CQU graduate Mark Greenaway is now Operations Support and Maintenance General Manager with the CQ Ports Authority, based in Gladstone.

But he told the audience at the recent launch of CQU's Managing the Student Journey program that he would not have been able to achieve so much without access to a "local university".

"When you're up against a challenging maths equation, it's good to know it's only a short distance to get face-to-face support from a lecturer," he said.

Mr Greenaway started his working life as a mechanical engineering trainee at BHP Newcastle Steel Works in the late 1970s.

He worked his way, for various industrial and mining employers, through the positions of Mechanical Maintenance Foreman, Maintenance Planning Engineer, Mechanical Engineer-in-Charge, Maintenance Services Leader, Maintenance Manager, Manager Plant Maintenance and Manager Operations Support Services.

In recent years, while juggling family life with 4 children, he has found CQU helpful in boosting his skills to match the requirements of his career.

Mr Greenaway completed his Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Mechanical) with CQU last year and is now studying towards a Master of Engineering by Research degree.