Charles Darwin University

The origin of Charles Darwin University (CDU) can be traced back to 1989 when the territory's first university, the Northern Territory University, was established. It was the first dual-sector university in Australia that provided higher education as well as vocational training. In 2003, Charles Darwin University was formed under an act of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly by merging the Northern Territory University, the Northern Territory Rural College in Katherine, and Centralian College in Alice Springs, in collaboration with the Menzies School of Health Research. Currently, the university holds the membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL) and the Innovative Research Universities (IRU).

CDU has five campuses and three training centers across Australia. Located in Darwin's northern suburbs, Casuarina is CDU's largest campus. It is the main hub for Higher Education, Vocational Education and Training (VET), and Research programs. The campus offers numerous first-rate facilities like a huge library, wellness center, gym, bookshop, post office, comfortable accommodation, childcare services, and several cafes.

The Alice Spring campus is a major educational hub catering for domestic and international students in the town and in Central Australia’s remote communities. It houses a modern 85-seat lecture theatre, specialist IT classrooms, a clinical training laboratory for nursing, and a science laboratory for Higher Education. The Palmerston campus is situated near Palmerston city center and houses several VET business units and a modern library. The Katherine campus has two sites; Katherine Town Centre and Katherine rural campus. It provides excellent conference and accommodation facilities. The Sydney campus offers state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities, small class sizes, and easy access to teaching staff to ensure the best academic results possible.

The university offers an array of comprehensive courses in various fields such as accounting, culinary art, sports, social science, law, health, education, nursing, business, education, social work, IT, tourism, hospitality, and food, psychology, languages, design, and engineering. The university is home to over 21,000 students including around 2,000 foreign students from 55 countries and an excellent team of more than 700 distinguished faculty members.

The university has partnerships with many international universities across various countries like Austria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Germany, France, the USA, Canada, Japan, Norway, and Denmark. It also maintains collaborations with various organizations to provide students with practical training and industrial exposure. Further, it offers numerous Australian apprenticeships in 24 fields including business, agriculture, children's services, hairdressing, plumbing, construction, tourism, and hospitality.

CDU has produced many qualified and distinguished graduates over the years. Michael Gunner is the Northern territory's chief minister. Shellie Morris is a popular songwriter and singer. Natasha Griggs serves as the Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories. Vicki O'Halloran serves as the Northern Territory's 22nd administrator and used to be Somerville Community Services' CEO. Willy Telavi has served as Tuvalu's prime minister. Several well-known politicians like Lauren Moss, Peter Styles, and Andrew Laming are also alumni of the university.