16th annual AVETRA Conference VET research at the edge - training for diversity and change

In April 2013 I attended the 16th annual AVETRA conference,enticingly entitled VET Research at the Edge: Training for Diversity and Change. As someone who until relatively recently engaged for the most part in research and with academic communities in the ‘north’in the UK, Europe and North America, the directive to “Book early!WA flights and Accommodation are in high demand” accompanied by an image of a beach of pure white sand edged by a turquoise sea and bounded by a deep blue sky, was indeed inviting. I had never been to that particular edge of Australia, facing the old trade shipping routes to the ‘north’. And the line-up of keynote speakers ranging from esteemed professors and educational consultants from North America, Europe and Australia and key leaders in the field of VET practice suggested a thought provoking mix of ideas and challenges for the sector. I booked my hotel and flight!