When UNESCO, the World Health Organisation and Fortune 500 companies embrace something you just know it's going to catch on elsewhere.

The 'Communities of Practice' concept got a foothold in the Australian tertiary education sector several years ago and has been growing ever since.

LINK HERE for our Learn Magazine article on CoPs

Guest speaker Associate Professor Jacquie McDonald (in red) with other participants in the Learning & Teaching Showcase

CQUniversity was among the enthusiastic adopters and now has a thriving crop of CoPs, crossing campuses and disciplines and bridging the gap between academic and professional staff.

The University's recent Learning and Teaching Showcase included a CoPs theme to support its Engaged Communities focus. 

Hosted at Rockhampton Campus, the Showcase attracted video-linkers from campuses in Queensland, NSW and Victoria as well as local campus staff and representatives from Queensland Health, Centacare and Medicare Local CQ.

Guest speaker Associate Professor Jacquie McDonald, from the University of Southern Queensland, said CoPs enabled a "bottom-up approach where practitioners have ownership and are driving change at the coalface".

"Universities are looking at CoPs as a great way to roll out learning and teaching initiatives," the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Teaching Fellow said. "CoPs create a space for engagement and there are a great diversity of CoPs emerging at CQUniversity."

CQUniversity Associate Professor Peter Reaburn said Dr McDonald had been able to energise the COPs networks that she helped to nurture during a visit around two years ago.

For further details on CoPs at CQUniversity contact p.reaburn@cqu.edu.au or Ph: 4923 2621  OR Julie Bessell at: j.bessell@cqu.edu.au or Ph: 4923 2714