[Didgeridoo]
[Indigenous song]
>> Kaya, Kaya wanju. Hello and welcome, my name is Simon Forrest Burungu.
And I'm a Whajuk Barladong Nyungar with kin connections to Yamaji and Wongi peoples.
I'm also Elder in Residence at Curtin University and here to give a
welcome to country.
>> Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Curtin University's
50 Years of Innovation Gala Dinner. My name is Tracy Vo, I'm from
Channel 9, but I'm also honoured to say that I am a Curtin alumna. I graduated from
the School of Journalism in 2004.
>> And good evening ladies and gentlemen, it's a
truly wonderful sight to see you all out there and it's such a pleasure to
welcome you on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor and myself. Tonight we
celebrate what has been achieved in the last 50 years. We acknowledge that Curtin
has come of age and we are honoured to do so in the company of so many of our
colleagues, partners and friends. Across the world, great universities infuse
their communities with a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurial vision and
Curtin University shines brightly among them. I'm now delighted to introduce our
Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AO.
>> Ladies and gentlemen it is wonderful
to have so many of our partners and friends here for this very special evening.
Tonight is a night of celebration of the past, of the present
and the future. We salute Curtin's journey from an
institute of technology to a global University.
We applaud the success that comes from working together towards a common goal.
And we anticipate what the future might hold for one of this states, great institutions.
I'm privileged to be Vice-Chancellor of this great University
in our fiftieth year, but the success belongs to the state, to all of you here tonight,
to those leaders on whose great shoulders
I stand and to our students, our staff and our alumni. I also applaud and thank all
of you here who have contributed to Curtin through your wise counsel, through
our advisory boards and council and through your philanthropic support.
Your support magnifies our impact in so many ways and you are all wonderful
ambassadors for the power of education. Our institution was born out of ambition
and out of a deep understanding that powerful economies and stable and strong
civil societies, have at their core, world-leading and engaged universities.
It has been a tale worth telling of a successful journey of which we should
all be very proud. So now I ask how bright is the future for one of WA's
great institutions. We'll just watch this space.
Watch as Greater Curtin comes to life and we double our on-campus student
accommodation and we attract industry partners to co-locate on campus.
And watch as we deepen our global partnerships always with an eye on
delivering benefit back to WA. As we secure our position as a core component
of a vibrant innovation ecosystem driving new industries and new jobs.
As we remain focused on fulfilling our obligations to regional WA and as we
ensure that our students are equipped with the advanced skills and
perspectives so essential for their future success. And watch as more and
more of our graduates step forth as role models, as leaders and in ways
that will inspire us all, as they shape the future to be a better, stronger and
fairer place for those who follow us. In doing so I assure you that we will
remain true to those qualities of inclusion, engagements and innovation
that so define this great University. And we will do this at the
same time as ensuring that we continue to meet our namesake's imperative that
above all things the University must have a soul and must look ever forward. Thank you.
>> It is now my pleasure to invite you to view a short video that
honours WAIT and Curtin leaders across the decades.
>> Curtin thanks all of its
wonderful Chancellor's and Vice- Chancellors, who over the past 50
years have helped shape it, into the successful, global university it is today.
>> Curtin has continued to transform and adapt over time to innovate and respond
to the community in the needs of industry. It had a good base to build
from as a West Australian Institute of Technology and it is appropriate to
celebrate the excellent university which is now 50 years old. I applaud the bold
thinkers and leaders of WAIT and Curtin and the students who have worked
together to shape the organisation over the past decades. Congratulations again
to Curtin University on this significant anniversary.
>> I am very privileged to be
here this evening for this very very important event and as we know Curtin's
anniversary, its fiftieth anniversary is a significant event in the states and
nations calendar. Curtin excels in making Western Australia fairer. The effort that
Curtin goes to, to engage with students from backgrounds that haven't
traditionally been engaged in education, is outstanding. And in all fields of
endeavour, people from all sorts of backgrounds come to Curtin, get an
education and have a more fulfilling, successful, better life than they would
otherwise have had. But Curtin has also engaged in making
Western Australia a stronger place. There is not an institution West of Geelong,
that has more international students than Curtin University. It saw the
opportunity early, it has thousands of students from around the world and
particular the countries to our north, an important income earning stream for the
University but also for the state. The institution has grown from 3,000
students 50 years ago to 60 or so thousand students today, 220,000
alumni, engaging with all sorts of industries making sure that Western
Australia is at the forefront of innovation, technology, advancement and success.
I look forward to that success continuing for the next 50 years and
beyond. Thanks very much.
>> We are very proud to be making our contribution to the future of this great
state and helping to build its profile and its reputation internationally.
Our partnerships with government, business, industry, and the community are so
important in bringing this mission to life. I'd like to invite you now to watch
a short video that celebrates some of the rich and diverse partnerships that
Curtin enjoys today.