Flinders University has been named ‘Best Future Skills Provider’ in the national 2026 Defence and National Security Workforce Awards for a third consecutive year.
The prestigious honour recognises Flinders’ leadership in delivering a wide range of landmark education and research initiatives that support the development of Australia’s future defence workforce.
The awards program is open to all businesses operating in Australia’s defence and national security supply chain and features some of Australia’s leading reserve support and training development programs.
Professor Giselle Rampersad, Deputy Vice President and Executive Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, says the award is “important positioning for Flinders”.
“Flinders University is already playing a big part in preparing job-ready graduates to meet the demand for specialist skills and this will grow to meet the future needs of workforce development as more major projects in the pipeline start to ramp up and come online,” says Professor Rampersad, who accepted the award in Sydney last night.
“Working with leading companies in the sector, we are seeing strong interest in the highly successful Diploma in Digital Technologies and popular degree apprenticeships, through to the specialist nuclear engineering and electronic warfare master degrees.
“Our programs are preparing school-leavers for exciting jobs of the future, right through to upskilling workers in high-tech industries across Australia, and training engineers and other STEM students for well-paid jobs now and in the future.”
Professor Rampersad, along with Pro Vice Chancellor (Curriculum Impact) Professor Chris Brebner, Defence Partnerships Director Tony Kiryacou, Professor Ingo Koeper, Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching), College of Science and Engineering, and Professor Romy Lawson, Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, have all played key roles during the three years of success – which is also a testament to the work being done by many, right across the University and its colleges.
New initiatives include:
- Degree apprenticeships in mechanical and electrical engineering
- The inaugural Indigenous Australian Engineering School in South Australia, in partnership with Engineering Aid Australia, as well as free software programming sessions for high school girls, the Girls Programming Network.
- Graduate Certificate in Nuclear Workforce and Governance
- Micro-credential in Cybersecurity Governance established in partnership with Defence and aerospace defence primes for upskilling of their staff.
- 54 AUKUS Federal Propel scholarships for new engineering students and international exchanges.
Professor Raymond Chan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Interim Vice President and Executive Dean – College of Science and Engineering, says the positioning of Flinders University for Best Future Skills Provider is testament to Flinders’ “continued leadership and innovation” in education and training initiatives.
“It’s fantastic recognition of our continued commitment to supporting the AUKUS initiative and to meeting Australia’s future defence workforce needs,” says Professor Chan.
“A huge congratulations to Giselle and the team for leading the way, against a strong field.”
Other finalists in the group category for Best Future Skills Provider were TAFE NSW, Thales Australia, University of Newcastle and Flight One School of Engineering.