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Australia needs hi-tech short courses to train the workforce for advanced manufacturing says Jennifer Westacott, the Western Sydney University chancellor and former Business Council of Australia chief executive who chairs the Bradfield Development Authority, the body charged with developing the hi-tech city near the new Western Sydney Airport.

The BDA has just done that, launching dozens of short, 40-hour micro-credential courses to fill the skill needs of advanced manufacturing in western Sydney. The courses are created quickly, in 3-4 months, in partnership with tertiary education providers and business to rapidly meet industry needs and Ms Westacott believes it’s a model which can be applied in many places in Australia.

Former Obama energy secretary and physics Nobel prizewinner Steven Chu believes all energy options, including nuclear and carbon capture, need to be used to beat climate change. Many of the solutions to the global warming crisis are advancing but still not ready, he says. But we have to use every means possible to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because the world is in “real, real danger”.

Until next Wednesday