Skip to Content (Press Enter)

About the Project

James Cook University (JCU), like many other Australian universities, is currently refreshing its curriculum. We aim to:

  • incorporate a distinctive focus on sustainability and the tropics;

  • make courses more flexible in delivery and focused on student needs and demands;

  • design courses that offer opportunities to help prepare students for the workplace;

The University has received funding from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations through its Diversity and Structural Adjustment fund to undertake this project. The project is titled: ‘Australia’s University for the Tropics’.

The project is guided by the University’s revised Strategic Intent – ‘a brighter future for life in the tropics worldwide’ through ‘graduates and discoveries that make a difference’ – and the four pillars:

  • Tropical Ecosystems, Conservation and Climate Change;

  • Industries and Economies in the Tropics;

  • Peoples and Societies in the Tropics; and

  • Tropical Health, Medicine and Biosecurity.

The key themes for the project are drawn from the University Plan. These themes will help make JCU’s curriculum distinctive. They are:

  • Clear links to research

  • Reviewed assessment practices and progression criteria

  • Opportunities for Work Integrated Learning

  • An embedded awareness of sustainability issues

  • External reference groups for the course

  • Access pathways for equity groups

  • Curriculum supporting the best possible first year experience

  • Maximised flexibility in our offerings

  • Identified and integrated innovative technologies and infrastructure that support student learning in delivery

  • People and Culture: course supports passion for learning and fosters intellectual curiosity

  • Reconciliation Statement: curriculum that integrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, perspectives and experience across the curriculum through consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff

  • Development of graduate attributes in line with JCU’s framework and demonstration through the curriculum

  • Internationalisation and Engagement: internationalisation of the curriculum with special emphasis on our place as Australia’s national university for the tropics

  • Internationalisation and Engagement: increased student and staff mobility, especially to locations in the tropics

The initiative will strengthen our position of the University as unique in Australia and a world leader in the tropics.

The project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations through its Diversity and Structural Adjustment Fund and by James Cook University.

Links to media about JCU’s Curriculum Refresh Project