Real-World Solutions: Bridging the Digital Divide with Opera Queensland and Cisco
In today’s fast-paced business world, effective collaboration and problem-solving skills are crucial. At Queensland University of Technology, the final-year business subject, Real World Ready, aims to cultivate these skills among students.
Preparing Professionals
Led by Dr. Mazlan Maskov, Real World Ready focuses on refining professional skills through hands-on experience. Students collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to tackle real-world challenges, gaining insights into their strengths and limitations in a professional setting. This semester, Opera Queensland (OQ) has stepped into the QUT classroom, continuing a long-standing relationship that began when they participated as the classroom partner for Future Enterprise students in 2021.
Highlights from the Classroom
- Week 3: In the initial visit, Patrick Nolan, CEO and Artistic Director of OQ, along with teaching artist Susan Ellis, graced the classroom. Susan treated the students to a short performance, setting the stage for an interactive session. Watch Susan serenade a lucky student here!
- Week 5: Cisco representatives, including Regional Manager Terry Weber, Account Manager Ben Nicholls, and ANZ Collaboration Engineering Lead Ian Hawkins, visited the classroom to discuss the partnership between OQ and Cisco. Students had the opportunity to delve into the details of the collaboration, asking questions about how Cisco facilitates technology in OQ’s regional education program.
- Week 7: The engagement continued as Adam Tucker (Executive Producer), Christine McEwan (CFO), Lucy Childs (Director of Marketing and Sales), and Phoebe Rouse (Director of Development) from OQ returned for a Q&A session with the students. This session provided students with insights into the feasibility of their proposals and allowed them to interact directly with professionals from OQ, gaining valuable feedback on their work.
- Exam Block: Three groups presented their strategies to Opera Queensland in Innovation Central Brisbane. Their innovative solutions included, a performing arts streaming service to broaden opera’s audience and reach, a virtual learning app to create interactive learning experiences for school students, increasing contemporary style performance. The partnership between OQ, Cisco, and QUT exemplifies the power of collaboration in addressing real-world challenges. By leveraging technology and creativity, we endeavour to prepare students for the workforce while enriching communities across Queensland.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our industry partners at Opera Queensland for engaging with our students and providing invaluable real-world experiences. A big thank you also goes to our partners at Cisco for your support and for inspiring our students with your expertise and visions of tech innovation.
