The University of Queensland will train Indonesians in a $32 million project to provide world-standard monitoring of the Asian archipelago's environment.
University staff will train 64 people from 60 laboratories at the St Lucia campus and in Indonesia as part of the H43 project negotiated in association with Sydney company Labax Environmental Pty Ltd.
The project, worth $3.2 million to the University (or 10 percent of the total project), is one of two environmental projects involving the University supported by AusAID.
The University, through the Chemical Engineering Department, and Labax will help develop 21 laboratories in 13 centres, while a sister project by the Japanese Government will develop 39 laboratories.
Labax has contracted the University to supply the human resource development program component of the project.
The project is the initiative of the executive dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture, Professor Paul Greenfield.
Kevin Dobson, the Special Projects Indonesia director at UniQuest Ltd, the University's commercial arm, said the University had achieved a major coup in winning the right to provide postgraduate training all staff, including those from the Japanese project.
He said the project was shared between the Australia team and the Japanese Government because AusAID funding was limited.
Mr Dobson said the Indonesian Government was aware its environmental record lagged behind the staggering pace of its industrialisation.
Although the University had provided technical input, Labax Environmental Pty Ltd would supply technical equipment for the project.
From 1998, 30 full fee-paying Indonesian students will commence a postgraduate diploma in science (environmental monitoring) at the University, followed by a similar intake in 1999. From next year, four students will commence masters programs.
The University will provide specific vocational training in Indonesia to more than 100 people in a series of short courses to target the specific equipment in the project and its application to environmental monitoring.
Two Bahasa Indonesian-speaking University staff members involved in the project will act as translators to assist other University staff members teaching the program.
The International Projects division of UniQuest will manage the project.
In the past three years, the University-Labax team has been liaising with the Indonesian Government through its environmental agency BAPEDAL, and the Australian Government through AusAID.
The development of the project has included a survey of laboratories in Indonesia, feasibility study and preparing a personnel development program.
The program represents the second package of this type developed by the University, following the highly successful Q11 project.
It follows the success of the University's role in helping the Indonesian Government in a $27 million Q11 project to upgrade skills of staff in the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower's occupational health and safety (OH and S) laboratories.
UniQuest International Projects manager Nick Volk, who managed the Q11 project, will oversee the new project.
The University has already trained 180 Indonesians in Australia and in Indonesia for the Q11 project. Twenty Indonesians are completing postgraduate diploma in science (OH and S) studies at the University.
For more information, contact Mr Dobson or Ms Heather McMaster, of UniQuest (telephone 07 3365 2827).
