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A 20-year-old Iranian-born woman and a 21-year-old man from Réunion are the first students to enter The University of Western Australia under a new agreement between UWA and Central Institute of Technology, formerly Central TAFE.

Shokoufeh Rajaian, of Balga, and Mickael Renouard, of Leederville, will undertake a Bachelor of Environmental Design at UWA this year after successfully completing a Diploma of Building Design and Technology at the Central Institute of Technology.

The partnership was welcomed by Training and Workforce Development Minister Peter Collier who today attended a briefing at UWA with his Cabinet colleagues.

"This partnership will provide new opportunities for students, who will become highly desirable graduates for employers," Mr Collier said.

In accordance with the principles outlined in the articulation agreement between Central and UWA's Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts, the students were assessed for entry to UWA by a lecturer from Central, David Plowright, and UWA's Associate Professor Kate Hislop.

Professor Hislop said the students had to demonstrate English language competence as part of the assessment, which was also based on their final Diploma project.

"We tested their English through a written submission and an oral presentation against criteria that had been developed in accordance with the Curriculum Council standards for Year 12 English," she said.

The students will receive credit equivalent to one full year of the Bachelor of Environmental Design degree, in recognition of the units completed during their Diploma, which means they will only need to do the equivalent of two years full-time study to complete their degree.

Central Institute of Technology Managing Director Neil Fernandes said the students had worked hard to achieve their goal of university entry and had been strongly supported by senior academic staff and industry mentors.

"We are very proud of their success, particularly given English is not their first language, and we look forward to seeing them graduate from university," Mr Fernandes said.

Photographs available on request.

Media references

Neil Fernandes (Central Institute of Technology)  (+61 8)  9427 1286  /  (+61 4) 19 918 565
Associate Professor Kate Hislop (+61 8)  6488 7813
(UWA School of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts)
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716