UTS & Cisco partner to boost Australia's digital skills

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Cisco have formed a multi-year partnership to enhance Australia's digital capabilities, promote innovation, and address skill shortages.

This partnership involves UTS joining the National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN), a Cisco-led alliance that collaborates with industry and select universities. The collaboration seeks to enhance Australia's digital resilience and promote innovation by enabling companies to experiment with technologies, participate in prototyping, conduct applied research, and address digital skills shortages.

A key component of this collaboration is the launch of Innovation Central Sydney (ICS), a facility located on the UTS campus. As one of six centres at various university campuses, ICS is designed to facilitate collaboration between industry and academia, tackle business challenges, and equip students with industry-ready skills.

Additionally, UTS and Cisco have established a joint Research Chair in Renewable Technology and Sustainability. This initiative is focused on applied research, with a strong emphasis on industry collaboration.

The partnership also includes integrating the Cisco Networking Academy into the NIIN framework. This global IT and cybersecurity education platform provides courses, tools, and resources, enabling students to acquire valuable industry skills and access real job opportunities.

UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt emphasised the significance of the partnership in supporting innovation, economic growth, and productivity. "I welcome this partnership and the UTS role in the NIIN as an important development in bringing industry and universities together to support economic recovery and digital transformation. The NIIN is an exciting vehicle that can change the way we think about and do collaboration between universities and industry," Professor Parfitt said.

He further stated, "Improving Australia's digital resilience is equally important and will require action on many fronts: industry-driven research, applied innovation and creative approaches to meeting skills challenges. UTS is looking forward to working with Cisco and other industry and education partners to tackle some of the nation's most pressing challenges and opportunities related to emerging technologies, and digital adoption more broadly."

Cisco ANZ Vice President Ben Dawson expressed his enthusiasm for working with an innovative university in New South Wales. "The inclusion of the UTS into the National Industry Innovation Network will expand the focus and research opportunities in the areas of energy, renewable technology and sustainability. Cisco is dedicated to investing in strategic university collaborations to scale innovation, accelerate technology adoption, address skills and the talent pipeline, to tackle major industry challenges in Australia's economy and society," he said.

He added, "Australia has a digital skills and innovation challenge, and no single company or university has all the answers. By combining our technology, expertise, and networks, we can achieve greater impact together. The network's ultimate goal is to make Australia and its industries more adaptive and resilient, and we have shown that sharing resources and expertise delivers significant value to our communities and economy. We are proud to partner with Australian universities leading the way in solving industry problems and addressing national challenges."

The NIIN is expected to continue evolving as more like-minded industries, organisations, and universities with similar commitments join the network. The aim is to foster collaboration and innovation, contribute to national outcomes, and address pressing challenges through a digital ecosystem.