The Queensland Architectural Practice Academy: a new model in industry-focused education

In the British/Australian contexts, five years of full-time education and two years of approved practical experience together prepare the graduate for the requirements of registration. In Australia, one of the two years of approved practical experience may be obtained during the five years of university study although few register in the allowable timeframe. In fact, in our local context of Queensland, research shows a situation of declining registrations. The path to registration is often not resolved within the minimum two-year period and there are impediments to the traditional processes of internship and mentoring by the architectural industry. This paper presents a study of the Queensland Architectural Practice Academy (APA) as a distinctive setting for the post-university education and for individual professional development of architectural graduates, towards registration and public service to the regional community. It is an initiative of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) and the Queensland State Government's Department of Public Works and a legacy of Australia's 2004 Year of the Built Environment and in collaboration with the universities. It embodies the values of Queensland's 'Smart State' Policy towards excellence in practice, working smarter and skilling professionals to serve the state wide regions. The APA each year takes in six graduates from Queensland universities for a two-year period of internship,, employment and training. At any one time, there are six junior and six senior interns and in pairs they cycle through practice-based roles as they build their competencies (within the framework prescribed by the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia). The graduates are supervised by the APA director and mentored by local practitioners. Initially supported by seed funding from the Queensland Government the APA is a not-for-profit but self-sustaining architectural practice with one third of projects and fees deriving from Government sponsored projects, one third from Public Corporations and one third from private clients. To date, APA interns have all successfully completed registration at the conclusion of their tenure. In addition to describing the contexts, frameworks and operations of the practice as both prototype and exemplar, this paper reflects on the broader applicability of the APA as a model of industry-focused cooperative postgraduate education in practice, and a regenerative process towards building the local profile and expertise of registered practitioners.