Professor Richard Smith, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Education & Creative Arts, has just been announced as Chair of a new Ministerial Advisory Committee on Education Renewal.

Education Minister Anna Bligh said the new committee will develop innovative approaches to achieving Queensland's Smart State vision for education in Queensland.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Education Renewal (MACER) will provide the highest level advice to the State Government on a range of national and international issues in education.

Ms Bligh said she had specifically asked the Committee to advise her to ensure a strong futures focus is embedded in all planning, policies, strategies, decision-making and education renewal.

Professor Smith said he was looking forward to the challenge to ensure that education renewal has aspirations for an education system that is futures-oriented and concerned with creativity, innovation and enterprise across human endeavours such as the arts as well as the more vocationally-oriented areas.

"MACER will be an independent source of ideas intent on influencing public policy by undertaking policy research and development, and 'pushing' well-formed ideas and proposals for reform," Professor Smith said.