By APS Academy Campus team, Donna Regan
The APS Academy Campus Experience
The APS Academy Campuses are a key element of the Australian Public Services (APS)’s push to build a data and digital talent pipeline from regional Australia. Located at the University of Newcastle and James Cook University in Townsville, the campuses provide APSC-managed, supervised, dedicated workspaces for cadets to work part-time with agencies while studying. Upon graduation they move to fulltime work.
For agencies, the model is simple. The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) manages recruitment, matching applicants’ skills and interests with agency needs. Agencies then have a talented, keen data/digital undergraduate working part time. When they finish university, you have a well experienced and capable full time data/digital professional working for you. For cadets, tailored data or digital skill development programs and real-world APS work, complement university education and working alongside their APS peers from a range of agencies within a collaborative, learning-focused environment located at their university makes sense and is convenient.
APS Academy Campus Hackathon
In August, APS Academy Campuses cadets came together for the annual Campus Project Day. This year’s challenge was: How might we use artificial intelligence to improve the user experience of the Australian Government Style Manual?
The day is an opportunity for cadets based at APS Academy Campuses to step outside their day-to-day roles and focus on collaboration and problem solving by using their data/digital backgrounds and building skills in agile and human centred design. ‘It was a great opportunity to take a step back from my technical role and gain experience in project methodologies and management’ one cadet reflected. ‘After the day, I furthered my technical skills in a domain unfamiliar to me, developing a prototype, which I later delivered at the project day showcase.’
Working in mixed-agency teams, cadets spend the day identifying user needs, brainstorming possible solutions before arriving at a desired solution. This year’s AI focus added a new layer of challenge as well as anticipation. With AI gaining momentum across the public sector the cadets rolled up their sleeves, eager to explore its potential to address real business needs which, in this case, was a tool which could be used by more than 180,000 public servants.
For some, Project Days are their first real dive into agile project frameworks. ‘I hadn’t been exposed to agile before,’ one cadet said as they reflected on the 2024 event. ‘But working with others from agencies like the ATO and Services Australia, we developed a framework and Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (RACI) chart to scaffold the implementation of a ‘Show and Tell’ concept to improve remote collaboration. It was a great learning experience.’
Building job ready data and digital Australian public servants
After the Campus Project Day cadets continued to develop their workgroup’s top voted idea to pitch to supervisors, campus sponsors, and senior executives at a Showcase event. As one cadet said ‘What I found most valuable was learning how to present solutions—simplifying your idea, outlining a clear path to implementation, and thinking about how to get buy-in from senior leaders. I think this experience has given a lot of clues on how to best achieve that buy-in’
In addition to technical learning, cadets gain experience in collaboration, leadership, and communication. As one cadet said ‘As a digital cadet at an Academy Campus I have been able to experience many opportunities that otherwise I may not have been able to …. working with other cadets with varying skill sets at Campus Project Days was influential in developing my thought process and skillset.’
Campuses – A win for the APS
From the APS perspective, the Campus model is a ‘win-win’. Agencies gain access to a ready pool of skilled digital talent without stretching internal resources, boosting critical workforce skills. Regional Australians gain a pathway into meaningful public service careers, without leaving their community, contributing to a modern and diverse APS workforce which reflects the Australian citizens it serves.
Campus Project Day fosters enduring benefits to the APS by building skills that go beyond the technical, fostering leadership, adaptability, and critical thinking and thereby building the next generation of data and digital leaders.
If you’d like to find out more about APS Academy campuses, contact the team.