The University of South Australia and a leading global professional services company recently announced a unique joint venture to help transform the provision of business education and digital skills in Australia. The Innovation Academy in Digital Business will combine the best of the company’s global practice and expertise with UniSA’s proven leadership in transformative, industry-informed business education and research.
Kicking off in 2022, The Innovation Academy will deliver bespoke innovative curriculum and training programs, drawing on the skills and expertise of the company’s global workforce and UniSA’s established position in online education. Together the partnership will help address known and emerging skills gaps and enhance productivity in Australia’s strategic growth areas.
The Academy’s first offering – the Bachelor in Digital Business program, was designed and custom-built leveraging real-world Accenture material and case studies. The second offering of the Academy focuses on the upskilling and reskilling of established workforces in leading-edge digital business practices.
The UniSA Vice-Chancellor noted that the University is delighted to be working with the company to bring the Innovation Academy to life. This will be a global powerhouse in educating a new breed of business professionals, informed by best practices and insight from one of the world’s leading technology and strategic consulting companies. The university’s students will be gaining invaluable skills and will be not just studying with the best, they’ll be learning from the best as well.
Focused on the intersection between technology and business, the professional development component of the Academy will offer real-time, academically moderated, practical upskilling programs featuring tailored digital business training modules. Built around UniSA’s innovative Q-Credit assessment system, Academy learners will graduate with recognised tertiary qualifications and highly employable and in-demand credentials.
The Operations Lead for Australia & New Zealand at the company said that the firm is thrilled to be working with UniSA and believe the Innovation Academy will transform how digital business education is thought of locally and globally. The Academy will give students real-world applicability to their studies as well as contributing to the upskilling of Australia, by developing talent that is equipped for the technology-driven future. Enrolment for the new online Bachelor in Digital Business program will be live from mid-2022.
Australia’s jobs are also becoming increasingly digital, both through the growing use of digital tools in all jobs and new jobs in technology and data. Technology and digital platforms are also changing how businesses and workers connect to perform jobs.
Jobs that are more routine in nature like data collection and administration are increasingly being more streamlined or augmented using digital tools. Jobs that require more critical thinking or greater connections, such as accounting and teaching are being enhanced by digital technology, supporting people with these capabilities. Entirely new jobs and businesses have emerged in areas like cybersecurity and data analytics.
The Digital Transformation Expert Panel noted estimates that by 2034, technology will augment 4.5 million Australian workers. This is not unusual. There has always been evolution in activity and jobs in the Australian economy, and a need to upskill to keep pace with technological change. History has shown this has led to increased overall employment and access to better jobs with higher wages.
It is important to understand how the nature of work is changing, including the role of the ‘gig-based’ economy, to support Australians with the skills and training to take advantage of these new opportunities.
It is estimated that 250,000 new jobs will be created by digitalisation by 2025. Australia had more than 770,000 technology workers in 2019, 6.8 per cent higher than 2018. This was 1.5 times the growth in the number of professional occupations over the same period.
