Campus Review Vol 30. Issue 05 | May 2020 | Seite 24

VC’s corner
campusreview.com.au
Torrens University vice-chancellor
Professor Alwyn Louw. Photo: Supplied.
Campus Review spoke with Louw to find
out more about his plans for Torrens and
his ideas on the future of higher education.
CR: Can you take us through your higher ed
background in South Africa, and how you
came to be VC at Torrens?
A fundamental shift
New Torrens VC discusses
his vision for the institution
and the changing role of
higher education in society.
Alwyn Louw interviewed by Richard Garfield
S
tarting any new job can be
challenging at the best of times, but
thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic,
new Torrens University vice-chancellor
Professor Alwyn Louw has taken over the
reins at a particularly interesting juncture for
the education sector.
However, it’s plain to see Torrens is in
very safe hands. Louw brings with him
decades of experience in higher education
management in his native Africa, including
terms as president of the university and
academic president at Monash South Africa,
22
deputy vice-chancellor (academic and
research) at Vaal University of Technology
(South Africa), and vice-principal at the
University of South Africa (Unisa).
In addition to the challenges posed
by COVID-19, Louw speaks passionately
during our conversation about the fact that
we are at an education “crossroads”, with
changes in the world of work and training
meaning higher education must be “very
careful in defining and redefining itself” in
our post‑industrial age.
For him, the recent upsurge in online
learning has simply brought forward a
trend that has been taking place for some
time, one that will see a fundamental
change in the way people engage with
higher education.
“I do believe that students in future will
not go to campuses to collect information
anymore. They will go for a special
experience,” he says.
AL: I was born in Namibia and then went
for higher education to South Africa. I
combined quite a number of years in
studying, working, and then ultimately after
I’d been in the business world, I moved
back into higher education.
I’ve been in higher education now for
about 36 years: about 17 years in executive
education, between 10 and 15 years in
executive management, and between 10
and 15 years in senior management.
So I’ve come a long way. In South Africa,
I was involved in business education. I was
also a vice-principal of the University of
South Africa (Unisa), which is one of the
mega universities in the world, and then
progressively moved into private higher
education for between five and six years in
South Africa.
Then the opportunity became
available at Torrens, because I was part
of the Laureate network in South Africa.
Plus I’d been working with Monash
University, which was one of the owners
of Monash South Africa, for more than
five years.
The opportunity arose in Australia, and
when it was offered, I considered it an
interesting opportunity to get involved in
this part of the world.
You’ve recently hit 90 days in your role at
Torrens. Can you give us a quick overview
of your impression of the university, and
where it sits in the sector, both locally and
internationally?
My immediate impression of Torrens is
that it’s an institution that in a short period
of time has succeeded in establishing itself
very effectively, in the sense that in five
years it has positioned itself as a credible
institution and has positioned itself on
the level of market recognition, which is
absolutely unique, both for domestic and
international students.
I think the spectrum of qualifications
being offered is an indication of the
innovative spirit and the innovative
orientation of the institution.
I find the institution entrepreneurial. I
find it visionary and ready to move and
continuously understand what is happening