Education & Opportunities

At SmartCrete, we are passionate about providing opportunities for young researchers aspiring to transition concrete for a sustainable future, to learn, grow and collaborate with the brightest minds across Australia’s concrete ecosystem.

Our Education and Training Program compliments our three research streams – Sustainable Concrete, Engineered Solutions and Asset management – and includes:

• Industry focused graduate and postgraduate development:
  Our university partners are perfectly placed to train the next generation of leaders in the concrete industry who will benefit from the degree programs already in place in our partner institutions. Students will be engaged in SmartCrete CRCs Program through a comprehensive industry placement scheme. Undergraduate and Master students will be place through existing schemes at partner universities, such as the Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) Scheme at Macquarie University. All PhD students engaged in our program will spend six months with an industry partner. These placements will ensure all of our students gain exposure to the research, development, production and delivery of SmartCrete CRCs objectives which not only align with Government priorities but provide skills and develop capabilities that are fundamental to market success.
• Whole of life industry learning:
  It is important workers in the industry are brought up to speed with research outcomes and developments to allow step change implementation. We plan to hold an extensive series of seminars between industry and academia to provide cross fertilisation and improve general communication throughout concrete ecosystem. We will also work with university partners and TAFE to develop sets of micro-credentials, delivered both online and face to face, to allow industry partners to incrementally upskill as the program develops.
• Contractor specific training:
  It is essential that training for new skills required by contractors to implement the innovations generated by SmartCrete CRC is provided in a timely manner. We are working with TAFE and industry associations (such as ARRB and CCAA) to develop a set of courses specific for contractors before new products and methodologies become available to the marketplace. These courses will result in industry recognised qualifications.

Outcome

The Education Program drives collaboration, creates new knowledge, and trains the next generation of concrete specialists and engineers to design, build and manage Australia’s sustainable built environment.