The Cotton CRCD's Cotton Production Course was specifically designed to provide Australian cotton industry personnel with a university course that covered the crop science and natural resource management specific to modern, sustainable cotton production. The Cotton CRC effectively encourages a partnership between the research and industry expertise of Cotton CRC participants and the educational expertise of The University of New England and The University of Sydney within their agricultural awards. This relationship has brought benefits to industry, the universities involved and especially the course participants, the students. Students gain: internationally recognised tertiary qualifications; an integrated education framework, a professional yet commercially independent information and curriculum, awareness of the latest reputable research; industry relevance; and a strong networking experience in the Australian cotton industry. Industry gains: better qualified and educated personnel; an excellent avenue to extend research to those most likely to use it; and a platform to encourage industry leaders in production, business and research. The universities gain the street credibility and recent knowledge that industry researchers and experts bring to the unit manuals and the classroom. The positives of this partnership are well recognised by the students in evaluations that praise the residential schools that form the core of the externally delivered units. The cotton units are delivered through the University of New England. Students complete the Cotton Production units as internal undergraduates or as full-time cotton personnel studying by correspondence (i.e. as external students, studying off-campus). External students usually complete one unit per semester commonly towards a Diploma of Agriculture, Degree in Agriculture/Rural Science, Graduate Certificate of Rural Science, or Masters of Agriculture. There are many other awards that the cotton units can contribute to, even a course work PhD, but virtually all students so far have used them for Certificate, Diploma, Graduate Certificate or Masters awards. For example, a student completing the cotton production units at graduate level will receive a Graduate Certificate in Rural Science (Cotton Production) . Students choose whether to have their major in cotton production acknowledged on the testamur since it tends to brand them as a specialist.

Internally enrolled (on-campus) students are able to enrol in the first unit of the cotton production course (Applied Cotton Production) at The University of New England, The University of Sydney or The University of Queensland as part of their agriculture, science, natural resource management, economics, or agbusiness degrees. This allows students of agriculture at three major Australian universities to learn about the Australian cotton industry before they graduate to fill positions in agriculture. Approximately thirty university students complete the Applied Cotton Production unit each year in this way. Reaching soon-to-be graduates with positive messages about primary production is a very important aspect of the Cotton Production Course project under the prevailing climate of extremely low interest in careers in the sciences and particularly agriculture.

Comments from two participants graduating 2012.

"The UNE Cotton Production Course has assisted me by being able to apply the science behind cotton production to the paddock. Compared to my under-graduate study, the UNE Cotton Production Course was highly specific to my work as an agronomist." Tom Webb

"Bringing together scientific theory with practical applications in the paddock. The Systems

unit was also a particularly good way to bring together the learning from the earlier units of

the course. The presentation skills and also project at the end of this unit were a good

transition into putting the skills learned into a workplace situation." Helen Crossley