Index
18 July 2011
74,000 RMIT students go Google
RMIT University is launching 74,000 students in five countries into the cloud, starting today.
They are joining more than 12 million users of Google Apps for Education worldwide. This solution delivers an impressive range of tools that make communicating and collaborating easier and more efficient.
RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO, said the move underlined the University's commitment to providing its students with the best technology to support their learning and research.
"From today, almost all RMIT students - whether studying in Australia, through our partner organisations in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and mainland China, or with Open Universities Australia - will have access to Google's educational service.
"They will be joined in two months by the 6,000 students on our two Vietnam campuses, underscoring RMIT's standing as a global university of technology and design."
Staff in Australia and Vietnam will be moved into the Google cloud in December and February, respectively. The solution is also planned for rollout to RMIT alumni.
RMIT's Executive Director of Information Technology Services, Brian Clark, said the new system signified a shift in the University's approach to the management of IT services, and the pace at which they were delivered. This solution was one of many to be rolled out as RMIT focused on transforming ICT for students and staff.
"Google Apps will deliver new facilities for students to communicate and interact with anyone, anywhere at anytime. The cornerstone is Gmail, Google's web-based email program which integrates with Google Calendar and Google Docs, among other online tools," Mr Clark said.
"These services are hosted online, where users will have access to 25GB email inboxes, voice and video chat and internal websites.
"Google is an industry leader in the provision of email and related services and has a thorough understanding of the needs of the education sector.
"We are excited to be able to deliver a solution that will not only improve, but potentially change, the way we learn and work."
More information is available at www.rmit.edu.au/googleapps.
For interviews: University Communications, David Glanz, (03) 9925 2807 or 0438 547 723.
