and its adoption are equally important. To this effect, the successful transfer of this new knowledge and its realisation into new management practices by industry are the aspirations of Program 5. Hence the function of this Program includes the provision of:-
Activities over the past year represent a new phase in the development of Program 5. In July 1999 Dr Philip Eberbach took over leadership of the Program from Mr Peter Cregan. After the change in leadership, the Program and its activities were reviewed. Since this time a considerable amount of effort has gone into the Program to improve communication within the Program and to develop information conduits with the other Programs in the CRC. In addition, a new appointment within Sub-Program 5.3 has greatly enhanced communication between the CRC and the community, and significant developments in vocational (5.3) and academic education (5.4) have also occurred over the past year.
More recently, the Program has been re-reviewed, and recent developments in Sub-Program 5.2 have been highly ranked and show great promise in developing our understanding of information requirements and in methods in improving the adoption of knowledge. Further, recent initiatives in the provision of honours scholarships and summer studentships ensure a continuing interest in students undertaking rice relevant research.
Sub-Program/Project Leader:
Mr Warwick Clampett
NSW Agriculture
Griffith
The aim of this Sub-Program is to raise awareness of the Rice CRC objectives and progress, particularly with the rice farming community. This has been facilitated through the network of NSW Agriculture agronomists and by newsletter mail-out to growers.
Progress
Rice CRC research was displayed and discussed with growers at the Rice Field Day in March. Progress in many aspects of the research was highlighted on the day, which was attended by a broad cross-section of the rice farming community.
In addition, some Rice CRC research (particularly Project 2101) was discussed at a series of pre-season meetings with growers in August and September 1999.
The extension system of NSW Agriculture continues to maintain good connections with the rice farming community. Research results from CRC projects, as they are developed, will be continually extended through this system.
Sub-Program/Project Leader:
Mr A (Tony) Dunn
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga
Aims are to:-
Progress
In June 1999 the project's masters student, Ms Elaine Murray, left her position with CSIRO and joined Coleambally Irrigation Ltd. As a consequence she converted from full-time to part-time study. However, due to the pressures of a new position and her change in employment direction she decided to withdraw entirely from study. Prior to her withdrawal from the project, Elaine was able to carry out some useful research, including a review of the literature examining the link between technology transfer and computer information systems. At a recent review of Program 5, this work was highly ranked in terms of its importance to the activities of the Rice CRC and for the rice industry and therefore the studentship will be readvertised and the work continued once a suitable applicant is located.
During 1999, the Board requested that the Leader of Sub-Program 5.2 convene a socio-economic working group to consider the relative importance of socio-economic issues to the rice industry. The Board's brief directed the working group to consider the current level of understanding of the socio-economic impact of the rice industry on the region and externalities that currently threaten the rice industry. The working group comprised of representatives from NSW Agriculture, Charles Sturt University and the Rice CRC. The working group met in December and as a result submitted the following recommendations:-
The CRC Management Committee subsequently approved funding for a scoping study to be conducted by Prof John Spriggs and Mr Tony Dunn during the Spring of 2000.
At the Program 5 review, the Leader of Sub-Program 5.2 also presented a preliminary research proposal to investigate the mechanism of adoption of research findings by research beneficiaries. This proposal was designed to investigate a number of innovations that researchers had rated as of high value but at which the level of adoption by producers was low. These included:-
This proposal was ranked highly by the Program and was of key interest to the other Programs. The review strongly endorsed this proposal and strongly recommended that a full research proposal including a studentship be prepared for perusal by the Management Committee.
Sub-Program Leader:
Mr Geoff Creek
Murrumbidgee College of Agriculture
Yanco
This Sub-Program operates at two levels. The first aims at developing the skills base for industry participants at all levels. The second is to increase awareness of the rice industry and particularly rice research, through schools and the community.
Sustainable rice production through skills development (5301)
Project Leader:
Mr Geoff Creek
Murrumbidgee College of Agriculture
Yanco
This project aims to create and provide accredited skills training for the production and processing sector.
With the establishment of a steering committee, initial training needs were identified and course outlines developed to address these needs. The steering committee sits three times a year to monitor the needs of the industry and maintain the relevance of course material. Committee members were selected from all areas of the rice industry, including Ricegrowers' Association of Australia, Ricegrowers' Co-operative Limited, NSW Agriculture and Murrumbidgee College of Agriculture.
Progress
Sub-Program 5.3 (5301) has completed the draft development of two courses targeting a wide range of skills development in the rice industry. The courses developed as of June 1999 include:-
Course development includes the production of learning material, and teaching guides. Learning material consists of technical information, reference material and workbooks. The teaching guides contain teaching aids such as overhead transparencies, handouts, and suggested teaching outlines. Teaching guides enable the course to be run by other qualified instructors in a variety of situations.
The "Introduction to the Australian Rice Industry" course was developed initially for retail agronomists. This target group are the commercial advisers to rice farmers. Goals of the course included introducing the service industry representatives to the unique needs of rice farmers. There have been further enquiries for this course for the 2000 season.
The course targets skills such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Weed Management (IWM), rice agronomy, and rice irrigation. It is a short one-day course with the potential for modification to meet competency standards in Agriculture as an introductory rice course for schools, certificate, and general information groups.
The Rice Colour Sorting Process course is one module of a competency-based certificate where participants can enhance their skills in the operation of different milling processes as well as working towards a Certificate in Food Processing (rice processing).
Other courses still in the development stage include Rice Irrigation, Quality Assurance on the Farm, and Rice Farming in Australia.
The Steering Committee held three meetings during the 1999-2000 season. Progress of material being developed was discussed and appraised and future direction discussed.
Further areas of education and training identified by the Steering Committee include:-
These areas are currently being prioritised and evaluated for course development and implementation in the 2000/2001 season. The Steering Committee will maintain focus on the training needs of the industry throughout the Sub-Program.
Rice CRC Education Officer (5302)
Project Leader:
Mr Geoff Creek
Murrumbidgee College of Agriculture
Yanco
The project aims to deliver information to school students, the general community and international visitors on the rice industry, rice research and Rice CRC Programs. Specific objectives are to:-
Progress
Mrs Robyn Troldahl was appointed to the position of Rice CRC Education Officer in August 1999. The position has provided additional support for a regular flow of tours to the Yanco Agricultural Institute and the Rice CRC from overseas, school groups and the general community.
Resource material for use in these presentations had been developed and updated periodically, however this had limited scope due to the casual nature of employment of the tour guides. The creation of the Rice CRC Education Officer position has led to a more cohesive approach to the tour presentations and has provided the opportunity to:-
A combined approach to attracting visitors to the rice growing regions of NSW is being undertaken with Leeton, Griffith and Deniliquin visitors' centres, Ricegrowers' Co-operative Limited and the Rice CRC. One of the main target groups is secondary schools in NSW. This is particularly relevant to an objective of the CRC to encourage interest in school children to seek a career in the rice industry, particularly research.
A staff development day was held in February 2000 and was considered to be of great value to the tour presenters in keeping up to date with current research at the Institute.
Sub-Program/Project Leader:
Dr Philip Eberbach
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga
This Sub-Program currently focuses its activities on developments in the tertiary education arena, with the development of modular-style teaching materials aimed at undergraduates and postgraduates.
Specific objectives are to:-
Progress
Both of the education officers have produced new teaching materials to further extend CRC offerings to tertiary education students. In addition to producing a subject on rice agronomy in his first year, Dr Sivapalan has made major inroads into producing new subject material related to the agronomy of summer crops. Dr Blanchard also has been active in producing new study material and is currently reviewing the potential for developing subject material related to food production technology, and the application of using the internet to aid in teaching distance education students. Both lecturers have made good contacts with the education officer employed under Project 5301, to enhance subject development and to assist in the progression of study material from the vocational to tertiary education environment. In addition to their involvement with undergraduate teaching, Drs Sivapalan and Blanchard are both involved with the supervision of a number of postgraduate and honours students (three postgraduate, four postgraduate and one honours respectively).
A new initiative to enhance the process of transfer of research findings from the research programs both within the CRC and to the education modules has been initiated. Each education officer has been nominated as contact to the two most appropriate research programs. This arrangement formalises their relationship with the Program and allows them to incorporate current research findings into their teaching programs.
|
Mr Dennis de Kantzow and University of Sydney agronomy students |
Chair in Irrigation (5402)
Project Leader:
Dr Laurie Lewin
NSW Agriculture
Yanco
The Rice CRC is one of an amalgam of irrigation industry partners who have provided funding for the position of Chair of Irrigation based at Charles Sturt University. Dr Graeme Batten was recently appointed to this position and it is anticipated that he will commence with the University on August 14, at which time he will take over as Project Leader. His position will require him to further develop and focus the irrigation initiative already established at the University. As a result of this initiative the University will be accepting enrolments into the Bachelor of Irrigation to commence in 2001. This degree is the first of its kind in Australia.
CRC training program (5404)
Project Leader:
Dr Laurie Lewin
Rice CRC/NSW Agriculture
Yanco
The Rice CRC acknowledges the value in provision of training opportunities that add value to the vocational and scientific training offered through the narrow area of participation in the CRC. The "Chairman's Tour" was instituted to provide contact with the many aspects of the rice industry.
Leadership training is another important area. Mr Suraj Parkash, a PhD student at the University of NSW, was sponsored to participate in the CRC Leadership and Career Development Course at the Melbourne Business School in May 2000. This course covered topics including personal skills development, conflict resolution, relationship building and building effective Research and Development teams. This course was considered to be very valuable and we will seek to extend participation in similar courses in future.
Sub-Program Leader:
Dr Philip Eberbach
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga
Postgraduate student scholarships and work experience (5501)
Project Leader:
Dr Philip Eberbach
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga
The CRC currently supports 17 students enrolled in research higher degrees (three masters and 14 PhD) and two students enrolled in honours programs. The current breakdown of enrolments in relation to course and institution is listed in Table 5.
Table 5
University |
PhD |
Masters |
Honours |
University of Sydney |
2 |
2 |
1 |
University of NSW |
2 |
||
Charles Sturt University |
7 |
1 | |
University of Queensland |
1 |
1 |
|
Australian National University |
2 |
At this stage of the life of the CRC, there have not been any completions of students enrolled in either PhD or Masters studies, however there are, to date, four completions of students enrolled in honours programs. The current stage of higher degree students is shown in Table 6.
Table 6 |
Numbers enrolled |
Recent enrolments |
3 |
Enrolled for between 12-24 months |
4 |
Enrolled for between 24-36 months |
7 |
A current concern within the Education Program is the number of higher degree withdrawals that have occurred over the time of the CRC. While the number of withdrawals is less than the national average of 30%, there is a concern, as expressed at the recent Program review, that the number of withdrawals is still too high and that the Program should seek information from the exiting students as to the cause.
Summer student program (5503)
Project Leader:
Dr Philip Eberbach
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga
A summer students research program is planned for the 2000-2001 growing season. It is envisaged that a maximum of five studentships will be available to support students over this period.
Investigation of genetic diversity in rice cultivars (Honours) (5504)
Project Leader:
Dr Chris Blanchard
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga
Soluble starch synthase I (SSSI) is responsible for the synthesis of the amylopectin fraction of starch. In most starch producing plants, a number of different forms of this enzyme have been identified, however, only one form of rice SSSI has been identified.
The aim of this project is to screen a large number of rice varieties with different genetic backgrounds to determine if more than one form of the rice SSSI exists.
Progress
A new form of SSSI was identified which contained a deduced protein sequence that was significantly different to the published sequence. The published rice SSSI sequence shows more similarity to the published maize SSSI sequence than the wheat SSSI sequence. However, the rice SSSI identified in this project shares more sequence similarity with wheat SSSI than with maize SSSI. The sequence of this newly identified form of SSSI may help us further understand the evolution of starch synthesis genes. An understanding of the functional properties of this new SSSI form may also help to design rice for specific purposes.
5.6 External communications (5601)
Sub-Program/Project Leader:
Mr Michael Cook
Rice CRC
Yanco
The project aims to promote awareness and understanding of the Centre and its achievements among rice and irrigation industry participants, the broader community and government at all levels.
Specific objectives are to:-
Progress
Considerable advancements have been made in the strategic promotion of the Rice CRC since the Sub-Program was established in August, 1999. A Communications Strategy has been developed to facilitate a focused and integrated approach to information distribution.
There are several vehicles for the dissemination of information and promotion. Rice CiRCle, one of two quarterly publications, is distributed to all Centre participants. The Centre's external news-sheet, Rice CRC Update, is distributed by mail to more than 2100 Australian rice growers.
A series of media releases highlighting the Centre's focus on sustainability were issued in the later part of 1999 to help establish its public and corporate identity. This campaign greatly assisted subsequent efforts to secure publicity for Rice CRC research. Local and regional print and electronic media representatives have continued to support the Rice CRC which is now called on regularly for input into a range of issues subject to public debate.
The Rice CRC's web site project commenced in October 1999. It will ultimately deliver a public access site boasting a high degree of useability and an intranet facility for administrative efficiency and more flexible and effective internal communications. The web site will serve as a clearing house for all information produced by the Rice CRC and a hub for those involved in the rice industry. It will publish Rice CRC literature and products and tools for educators and students and provide mechanisms for technology adoption.
Achievements/Highlights
The Sub-Program has already added value to the relationship between the Centre, its core partners and others. The web site project, for example, has given new dimension to the Centre's relationship with Charles Sturt University and NSW Agriculture. This will result in the use of a powerful new mix of technology for information delivery.
The Rice CRC has received great support from Ricegrowers' Co-operative Limited, which distributes Rice CRC Update to registered Australian rice growers each quarter.
In 1999/2000 the Centre issued 20 media releases, generated 24 radio and two television interviews and the work of its researchers is regularly highlighted in industry journal Australian Grain.
The Rice CRC made direct contact with industry participants and the public by taking an active role in the annual Rice Field Day at Jerilderie, Murrumbidgee Farm Fair field day at Yanco and the biennial Leeton Sunrice Festival.
