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Navigating uncharted waters
Launching the good ship ‘ opportunity ’ for higher education .
By Martin Betts
Working in and around Australian universities in 2020 is certainly different ! And most of the commentators are speculating that 2021 will be even tougher . Or will they be times of opportunity ? And how do we ensure we give equal attention to both sides of that coin ?
Some university leaders will say that “ we had a pandemic in our risk register ”. But if we did , had we given as much thought to how we would be finding new revenue streams as reducing expenditure ? And where are we up to right now in pursuing both , in a balanced way that ensures that what survives is positioned and shaped to thrive ?
The system of managing , leading , governing , working and studying in universities is like being on a supertanker . They have largely remained unchanged for decades in speed , direction and trajectory . This is despite many commentating on the way the winds , waves and tides of digital disruption , industry engagement and lifelong learning have been flowing .
The hulls and bridges of supertankers are hard places to be . We , and more so the world that watches us , see them as slow and cumbersome to redirect towards calm water and new ports .
Well , the times of casual and speculative commentary , from the sundeck or shore , are surely over . It ’ s time to sink or swim . And when water is pouring in there are two choices as I see them . Bail out the water or plug the holes . Preferably both of course .
Most universities in Australia right now are hard at work in planning , communicating and preparing for steps to take to reduce expenditure in what is left of 2020 , and into 2021 . They have shelved capital plans , slashed travel and consulting budgets , established the extent to which enterprise agreements can be varied , and are now developing short-term plans for sustainability – largely by cutting jobs .
These plans are focused on what teaching and learning offerings to cut or streamline because they don ’ t pay for themselves , fulfil institutional mission , or build reputation , and what research activities are either loss-making , or not quality-enhancing in terms of rankings , engagements and partnerships . There is also the long overdue removal of duplication in professional service provision between centre and the academic heartlands .
Two thoughts come to mind . Isn ’ t this shifting deckchairs on cruisers that long went out of fashion . And , why weren ’ t we all doing this operational optimisation anyway ?
But will cutting costs get us where we need to be on the voyage ahead ? Most of the plans give a nod to the idea of new revenue streams and transformation .
Having moved all courses online in a week in March , there appears to now be the ubiquitous commitment to create digital campuses , whatever they are . They look like replications of physical ones to me . We can do better than that .
The discounted micro-credentials called for by government have had most of us sign up , because we had to . They lose money . And the previous commitments to philanthropy and industry engagement are being revisited for how seriously impacted personal wealth and corporate health can be tapped by universities .
But the paucity in agility and innovative thinking , due to the lack of a burning platform for decades , has left our contingency plans under-developed for transformation and growing revenue . They are an as yet unrealised opportunity that is out there , to be discovered , now .
Education and re-skilling have never been more needed , by a population that ’ s has never had more time on their hands , or experience in digital engagement . Science is being respected again , by people whose hope for the future lies in labs and clinical trials .
We are seeing value in health knowledge , and humanities expertise , as personal , family and community priorities . Regional National Party senators are becoming champions of social work for goodness sake . And our corporate base needs help with innovation and reshaping more than ever .
Now has to be the time to lift our heads and to launch the opportunity to build new revenue streams . The water will keep coming in unless we fill the holes . Bravery and boldness are called for to redirect resources planned for physical campuses for ever-growing numbers of international students , to direct towards generating ideas , products and services for new revenue streams , and to suit new needs and priorities . Never has the expression ‘ all hands to the pump ’ seemed so apt .
The smartest survivors of the current tempest will surely be those that not only launch the lifeboats to save the crew and passengers , but also steer the ship to calmer waters . Let ’ s bless them and all that sail in them . ■
Professor Martin Betts is the former DVC Engagement at Griffith University and led the Science and Engineering Faculty at QUT for 11 years .
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