Gold Coast company Blockchain Collective leds world in data security security, TAFE Queensland delivers course.
In a world-first, a Gold Coast business is unravelling the mystery that shrouds an exciting new tech trend. WHY THIS WILL AFFECT YOU.
Education
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GOLD Coast company Blockchain Collective has created the world’s first accredited online Diploma in Applied Blockchain — with TAFE Queensland delivering the Australian-first course from its Gold Coast campus.
In the tech world, blockchain is one of the most talked-about emerging trends, and Blockchain Collective co-founder Austin Lewinsmith said soon the technology will be a seamless part of everyday lives for almost everyone around the world.
“Blockchain technology will underpin the development of the Web 3.0 revolution because it provides highly effective, efficient and secure ways of managing data,’’ said Mr Lewinsmith.
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He and business partner Nathan Burns were working on several blockchain related projects when they discovered the world lacked recognised and accredited training in blockchain technology.
“We realised there was a need to create accredited educational courses for people who want to learn, use and apply blockchain so we worked with education professionals to develop a curriculum,” he said.
For those unsure exactly what blockchain is, Mr Burns said a simple explanation was for people to think of blockchain as a digital security guard that provided a checkpoint and stamp of approval at each step of any business transaction that involves multiple processes and precious data.
“The unique part is that no one person can alter, manipulate, or tamper the process ensuring integrity of transactions and mitigating chances of fraud, delay, and red tape,” he said.
Mr Burns said according to the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report 2018, in the luxury goods industry alone, Counterfeit products attributed $98bn of losses estimated in 2017. He said Louis Vuitton was one of the first to market to introduce Blockchain technology due to this exact issue.
"Their products are synonymous with high end quality, but reputation is being damaged due to fake copies. They must be able to assure consumers that when they pay $1500 for a Louis Vuitton handbag this is exactly what they will be receiving.
Top Australian brands such as Australian Beef and Merino Wool also embrace blockchain technology to assist in keeping their brand reputation intact.
"Transparency and high quality have always been part of their ethos; as they export to more overseas companies, there are more stops along the supply chain. which increases the chance of manipulation of the product. By using Blockchain they mitigate these chances," said Mr Burns.
Gold Coast’s Debby Lo-Dean, of Paradise Distillers, has used blockchain as part of her company’s business management system to provide greater transparency and security for the end users of her boutique liquor Paradise Gin.
“We’re only a few months old but as soon as international borders open, we have plans to export our artisan product right here from the Gold Coast,” she said.
“Higher end products that need to travel from point A to Point Z will need this technology to provide consumers with the security and assurance that what they are paying for is actually what they get it.”
TAFE Queensland General Manager on the Gold Coast, Karen Dickinson said students of the Diploma of Applied Blockchain would acquire a range of knowledge, skills and specific competencies to support them in gaining employment in applying blockchain technologies to just about any industry sector in the world.
“These courses have been developed to largely skill people for the non-tech roles such as the management or operational roles within an organisation.”
Ms Dickinson said while software engineers and IT experts are needed to implement and support blockchain applications, non-tech people are also needed to handle business operations that are vital to blockchain projects.
It is the first time students can study the qualification with access to VET Student Loans to help pay their tuition fees. Enrolments are open with classes set to start later this month, with an Advanced Diploma being offered by July.
Classes will be taught online with regular face-to-face workshops at TAFE’s Coomera campus, including virtual participation.
Free cyber security workshops on Gold Coast
March 3, 2021
WITH demand for cyber security specialists skyrocketing, Gold Coasters are invited to attend Digitrek 21, a free six-week TAFE Queensland program providing insight into future-focused industry sectors.
Starting in April, TAFE Queensland along with event partner Southern Cross University are hosting the digital technology workshops and seminars with industry specialists to deliver experiences, expand networks and augment professional development.
Australian Computer Society’s schools program project manager Matthew Jorgensen said demand for digital and cyber security specialists was growing and that Digitrek 21 was designed to help meet that need.
“There is no better industry to enter right now than the tech industry. Careers in blockchain, immersive tech, cyber security and artificial intelligence are all well-paid, flexible and constantly evolving,” he said.
“Cyber security is a particularly fertile career choice with the Australian cybersecurity sector expected to create an extra 18,000 jobs and triple in value to AU$6 billion by 2026.”
Mr Jorgensen said the technologies on display through workshops, discussion panels, presentations and networking events included both the building blocks of a modern world and the future of consumer and business solutions.
“Participants will unpack concepts and learn new tech skills to open up a new world of possibility for a brilliant career in ICT,” he said.
TAFE’s general manager on the Gold Coast, Karen Dickinson said Digitrek 21 had been specifically designed to help participants build skills across emerging digital industries such as cyber security, big data, gaming, mixed reality and more.
Funded by Study Gold Coast Education Vision Fund, DIGITREK 21 is open to anyone with a keen interest in future-focused jobs who want the chance to network with businesses, educators and gain information about career pathways.
To book a ticket go to eventbrite.com.au/o/digitrek21-and-tafe-queensland-26840115787
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FURTHER cementing its reputation as one of the city’s most innovative training institutes, TAFE Queensland is injecting money and possibilities into its five Gold Coast campuses.
Southport, the trainer’s biggest campus, is about to undergo a transformation with the opening of a new simulated aged care, disability, health and nursing lab in 2021.
The campus will deliver health programs with virtual reality embedded into some of the course work. Students studying nursing and health courses will get to use the latest HoloLens equipment to get virtual reality experience of viewing the human anatomy in a completely different way.
Hot on its heels is the construction of a new eco-friendly campus in Robina in 2022, featuring solar-power generation and cutting-edge recycling. It’s expected to meet overwhelming demand in the southern part of the Gold Coast.
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TAFE’s new marine campus opens in Coomera in 2022, positioning the Gold Coast as the industry’s number one destination for maritime training in Australia, as well as catering for demand for specialised training in maritime construction and maintenance.
Next year, the specialised Trades Training Centre in Ashmore, which has a newly refurbished electrotechnology and refrigeration training facility, will be fitted with a new multi-level building for building and construction students.
For the city’s innovators and entertainers, the Coomera Creative campus continues to offer recording studios, digital video and editing suites, a black box theatre and an auditorium.
In addition to on-campus training, TAFE has pivoted so students can also learn in their workplace or online at their own pace.
TAFE Queensland general manager on the Gold Coast, Karen Dickinson said COVID-19 had forced it to surveyed all educators and review research data in regards to how it would deliver training.
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“This identified that face-to-face training delivery had its advantages, as did online learning,” she said.
“It was determined that the optimum delivery model is a mixture of both, with the balance being driven by the requirement for hands-on practical training.
“Largely all courses at TAFE Queensland Gold Coast are now a mixture of face-to-face and online learning.
“One of our educators became trapped in the Melbourne lockdown and he has been delivering from Melbourne via electronic platforms for quite some time.
Ms Dickinson said Gold Coast campuses had never been busier. The biggest growth has been felt in nursing, cybersecurity, animal studies, community services, music, graphic design, screen media, finance, carpentry and electrical.
Record numbers of high school students were also deciding to complete qualifications during their final years at school in order to boost future prospects.
“Courses for in-demand industry areas such as health, nursing, early childhood and the trades fill up quickly,” she said.
“As the state’s largest and most experienced provider of VET, TAFE Queensland is playing a critical role in Queensland’s prosperity into the future, creating local jobs and enhancing the social wellbeing of our community.
“Our Gold Coast campuses will remain responsive to the needs of industry and the community. This includes not only the delivery of formal qualifications from certificates through to advanced diplomas and our bachelor programs, but also through accredited and non-accredited short courses, skill sets and micro-credentials.”.
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Enrolments at the Gold Coast TAFE have risen by 6 per cent during the coronavirus pandemic compared the same period last year, with more than 11,000 students undertaking training.
TAFE Queensland General Manager on the Gold Coast, Karen Dickinson, said enrolments were still rolling in for Semester Two across many study areas.
The most popular subjects continue to be nursing, electrotechnology and animal studies.
“But we are also seeing an increase in the number of young people commencing pre-apprenticeship training, as well as workers affected by COVID-19 using their time in isolation to upskill by undertaking our series of online iso-learn micro-credentials and skill sets,” she said.
“Pre-apprenticeships are a great way for people looking to start a career in trades to gain foundation skills so they can be job-ready and add value to an employer right from day one of an apprenticeship.
“Iso-learn training is not only enabling workers displaced by the pandemic to gain new skills, but also upskilling existing workers, allowing them to adapt to the changing demands of their workplaces, their industries, and their communities across the state.
“To help our state continue to move on from the pandemic, organisations will need skilled and job-ready workforces, and workers with the right training and skills will play an important role in everyone’s recovery over the coming months.”
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Meanwhile, COVID-19 restrictions have not stopped TAFE students across all sectors from achieving goals, realising dreams and cooking up a storm.
While now back in the classroom, for three months cookery teacher Damian Tiedeman streamed practical demonstrations from his home kitchen via Zoom. He encouraged students to interact and they turned on their cameras and shared their own in-home cooking experiences.
“One of my students returned home to Fiji and it was fantastic that he could still
participate in class and continued to progress really well,” he said.
While interior design students recently worked in pairs to redesign the dining and bar area of Lady Elliot Eco Resort, an award-winning eco-tourism icon on the Great Barrier Reef.
Brittany Dain and Elizabeth Peacock spent hours reconfiguring the layout of the area to create a more spacious feel and ensure minimal environmental impact.
Ms Dain, 23, said they would be “thrilled” if their concept was chosen.”
“This is the reason why we started the Diploma of Interior Design with TAFE Queensland, to be able to get that real-world hands on experience and bring our creative ideas to life,” she said.
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