QUTeX: enabling digital literacy for digital transformation

In an article in the McKinsey Quarterly Why digital transformation is now on the CEO’s shoulders Thomas Siebel, founder of Siebel Systems, wrote:

“If your CEO isn’t talking about how to ensure the survival of the enterprise amid digital disruption, well, maybe you’ve got the wrong person in the job. This may sound extreme, but it’s not.”

The future of every enterprise depends on it being digital, on successfully achieving digital transformation: maximising its use of digital technology for efficiency, competitiveness and innovation.

This means every individual in the workforce, from the CEO down, will need digital knowledge and digital skills appropriate to their role.

It is the goal of the Digital Capability Practice within the Queensland University of Technology Professional and Executive Education unit (QUTeX) to help them acquire this digital expertise.

QUTeX represents a revolution in professional and executive education. QUT is a university focussed on the real-world, through a culture of close collaboration between staff and students, industry and community partners.

QUTeX leverages this culture to create education programs aligned with organisations’ real-world requirements; programs that help individuals and organisations upskill and stay relevant. It draws on the whole gamut of QUT’s educational resources and cutting-edge research to produce a distinct competitive advantage.

Mastering digital transformation

The QUTeX Digital Capability Practice (QUTeX DCP) applies this approach to provide world-class research, analysis, advisory services and education spanning data and digital literacy through to management and leadership competencies for the digital enterprise.

It is a platform of research, expertise, services and solutions, that helps individuals and organisations understand and implement the “how” of digital transformation, take advantage of digital opportunities and manage digital threats.

To help clients achieve digital thought leadership, they tap into the knowledge, expertise and experience of QUT’s five digitally themed research centres: the Centre for Digital Economy; the Centre for Future Enterprise; the Centre for Data Science; the Centre for Robotics; and the Digital Media Research Centre.

Beyond these digitally-focussed bodies, QUTeX harnesses capabilities and research strengths from across the university to boost knowledge sharing and learning through community functions, advisory services, peer learning, networking and events.

Partnerships with leading organisations

However, QUTeX recognises that there is more to digital transformation than even all the resources of QUT can impart. As such, they have formed partnerships with leading organisations and government departments.

QUTeX has created a new professorial role: Professor of Digital Practice. Their first appointment to the role, Dr Mal Thatcher, brings 40 years of technology experience. He was Chief Information Officer of Mater Health in Brisbane for 10 years, Chief Health Information Officer for Queensland Health and CEO of eHealth Queensland. In addition to his industry experience, he brings many valuable industry linkages.

QUTeX draws on all of these resources to help organisations and individuals boost their digital capability through education programs tailored to meet organisations’ specific requirements. As well as through a series of short courses that cater for all levels of digital expertise, co-designed with industry and government partners.

Tailored digital education programs

For the tailored programs, QUTeX has combined their expertise with the customer’s strengths and ideas, to guide the co-design of educational solutions that help organisations achieve exceptional outcomes.

Their expert facilitators and coaches co-deliver work-based blended learning experiences to change team, and individual, behaviours.

QUTeX provide skills analysis and competency mapping tools for organisations to self-assess individual and team capability, and organisational maturity.

They are also developing short courses on digital citizenship to equip all levels of the workforce: from the basic competencies needed by the digital enterprise, to courses that provide senior executives with the skills to lead digital investments.

To further their goal of making QUTeX DCP the hub of a wider digital community, they are looking to co-design these courses with industry.

As their Professor of Digital Practice, Mal Thatcher, says, “whilst QUT has world-class thought leadership and can curate and create content, we see the greatest value comes from co-designing with industry, and with our customers, and that’s the process we’re currently undertaking.”

QUTeX invite all organisations to join their community and to become part of that co-design process.

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