Professor Andrew Parfitt as Vice Chancellor of UTS shares his vision for the research and innovation ecosystem and the unanswered questions facing us all about lifelong learning as a Universities Accord and ARC Review process get underway.
Our 40 or so Australian universities are not unlike those in other parts of the world in having distinct histories and legacies that shaped their evolution but are now parts of systems that have encouraged them to be more alike.
Professor Nick Klomp VC of CQU and President of the Regional University Network tells the story of the development of the only dual-sector institution in Queensland from a regional base in Rockhampton with a physical and virtual footprint around Australia and beyond. He argues passionately for the importance of teaching students in the region to stay in the region and about the role of a university in regional communities.
Public funding for higher education globally has almost certainly peaked as budget repair becomes widespread. The escape valve of endlessly increasing international student fee revenue might be closed permanently in Australia.
Until the recent global pandemic, university leaders had been engaging their institutions in developing strategic plans to define their niche and relevancy in a highly competitive higher education market. Different strategies were needed to find new sources of revenue to compensate for decreased government funding.
So how does a modern entrant make their mark in a system with a traditional way of operating and how would we measure their achievement?
Associate Professor Jack Wang of UQ was Australian University Teacher of the Year in 2020. He outlines 7 phases of teaching innovation in Australian universities that he believes have left us in “no mans land” as students decline to join staff in empty lecture theatres. He shares the lessons of being a student and teacher in those 20 years for those facing the hybrid learning future.
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