The Australian Wool Education Trust was established in 1998 by the Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd.
The Trust is administered by 8 Trustees, 3 appointed by AWTA Ltd, 3 appointed by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and 2 by
the Federation of Australian Wool Organisations (FAWO).
The Trust is an independent body, with policy being fully
determined by the Trustees, without influence from AWTA Ltd, FAWO
and/or AWI.
This website provides access to resource material developed since 2005 using funding provided by the Australian Wool Education trust. It is also a repository for educational material developed by the Premium Quality Wool Co-operative Research Centre (CRC), which commenced in 1993 and wound up its activities in 2000, and for the Wool and Sheep Industry CRC, which commenced in 2001 and wound up in 2008.
Woolwise was originally developed, using funding provided by the then AWTA Ltd Wool Education Trust, to provide an online presence for the Premium Quality Wool CRC while it was operating, but also to provide access to the educational material produced by the CRC.
When the CRC terminated the site ownership reverted to the Australian Wool Education Trust
The original website developed by the CRC for Premium Quality Wool has been retained within the current site in order to preserve the history of Woolwise and to acknowledge the people responsible for its creation.
The core parties of the Sheep CRC transferred ownership of the educational IP produced by the CRC to AWET in 2008. These materials are now available from AWET via Woolwise subject to specific conditions of use. As a result of this transfer the educational material provided on Woolwise extends beyond wool production, processing and marketing to include other aspects of the sheep industry. such as sheep meat production, genetics and sustainable land management.
The Trust has licenced this educational IP to the University of New England (UNE). It is the basis of a number of wool and sheep units delivered by UNE. This arrangement is unique for agricultural education in Australia. The courses are offered in external mode to students enrolled in UNE and other Universities within Australia. This "hub and spoke" model for education about wool and sheep recognises that it is difficult for any one University to maintain sufficient student numbers to justify such specialised courses within their Agricultural Science Degrees.
To facilitate the delivery of these units the Trust provides funds to:
- Support a Wool Lectureship at UNE
- Provide scholarships at the undergraduate and 4th year level
- Subsidise the cost of travel incurred by external students attending workshops at UNE
- Compensate external Universities for any loss of revenue as a consequence of their students enrolling in the wool courses delivered by UNE
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AWI "Wool Lab" iPad App
Australian Wool Innovation has recently released an App for iPad that displays hi resolution pictures of the fabrics included in AWI's "Wool Lab" – a demonstration package of seasonal wool fabrics. The following is a description of the App.
The Wool Lab - Autumn/Winter 2012/13
The Wool Lab is an inspiring seasonal guide to the best wool fabrics and yarns in the world, showcasing the premium and natural aspects of the fibre.
It has been produced to offer a collective vision of the ultimate in wool trends for garment manufacturers, designers, brands and retailers.
The collection contains quality wool fabrics and yarns made with the latest innovations in production techniques and special treatments. It also contains archive pieces expressing the long lasting and fascinating history of wool to be rediscovered and reproduced with a contemporary twist.
The Wool Lab is the result of intensive research by The Woolmark Company. The fabrics and yarns in The Wool Lab have been selected from the collections of some of the world's leading textile companies. All the fabrics and yarns are commercially available to retailers and designers.
You can download the App from Apple's iTune store:
The download is free.
Links to this and other AWI resources have also been added to the Educational Resources section.
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Other Activities of the Australian Wool Education Trust
In addition to managing the resources developed by both CRC's the Trust provides funding for a range of activities such as:
- Education programs for wool industry participants;
- Development of education programs about the Australian Wool Industry within primary and secondary schools; and
- Scholarships for students undergoing wool education within the VET sector.
Progress Reports
The Trust produces a summary report of its activities each year. These reports are intended to advise the organisations responsible for the appointment of Trustees about the Trust's activities during the calendar year. Copies of these can be downloaded using the links below.
2003
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
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Cooperative Research Centre Program
The Cooperative Research Centres Program (CRC Program) is an initiative of the Australian
Commonwealth Government , and was established in 1990.
The
CRCs bring together researchers from universities, CSIRO and other government laboratories,
and private industry or public sector agencies, in long-term collaborative arrangements, which
support research and development and education activities that achieve real outcomes of
national economic and social significance.
The program emphasises the importance of developing collaborative arrangements between
researchers and between researchers and research users in the private and public sector in
order to maximise the capture of the benefits of publicly funded research through an enhanced
process of commercialisation or utilisation by the users of that research.
The Australian Government awards between $20-40 million in funding to each CRC over a seven year period. This funding must be matched by cash and/or in-kind contributions (such as expertise and research facilities) from CRC participants.
The established CRCs cover many areas of natural science and engineering: manufacturing
technology, information and communications technology, mining and energy, agriculture and
rural based manufacturing, environment and medical science and technology.
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