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Africa , and so forth . So there is a big positive side and it did mean that universities reached out more to the Asia-Pacific region , and built partnerships . So there was a plus side to it , but the reduction of revenues from international students has forced universities to rethink how they ’ re going to fund themselves in the future .
You ’ ve got to remember that universities are this country ’ s biggest non-mining export , and yet when it came to JobKeeper , the universities applied for support and it was rejected , though it was given to the likes of hairdressers and God knows what else .
That told me that the universities are going to have to rethink the relationship they have with particularly this coalition government . So the government has to find a new language , a new way of arguing their case with a university , which kind of has a view of universities as being elitist . There is a view that they teach too much of the humanities , which is at times provoking debates around issues which they ’ re not terribly sympathetic to , and that universities are not necessarily supplying the kind of service that the coalition thinks they ought to perform .
Government is pretty hostile to universities . Alan Tudge has told them that they ’ ve got to commercialise more , which is moving them out of the , as it were , public sector and pushing them more towards a private sector approach . So there are some really big issues facing universities , and how they respond is very much in the making right now . I don ’ t think any university is quite clear about how to go forward .
A number of universities concluded quite big strategic reviews of what they were doing during 2018 , 2019 , and early 2020 , and all of those are now out of date . So we are really turning a fresh page here in terms of where next for universities , and that makes it actually quite interesting , but also quite challenging .
Do you believe universities need to focus far more on these different course offerings and different delivery modes to strengthen their perceived value , not only to government but also to maintain public trust and a sense of having a social licence ? I do think that the bonds between universities and wider civic society , which pays taxes that support universities , have really weakened or in some cases are broken . Universities are going to have to rethink their central purpose , and one of those is the courses they teach .
I think universities are really rethinking quite radically what those offerings will be . A lot of them will be increasingly now online and digital . You ’ ll see more and more universities saying you don ’ t even have to turn up at the university . There are these new short courses , which will be the equivalent of top-up degrees or short micro credentials , which will help you with your career development .
I think there ’ ll be more specialism coming along . So for example , ANU , I think , is moving away from undergraduates and more towards post-graduates and research . You ’ ve then got other universities like RMIT moving much more into skills , trades and those kind of offerings . Then you ’ ve got the university I ’ m with , Monash . It is highly geared towards research and earns a lot of income through its research discoveries and patents , but also it is engaging more and more with local communities .
There ’ s a big project I ’ m involved in here on the future of Melbourne in terms of the fact that fewer people will be going to work in the CBD , and how that ’ s going to affect and change the way the city operates .
Melbourne University is going to one of the most disadvantaged areas of Melbourne , Broadmeadows , and is looking at all aspects of that community in terms of its transport , housing , health , and justice systems , and trying to build a new infrastructure that would work better for that suburb .
So there ’ s a real attempt and engagement there . At Monash there is a real commitment from the vice chancellor down to it being a truly global university , and it is already probably one of the best connected universities in Australia .
I think you ’ re going to see more of that . Mark Scott going to the University of Sydney is a very interesting development as well in terms of universities pivoting and changing how they engage with civic society .
The appointment of Mark Scott has really signalled a shift in the industry . Do you think other universities will follow with non-academic appointments in the future ? He was editorial director at Fairfax in 2004 . In 2006 , he moved to become the managing director of the ABC , so Mark really does know his way around the media , both the content side but also media management and media strategy .
When he was at the ABC he became the head and public face . He had to face up to senate inquiries and hearings about his budget and his performance .
So he ’ s very used to dealing with the political class in Canberra , and really has earned his stripes in terms of a political operator and manager , but going to University of Sydney I think was a bit of a surprise externally , but from what I understand internally , he was by far the best candidate when it came to the interviews . He is a very polished speaker , he can articulate very clearly a vision , I think , or a mission for the university . What he doesn ’ t have is , of course , the academic background , and I can tell you that in the case of a number of universities , not having an academic or research background would disqualify you from even getting onto a long list or a short list at the university .
I think Mark brings the ability to articulate very quickly what the University of Sydney is about , what its strengths are , how to project itself , and to do so in a language – and this is absolutely critical – which is not PR or hype , but it actually is a very confident way of presenting the modern university to civic society , but also to the political masters and funders from government . And by that , I mean the department of education , but also the cabinet minister responsible for universities .
He is somebody who I think will really be able to present the university strongly , and frankly , that ’ s where many universities have fallen down because they have vice chancellors who are good academics or maybe good researchers , but frankly they ’ ve never run a big public corporation or entity , and nor have they got the political skills to actually deal with government of the day .
I ’ m told by somebody who sat in on the panel that he was head and shoulders above the other candidates , and where he does have some weaknesses , I believe , and I ’ m only speaking because I know Mark reasonably well , I think he will pick up any issues that he ’ s not really clearly across very quickly and be able to prosecute that in a very positive way for the university .
Plus , also he ’ s a good listener , and I think that ’ s half of the issue of being a vice chancellor is listening to your deans , listening to the key people across the university , and then projecting a well-honed message externally . ■
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