Education pioneer Rod Jones receives Lifetime Achievement Award

We’d like to congratulate international education pioneer and Navitas founder Rod Jones on being awarded the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Lifetime Achievement Award.

In the time since Mr Jones founded Navitas in 1994, enrolment of international students in Australia has grown from less than 100,000 to 600,000. Navitas runs colleges abroad for Curtin University (in Singapore), Murdoch University (Dubai) and the Australian College of Business and Technology (Sri Lanka) and also partners with universities in Australia and New Zealand (15), the UK and Europe (13) and North America (11).

Judges for the AFR award said Mr Jones had shown an “unwavering commitment to education while working outside the safety of public education.”

Education leaders around the country, including Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan, joined together to acknowledge Mr Jones’ service to the sector in a tribute video that can be viewed at the bottom of this story.

Mr Jones had originally taken Navitas public in 2004, before being part of a consortium this year featuring BGH Capital, Australian Super and Canadian pension funds, which re-purchased the company and took it private again.

“Education can’t be sold like a product aimed at short-term goals when kids and parents need long-term outcomes,” Mr Jones told the AFR.

Cannings Purple Managing Director Warrick Hazeldine said Mr Jones and Navitas were genuine education success stories.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to know Rod for a number of years – and his commitment to students, education and Navitas is beyond question,” Mr Hazeldine said.

“To start a company in Perth and grow it internationally, while also providing a quality education for many thousands of students, is a tremendous accomplishment.

“This Lifetime Achievement Award is very much fitting recognition for all Rod’s efforts.”