17 Jul 2019 BHERT Awards to be presented at Engagement Australia Conference 29-30 August
We are pleased to announce that the 2019 BHERT Awards will be presented at the Engagement Australia 2019 Conference on 29 and 30 August. This follows the news last week that BHERT will wind-up its operations in August.
The BHERT Awards are widely recognised as the premier celebration of outstanding university partnerships.
BHERT CEO Dr Peter Binks said that after 28 years, BHERT had achieved much of its original mandate. Australia’s companies now have good access to universities, and universities now have sophisticated engagement mechanisms for interaction with industry. There are a number of organisations – better resourced than BHERT – who provide collaboration services and information.
Dr Binks noted that the BHERT Awards are central to awareness of university contributions to Australia: “The Awards program has grown rapidly over the past three years, this year receiving 160 applications from across the sector. The wealth of information and good practice examples in these Awards submissions should be shared and celebrated. BHERT is delighted that, with Engagement Australia, the significant engagement activity across the sector will be celebrated at the EA Conference dinner”.
BHERT will be contacting Award winners to advise and discuss representation at the Award Ceremony.
BHERT and Engagement Australia are currently discussing transitioning the Awards Program into Engagement Australia to ensure that it continues to identify and celebrate good practice across the sector. We will keep you informed on the discussions.
Professor Jim Nyland, Chair of Engagement Australia, commented “For more than fifteen years, Engagement Australia (EA) has championed the unique role universities have with society to address contemporary global challenges and trends through learning and research partnerships. Our conference theme this year focuses on current global trends that are changing and reshaping the role of the university towards a ‘civic’ institution embedded in local and regional communities. It seems fitting then that EA should host the Bhert Awards ceremony as part of our international conference that will celebrate and take carriage of this important area of work for the sector. We hope you can join us for our collaborative Awards celebration and hear from university leaders who are transforming their university as well as cities and regions through new and innovative forms of social and civic engagement.”
