TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute (TAFE SWSi) is leading the way in creating a 21st century learning environment that is student-centred, flexible, interactive and attractive.

TAFE SWSi Teaching and Learning Consultant, Leah Simpson, said a number of TAFE SWSi’s colleges were replacing the conventional teacher focused classrooms with Active Learning Centres – which shifted teaching and learning from a “teacher-centric model to a learner-centric one”.

Active Learning Centres are largely unformatted, flexible learning spaces where the facilities for learning and teaching are modular. The furniture is on wheels so desks and technological tools can be easily changed and adapted to meet the students’ requirements. 

The active learning process, which catered for collaboration, reflection, meeting and presenting, gave students a “tangible, hands-on” experience in solving issues and problems as they would naturally occur in a normal workplace, Ms Simpson said.

In a typical Active Learning Centre lesson, the teacher would take a back seat. Once the lesson plan was explained or demonstrated and problems outlined, the students would “take over”.

TAFE SWSi Liverpool College Head Teacher of Business Administration, Christine Schlegel, said: “I don’t do a lot of teaching in that the students are doing a lot themselves.

“So as teachers, we are saying, these are the basics; this is what you’ll be assessed on, then they have to make it work. They have to put it into action,” she said.

Among the more unusual learning tools offered by the Active Learning Centres is the ability to write on the glass walls which enclose each centre.

“They use the glass to get their ideas; to brainstorm and then they transfer that onto the laptops, Ms Schlegel said.

Attendance was “always high” for classes held in the Active Learning Centre at Liverpool, she said.

“I’ve had comments like ‘we love working here’ and ‘we can get work done’,” Ms Schlegel said. “I’ve been able to use this room to get them to be engaged; to be in the moment because they’ve got ownership. They’re really working together in a way I haven’t seen before.”

Active Learning Centres have been in operation since July 2014 at four TAFE SWSi colleges including Campbelltown, Granville, Bankstown and Liverpool; with more on the way.

TAFE SWSi Director Peter Roberts said the Active Learning Centres were as much a learning retreat as they were a learning tool which more broadly promoted the new and modern TAFE.

“The feedback we’ve had from teachers and students reveal that the Active Learning Centre approach totally engages the students,” he said.

“We are listening to our customers and understand what they want. We are always looking to upgrade our facilities - hence the new Active Learning Centres - to enhance the TAFE learning and teaching experience.

“At the same time the one thing that will never change is our commitment to provide education and training that students can trust.

www.swsi.tafensw.edu.au

TAFE NSW - South Western Sydney Institute TAFE (SWSi) will host a series of business breakfasts designed to inform regional industry leaders of the changes taking place in the TAFE system but more importantly to also reassure them of TAFE SWSi’s ongoing commitment to provide excellent education and training for regional businesses.

Three breakfasts are planned in the coming weeks at different TAFE SWSi colleges: the first at Campbelltown College on Thursday, 23rd October; the second at Wetherill Park College on Thursday, 6th November and the final one at Padstow College on Wednesday, 12th November.

A delicious breakfast prepared and served by the Hospitality section will be followed by a presentation on change in the NSW training system from TAFE SWSi Director Peter Roberts who will then lead a Q & A session.

Mr Roberts said his presentation would advise breakfast participants of what is changing and what is not changing in 2015 and how and the best ways for industry and community to access TAFE SWSi services.

“The breakfast is also a chance for leaders in our region to tell us how they want TAFE SWSi to work with them to meet their needs and to find out how training excellence can improve the bottom line for businesses and build skills to increase employment in our communities,” he said.

“TAFE SWSi would continue to respond to the changing demands of industry, students and the community and also review our own business practices and service delivery to accommodate a new funding structure and ongoing reforms.

“We have the skills and the capability to deliver excellent services but we really need to know what business and community leaders want and how we can support them in this changing environment,” Mr Roberts said.

TAFE SWSi gives local residents the chance to enrol in one of more than 700 courses across a wide range of industries such as community services, hospitality, business, finance, manufacturing, transport, design, IT, interpreting, building and construction, he said

TAFE SWSi is one of Australia’s largest educational institutions, with 72,000 enrolments every year at nine colleges across South Western Sydney, in workplaces all over Australia and internationally.

TAFE SWSi is also the 2013 National Large Training Provider of the Year.

Significant strides are being made in our $20 million upgrades to Parramatta Park.

The works will conserve important heritage buildings and create new recreational facilities for locals and visitors.

More than $9.5 million will be spent upgrading ‘The Crescent’ events space, making the park a more attractive venue for international artists and promoters, while work has begun on the $8.7 million picnic facilities and regional playground in ‘The Paddocks’ precinct.

By the end of the year, a $2 million upgrade to the ‘The Gardens’ precinct will begin. This will include upgrading the heritage setting around the newly conserved George Street Gatehouse, conservation of a convict bridge and landscape works.

One million Opal cards have now been issued as almost 800 buses go live with Opal in Sydney’s Inner West and South West, and the Central Coast.

The NSW Government is modernising the public transport system and with one million customers now using Opal, Sydney is finally catching up with other global cities around the world. 

Opal is rolling out to even more buses in Sydney – 285 buses in the Inner West and 200 buses in South West Sydney – taking the total number of Opal buses to 3,860. 

On the NSW Central Coast, Opal electronic ticketing will go live on 263 buses from next week. Residents are already able to use their Opal cards on trains.

A $110 million medical research facility in Western Sydney opened this week. The new Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research building will be home to 400 scientists and clinicians and will bring all Westmead Millennium Institute centres of research under one roof. 

The state-of-the-art building will allow the Institute to expand research in its core areas: infectious and immune diseases, cancer and leukaemia, liver and metabolic diseases, eye and brain-related disorders and heart and respiratory diseases.

The new headquarters will enhance the scope of ground-breaking research undertaken in fields such as disease gene discovery, cell sorting and imaging, and new cellular and genetic therapies.

WSBC General Manager, Michael Sugg, was invited and attended yesterday's 2014 Business Leadership Forum to represent WSBC members, the SME businesses of Western Sydney.

A new report from the NSW Government shows the NSW economy is strengthening its position in key sectors including manufacturing, creative industries and the digital economy.

Released by Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade & Investment Andrew Stoner at the NSW Business Leadership Forum, the latest Progress Report on the NSW Economic Development Framework shows improvement in NSW’s contribution to National Industry Value Add over the last five years in all these sectors.

Mr Stoner said the State Government’s revitalised partnership with industry and the research sector has been essential in building a platform for economic growth in NSW.

“NSW is now clearly emerging as the engine room of Australia’s economic future,” Mr Stoner said.

“We’re seeing growth in household demand, improving business confidence, and NSW leading the nation on key economic measures including State Final Demand and jobs growth, with above-trend growth forecast for 2014/15 and 2015/16.

“Government and industry are working together to lay the foundations for long-term growth in NSW, investing in our State’s diversity, bolstering priority industry sectors and supporting the key drivers of growth, including housing, jobs and infrastructure.”

The 2014 Progress Report on the NSW Economic Development Framework shows significant progress has been made against 34 priority actions, with more than half of these developed, or implemented in partnership with, industry and research stakeholders.

Highlights include:

·        the establishment of five NSW Knowledge Hubs - for Digital Creative, Financial Services, Medical Technology, Energy Innovation, and Transport, Logistics and Rail;

·         increased support for International Education through StudyNSW and appointment of a high level advisory board to position NSW in key global markets as a leader in international education;

·         support for SMEs with actions including design-led innovation workshops, a Supply Chain Accelerator pilot to integrate local SMEs into major domestic and global supply chain opportunities, an Export Accelerator program to help exporters win more international business, and the ongoing delivery of services from SmallBiz Connect;

·         the creation of Smart Work Hubs in Oran Park, Rouse Hill, Penrith, Gosford and Wyong, to offer alternative, innovative work options for those in high commuter areas; and

·         significantly enhanced international engagement, including new NSW trade and investment specialists in Japan and Korea.

WSBC will keep you up to date with any further developments and also the NSW government's economic development strategy for Western Sydney as details become available. 

The finalised scope for a $29 million upgrade to Parramatta’s Pirtek Stadium has been announced.

After consultation and agreement with the two major hirers of the Stadium, the Parramatta Eels and the Western Sydney Wanderers, the tenders have gone out for the first package of works.

Construction is expected to commence on the Stadium in mid-October.

The upgrade includes rebuilding the player change-rooms to contemporary international standards, an additional 2,000 seats behind the existing terraces at the north and south ends, a seating upgrade and wi-fi connectivity.

The taxi surcharge on card payments will be halved in time for the busy holiday season.

Currently, taxi customers are charged a 10% surcharge when they pay their fare with a credit or debit card. This money goes to the provider of the taxi’s electronic payment system. 

The new Passenger Transport Act passed through Parliament last month, paving the way for changes including a 5% cap on taxi surcharges.

The changes begin on 12 December 2014, meaning customers will have more money in their pockets in time for the Christmas period, when taxis are at their busiest.

Imagine pitting a team of key celebrities and business giants against the Parramatta Eels in a game of touch football, in front of a crowd of 10,000+ at Pirtek Stadium.

That's exactly what is going to happen. Parramatta Mission, in association with the Parramatta Eels, is holding a celebrity Family Day Football Challenge on Saturday December 6 at 3pm at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta. The aim is to collect much needed funds to ensure the continuance of Parramatta Mission's Meals Plus program.

There will be rides, meet and greet opportunities, pre game and half time entertainment and of course the game. You can even fundraise to get yourself on the field!

Tickets will be available from Ticketmaster mid October.

There will be opportunities for sponsorship, corporate boxes and chances to get on the field with your idols.....our website event page is currently under construction but will be live very soon with all the details.

We are very excited about the event and the chance to promote Parramatta Mission in our community. We invite you to spread the word and bring friends and family along.

If you have contact with any corporates or celebrities who may like to get involved, please contact fundraising@parramattamission.org.au or call Nicole or Jenny on 02 8836 2015.

Platinum Partner Parramatta City Council invites you to take a journey through Parramatta and discover gourmet street foods, pop up bars, live music, art installations and surprising performances around every corner.

Parramatta Lanes runs from Tuesday 7^th October through to Friday 10^th October from 5.00pm to 10.00pm.

Platinum Partner PARKROYAL Parramatta is the proud accommodation sponsor of this event.