Podcast

Paul LeBlanc, the President of Southern New Hampshire University in the US, joins the HEDx podcast for a second part of his interview. He talks about his radical model of scalable higher education delivered by his staff who focus on the personal needs of their students. He draws from his recent book “Broken” to demonstrate the importance of his students and staff being seen and feeling they mattered.

Professor Paul Le Blanc is the President of Southern New Hampshire University and joins the HEDx podcast for the first episode of 2023. He outlines a philosophy that’s driven his institution and is influencing the sector to be truly distinctive by putting “Students First” which is the title of one of his two acclaimed books.

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.

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.

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.

Ian Dunn as Provost of Coventry University shares the secrets of success of the UK’s top younger university for graduate career prospects. He outlines how a UK university has gained a global reputation for innovation and creativity with a focus on student inclusion and success. He describes how it was achieved through innovative and strategic use of EdTech and a clear strategy to ensure students succeed and educators are free to experiment.

Duncan Maskell VC of Melbourne University shares his passion for the public good purpose of our universities and his thanks for the commitment of his staff to keeping the university going as he enters the fifth year of his tenure at Parkville. He outlines how the university is reconsidering what shape and size it wants to be in the future rather than passively responding to market demands. And outlines how the nature of future education will be explored in an agile way across disciplines by staff he intends to empower to experiment, innovate and translate.

University of Surrey, UK Vice Chancellor and President Max Lu shares his experiences of putting in place a transitionary 3-year strategy to traverse the combination of Brexit and pandemic recovery to address the student experience, increase research impact and build an operational platform for future growth, together with launching a focussed philanthropic campaign to raise funds to support equitable student access. Some parallels with his prior experience as Provost and DVC R at University of Queensland with lessons for leaders elsewhere.

Vice Chancellor at Charles Sturt University Professor Renee Leon reflects on her first year by contrasting leadership practices and culture between universities and the public service. She reflects on how what she has learnt from the public service can be applied to improve culture and leadership in universities and how she has brought this to bear on the turnaround of her university and its new strategy.

Australian Entrepreneur of the Year for 2022 Linda Brown as CEO of Torrens University Australia johns the HEDx podcast. She shares her thoughts on the opportunities for private universities in Australia and globally to utilise EdTech and partner with connected employers. She advocates Torren’s success in plugging the gap of industry relevant higher education for global customers, at scale.

The episode highlights her experience of having established Torrens as the first new greenfield university in Australia for many years. It has been our fastest growing for a decade and has come from nowhere to be the 4th largest provider of international education in Australia as a US-owned private institution.