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ON CAMPUS sense . And I think I would offer a strong degree of understanding for these students . I don ’ t think that every student had their performance challenged by the situation . I ’ d like to think that the large majority of students could actually point to their results and say that the situation didn ’ t disadvantage them in terms of performance .
The overall health and wellbeing aspects that can come from the university experience and the very positive aspects that can come from relationships with peers and faculty were certainly challenged by COVID . The orientations didn ’ t really happen , or the meeting of the friends that you made in your first few weeks and you formed some lifelong friendships with , or the study groups that come together around exam times . That just couldn ’ t happen .
In terms of what we actually did to try and overcome that , we basically recognised the mental challenges the students were facing and took the opportunity to teach outside for a few weeks . We ’ ve got a lovely campus to enjoy the great weather in Brisbane . And I think being out and about in the trees and hearing the birds helped students see the campus in a way that promoted health during COVID and gave them that sense of belonging to something .
I think the challenge for us now is bringing about that camaraderie and mentorship to the fore in the online environment , because those technologies aren ’ t necessarily easy places in which to build those relationships between peers and faculty .
What will you , and by extension UQ , be doing to reengage your cohort , offer the best student-focused learning , and make for a more happy campus this year ? I always look back on my own student experience , which was sometimes successful , sometimes less so , from 25 years ago . But I remember that what was fun in class was what interested me and helped me to learn . So I think it ’ s going to be about trying to build meaning through connection for the students .
We ’ re going to have to move from that mass model of higher education to one which is more personalised and is going to fit with where the students are in their life . So I ’ m looking to build some pedagogical connections , putting together some assignments , which are going to be really meaningful in terms of having application in their work lives .
We ’ re bringing some team-based assignments where we have students doing strategic planning for contemporary organisations ; helping them build some bonds and take on some of those planning roles that they ’ re going to be implementing in the workforce . Another assignment is based on some podcast interviews with members of a fake organisation , and we ’ re also trying to use technology to build peer relationships and connections with faculty .
For the first time we ’ re using a Facebook group to help students communicate with staff and each other . And I ’ m doing some pretty corny Tik Tok videos , which are going to help some students get key messages in less than 66 in seconds .
As far as what UQ is doing we ’ re trying to build relationships with other segments of the education sector to refine courses so that they can meet the individual learning needs of our students . We ’ ve just come off of ready to teach week where we had high school teachers come in and give us some insights into the cohort that ’ s incoming , and I think that ’ s a really key thing to get a better insight into – who the student body is and what it is that ’ s actually going to motivate them and impact positively on their learning .
The university is doing some really positive emerging work around students with language difficulties .
I think overall , it ’ s a journey . By the end of it , I ’ d like to think we can build towards a more humanising system of tertiary education , more suited to the individual learning needs of students and providing them with a sense of meaning around who they are and who they might want to become .
Technology is obviously going to be an enabler of this , but we need to make sure it ’ s an enabler of personalisation in learning and not an enabler of efficiency . So as we continue to integrate the other analytics in our learning , I think that ’ s something that we are going to have to keep a close eye on .
We know that the traditional lecture looks like it could be gone or at least modified dramatically from now on . Do you think these changes to how universities offer education are here to stay ? I ’ ve got previous experience as a strategic manager in the not-for-profit sector , and the changes to government funding models which have disrupted the sector , particularly with the arrival of things like the NDIS and more client-focused models , is going to have a very similar impact on the university sector .
We ’ ve got to recognise that those new models are here to stay . I think COVID is going to be a wonderful opportunity to see some differentiation in the sector .
We ’ ve got 30-plus universities in Australia . And more or less , they offer a comprehensive degree . They have very little ability to differentiate on price . If you look at the mission statements and goals of Australian universities , it is very challenging to be able to tell them apart . So this gives us a chance to get some level of diversification . Are we going to see the rise of a massified online degree at a low price , for example , or what about universities which focus on a specific type of degree ? Our own version of MIT , is that going to be possible ? Are universities going to start to look at the campus as a liability or will some take the chance to reinvigorate their campus experience ?
I think the sector has a real chance to put together some new offerings for students that are going to really suit who the students are and where they are at in terms of their lives .
I don ’ t anticipate returning to an old face-to-face model for us . It might be a hybrid online / face-to-face experience . I think with the job losses it ’ s facing it ’ s going to be difficult for the sector to go back to that old model . So while that offers opportunity , we ’ re going to need to be cautious . In terms of our approach , we ’ ve got obviously smaller numbers of staff taking on the workloads of colleagues who have left the sector . And we ’ ve got students who deserve a positive student experience based on their student needs .
I ’ ve had ups and downs in my career and the dance can feel all consuming . In the sector which is changing , and the cohort having those incredible range of stresses on the health and wellbeing front , I think maintaining that emphasis on enjoying learning can make a really great contribution to the health and wellbeing and workforce readiness of our young people .
Hopefully we will see Gen Z coming out the other side of what ’ s really a very challenging set of circumstances . ■
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