A great trigger to many successful businesses and start-ups, including in the technology and education fields, arises from founders and innovators with a strong personal passion driven by their formative experiences. Such a foundation for entrepreneurship is often complemented by how these experiences shape approaches to leadership.
Have we got the policy settings, and all the institutions we need, for the outcomes and headline goals the report is setting? Or is there much more we could learn about real change from other sectors and continuing and ongoing insights from more diverse, best practice global higher education innovation?
There are few and scarce examples of how we could intentionally get to a different university model for the future by starting again and creating wholly new, differentiated, student focussed, globally relevant learning providers. These would be intentional and driven by metrics of student engagement, completion rates and of what graduates go on to achieve in leadership and future study. These go beyond immediate graduate employment rates and starting salaries. Our measures of suitability for a changing future might be better served by status in innovation than historical reputation in research rankings and prestige.
The interim report of the Australian Universities Accord is in the hands of the Minster, and we await its unveiling. I wonder what we will say when we see it? There is an argument that the emergence of technology, particularly generative AI, offers the same range of prospects.
The SkillsFuture initiative in Singapore is a globally leading example of industry, government and higher and further education institutions working together to plan for and deliver the lifelong learning strategy of a nation.
Many Australian Universities appear to be in short-term financial crisis right now. The perfect storm of soft domestic demand, slowly returning international students, impacted investment income, and rising costs are all combining to make financial pictures the most challenging for some time.
Japan and parts of Europe including Italy, Germany and Spain, have been the first societies to experience what has become a global phenomenon, now even more pronounced in South Korea and Thailand, of rapidly declining birth rates.
What would happen if universities built upon the success of DORA and went further? What if, together, they opted out of participating in university rankings?
This op-ed summarises a HEDx submission to the Universities Accord. It advocates a manifesto to change higher education for good.
This op-ed summarises a HEDx submission to the Universities Accord. It advocates a manifesto to change higher education for good.
© 2024 HEDx. Website built by cartercarter.com.au
