14 July 2008: How best to spend $11 billion, the Government’s allocated spend for education, is one of the questions some 4,500 employees from professional services firm Deloitte are grappling with over the next fourteen days in an innovation summit dedicated to education.

In order to help cover the burning questions for some of Australia’s 42 universities and its higher education facilities; to add to their own learning and professional development opportunities; and to grow Australia’s knowledge economy in general, Deloitte has invited academics, politicians and leading educationalists to take part in the summit and act as catalysts to inspire the firm’s thinking.

Deloitte Government Services leader, Rory O’Connor said, “This initiative is really timely for us given the opportunity for new ideas in the education sector, with forums like the 2020 and Davos Connection Future summits where Deloitte’s leadership team was invited to play a prominent facilitating role, and with the $11 billion in new Government investment, and parallel reviews of the Higher Education and Innovation sectors. This nationwide innovation Education Summit at Deloitte will be yet another contribution to the debate.

“As a firm we continue to attract more than our share of graduate applications and it is really exciting for us to hear the fresh perspectives our graduates are bringing to our breakthrough discussions from their experiences in the education sector. We are hoping our people will come up with some real breakthrough thinking about how Australia can move this vital sector well into the 21st Century and beyond.

“We value the collaboration with our partner universities around Australia and in particular the University of Sydney, for its generous contribution of leadership program places to go to the six best ideas from the Summit which is adding some competitive spice to our Innovation initiative.”

In Sydney yesterday (Monday 14 July) Acting NSW Minister for Education & Training and Attorney General, Hon. John Hatzistergos, MLC, and Virginia Judge, MP, NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Education & Training joined special guest, Dr Chris Sarra, Director of the Queensland University of Technology Indigenous Education Leadership Institute to set the scene for change.

Dr Sarra was also a recent participant at Kevin Rudd’s 2020 Summit and is a national authority on closing the indigenous equality gap through education, skills and training. Beau Leese, the initiator of the Deloitte Summit also gave an insight into a major program of work Deloitte is undertaking with the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education in the Northern Territory.

Rory O’Connor
Deloitte
Partner, Government Services
Tel: +61 (0) 2 9322 7627

Beau Leese
Deloitte
Educational Services
Mobile: 0433 262 855
Tel: +61 (0) 2 9322 7974