Awards for innovative education

CRC Programs

Two University of Adelaide-based Cooperative Research Centres have received national recognition for innovative education programs.

The programs have helped tackle Australia's $4 billion a year invasive weed problem with plain language weeds education tools, and sparked scientific curiosity in school children through novel interactive biotechnology education.

The CRC for Molecular Plant Breeding and the CRC for Australian Weed Management both received Awards for Excellence in Innovation at a recent national conference for Australia's 70 CRCs.

The Molecular Plant Breeding CRC won the accolade for its Get into Genes program, developed in partnership with the Adelaide-based Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics.

Under the scheme so far, about 2,500 school children have completed the workshop at the University's Waite campus. Following its Adelaide success, Get into Genes is now expanding into Melbourne.

The workshop features four hands-on workstations investigating plant breeding, DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis and DNA markers.

The CRC for Australian Weed Management won its award for WeedEd which provides comprehensive plain language training resources in weed control for the Vocational Education and Training sector.

Launched in 2002, WeedEd is used widely across Australia. WeedEd materials range from fact sheets on identifying and collecting plants for community groups and guides on developing weed management strategies at property levels, through to full manuals for professional farm advisers - all available at www.weeds.crc.org.au.