Swinburne to make Adobe Creative Cloud available to all students

Swinburne University of Technology is set to become Australia’s first ‘Adobe Creative Campus’, joining a handful of global institutions who have made the Creative Cloud available to all students.

From late November, Swinburne’s 57,000 enrolled students will have access to the cloud software suite on all devices to increase their digital capabilities before they enter the workforce.

Swinburne’s deputy vice-chancellor (Academic), Professor Duncan Bentley, said the tools will be integrated across the spectrum of the university’s teaching practices and assessments to encourage “more creative and engaging approaches”.

In-class learning across faculties will cover the key elements of Adobe’s platforms including visuals, audio and animation.

A digital literacies hub will also be built also be set up in the university’s library precinct for both staff and students to access one-on-one training on the suite of tools provided by student coaches.

“Graduates and employees require digital skills to be productive in the workforce of the future and aligned to the growing digital economy and society,” Bentley said.

“This partnership with Adobe supports Swinburne’s technological focus and commitment to preparing future-ready graduates.”

Meanwhile, the software vendor is also supporting the appointment of a professorial position to conduct lead research and innovation activities in digital literacy education, which will be run in conjunction with Swinburne’s other forays into digital skills and

The decision to roll out Creative Cloud was influenced by the Workforce Development Needs Survey report from the Australian Industry Group, which found businesses will need digitally literate staff to cope adapt to emerging technologies and digitally enabled environments.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said that the education sector, in turn, needs to be able to adapt just as quickly in producing graduates prepared for the digital economy.

“Swinburne achieving Adobe Creative Campus status and its focus on digital literacies provides its students with a pathway to the skills they need for their careers and the graduates businesses need for their successful future,” Willox said.

It also plays into Adobe’s marketing strategy, which has recently included aggressive ad campaigns on YouTube featuring popular musicians in a bid to win over the digitally savvy youth.