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Aussie Apple conferences lose 2013 funding

The consortium behind a number of Apple conferences aimed at academics has had its funding cut, leaving its future uncertain.
Written by Michael Lee, Contributor

The Apple University Consortium (AUC) Australasia has had its funding cut, forcing the educational organisation to reassess its options.

The AUC helps academic and research staff at educational institutes to deploy, manage and use Apple products on campus. It also makes available "seeding equipment" to universities, so that they might evaluate Apple products. The organisation runs independently of Apple, although it does have Apple staff on its executive council in a non-voting capacity.

The decision to cut funding was made at the executive council's May 2012 meeting, with the AUC's funding set to halt on September 28, 2012.

In the past, the AUC has used the funding for training workshops and to host a number of developer conference programs. Programs for this year include the WWDC scholarship program, iOS workshops, X World, /dev/world and Wheels for the Mind.

These programs will continue to run this year, but how they will continue to be run without funding is an issue the organisation will have to address shortly. Members of the executive council have developed an Options Paper to help the AUC wind its operations up. AUC members have been asked to consider it ahead of the organisation's annual general meeting on September 28, the same day that funding ends.

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