• Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education to help launch the new Bachelor of Communication (with specialisations) degree at Charles Sturt
• The new degree is co-designed, co-developed and co-delivered with the University’s industry partners and alumni
• The launch of the new degree coincides with the 50-year celebration of communications at Charles Sturt in Bathurst

The Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, the Hon. Dr Geoff Lee (pictured), will launch the new communications degree offered by Charles Sturt University on Friday 5 November.

The new degree will be launched to coincide with celebrating 50 years of communications at Charles Sturt in Bathurst, which was the first university communication program in the country.

The new Bachelor of Communication (with specialisations) is co-designed, co-developed and co-delivered with the University’s alumni and industry partners. It draws on Charles Sturt’s 50-year history of producing graduates that have worked in every facet of the communications space.

Dr Lee will help to launch the new degree at the ‘Regional Media in the Digital Age’ Summit at Charles Sturt in Bathurst on Friday 5 November.

Participants will benefit from knowledge and advice from industry experts such as Charles Sturt Vice-Chancellor's Chair of Australian/Indigenous Belonging Professor Stan Grant Jnr, Managing Director of the ABC Mr David Anderson, CEO and Managing Director of Southern Cross Austereo Grant Blackley and more.

Dr Lee said the innovative design and level of industry connection in the new Bachelor of Communication course will ensure graduates are industry-ready by the time they graduate.

"The NSW Government is a strong supporter of collaboration between universities and industry, particularly when it comes to co-design and co-delivery of courses. Charles Sturt University students will benefit from exposure to leading industry expertise and the opportunities for work-integrated learning provided by the revitalised course.”

“At a time when the media and communications landscape is changing dramatically, it has never been more important for universities and industry to work together to ensure graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills required in the workforce,” Dr Lee said

Charles Sturt Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and EducationProfessor John McDonald said having industry co-design the course will give students a unique combination of academic, discipline specific skills alongside a sound understanding of the industry through networking and industry connections embedded within the course.

"Charles Sturt boasts an illustrious set of alumni, the new course strengthens Charles Sturt’s relationship with Communication alumni and builds on the legacy of the CSU-Mitchell alumni network, “Mitchell Mafia” (Bathurst campus graduates circa 1989-1999),” he said.

“Charles Sturt has long been considered ‘the place to study communications’ by the communication industry and this revitalised degree reinstates our reputation as a leading provider of communication education. The connections built through Charles Sturt’s history with the communication industry has allowed us to develop a course unique to this sector.”

Sixty-one alumni, including Head of Content Curation and Platforms at ABC Lee Glendinning, ABC Crime Reporter David Lipson, documentary maker and producer Simon Heath, Director of Communications and Marketing at Minderoo Foundation David O’Hana and international journalist, producer and podcaster Stephanie Hunt, have been engaged to produce content or resources for the new degree. The role of the alumni will to be to promote the course to prospective students, deliver masterclasses, podcasts and vodcasts and develop subject content alongside Charles Sturt’s academic staff.

The degree consists of three specialisations – strategic communication, news and media, and design and content creation.

Students attend classes via a condensed two-day timetable (Monday and Tuesday) to balance study, work and life commitments, with elective options from other faculties and disciplines.

Students can also choose from a three-year course or accelerated two-and-a-half-year option, with exit points at the end of each year of completion – Graduate Certificate after session one, Diploma after year one, Associate Degree after year two and Bachelor’s degree in year three.

Lectures will be replaced with podcasts, masterclasses and technical instruction, which Professor McDonald said meets students’ needs of wanting to learn on demand in a growing digital age. Students will participate in a mentoring program with a mentoring app to connect them with peers, academics, industry partners and Charles Sturt alumni.

“The new degree is the only undergraduate communication offering co-designed, co-developed and co-delivered with the University’s industry partners and alumni,” Professor McDonald said.

“These changes align the course with industry and market feedback.

“Our communication students will have the opportunity to learn with leading communication professionals while studying specialist subjects in other facilities, building their knowledge and developing unique communication skills for specific sector.”

A presentation by Emeritus Professor David Potts, who founded the communications course 50 years ago, will be shown at the summit to celebrate the milestone.

“The diversity and strength of our alumni is reflected in how this course has been able to develop on their knowledge to bring the course into a new age and inspire and teach at least 50 more years of Charles Sturt communication students,” Professor McDonald said.