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VC ’ s corner you ’ d think about doing offshore or transnational arrangements where you partner up with institutions and offer dual degrees or dual programs , or have your own campuses as we have in Singapore and deliver programs there .
I think that ’ s quite possible . It ’ s not about how many students you do . You ’ ve got to just do a good job . We wouldn ’ t want to trade off quantity for quality . We all know if you have very big online courses , generally student satisfaction is challenged in those areas . Also , quite frankly , the revenue goes down .
It comes down to the right touch you give , that human touch or face-to-face versus online , and that ’ s a very different experience . Our university has made the decision that we don ’ t want to be purely online . We believe that you want to offer blended education . That could be online lectures followed by face-to-face tutorials , or could be in block mode where people go and do some work on their own for a period of time and then come to the campus for intensive sessions . It could be a week , it could be a month , depending on the course .
Where are you up to in resetting the university for the future and charting its strategy for the period ahead ? One of the challenges for Australian universities is how to be distinct . We all are funded by the Commonwealth under the same business model ; we ’ re all subject to the same visa regulations . So , it is pretty much a homogenous business model . You may do a bit more of this and a bit less of that , but overall , the rewards in the system and incentives are the same for all the players . So , how do you differentiate yourself ?
We ’ ve tried to look at who we are in terms of what we can offer , and we ’ ve made a commitment , because we do work with industry and are one of the more engaged players in the commercialisation of research . It ’ s more about , I think , the translation . It ’ s about partnering . In the end , the employer hires our graduates , and we ’ re happy . That ’ s a form of translation , rather than a cheque being written to the university .
We ’ re focused on an outstanding student experience . What we want to be is attractive to students who want to get the very best education experience . Part of that is also to serve our region . We are in the Hunter and the Central Coast , so how do we make sure that community is best served by a university ? Be it providing employees of the future so people can literally live and work in the region , and also help businesses to survive and thrive , as well as also supporting local government , state government , even federal government to achieve certain things .
The Hunter has a big resources economy , but it ’ s also got an Air Force base here at Williamtown . So , that provides a huge opportunity to interact with the Royal Australian Air Force in terms of helping them train , but also in terms of research and development opportunities for our engineering faculty in aerospace . So , there ’ s things that we have to tailor for our local area and our local region to be relevant to them . That ’ s where you can actually really differentiate .
What ’ s your new strategy called ? It ’ s called Looking Ahead , which reflects the motto of the university : ‘ I look ahead ’. It ’ s a strategic plan for the next five years . It kicked off last year . We literally launched it the week before we went into lockdown , but nevertheless , we ’ re still executing on it . The two pillars are the outstanding student experience in serving our communities , and we ’ ve got initiatives around indigenous students , life ready graduates .
We ’ re trying to re-imagine our campuses to be both physical and digital . We also have an Asia Pacific focus , and we ’ ve chosen some priorities where we ’ re engaging directly in areas where we think we can make a difference for our community .
For example , better , healthier living , and what we call next generation resources , growing industries that are already here , and connecting to the communities . We obviously provide education for doctors and teachers , and we also provide education for lawyers and accountants who are all living here in the Hunter . Our view is that we want to engage with those communities to grow them professionally and have that connection back to the university .
How important is engaging with your staff and student communities to realising the strategy ? One of the other aspects of the strategic plan is an element called ‘ inspiring our
One of the challenges for Australian universities is how to be distinct .
people ’. We ’ ve identified four values that everybody in the university aligns to , staff and students , and they are excellence , equity , engagement and sustainability . What we try to do with our programs of culture is to reinforce those things while trying to deliver on the programs mentioned earlier . We can ’ t do it without inspiring our great staff and students here at the university .
One of the challenges of inspiring our people during tough times has been coupled with the financial difficulties everyone in the sector has faced . Universities had to find $ 33 million of savings , and that ’ s led to some reductions in jobs . When you ’ re doing that , inspiring people can be a challenge .
People are saying , ‘ Why are you having to downsize when you ’ re at the same time trying to move the organisation forward ?’ What we ’ ve tried to do is say , ‘ Okay , let ’ s move forward in the areas that we think are the important and emerging areas . What are going to be the courses and what research is going to be more important in the years ahead ?’ We ’ re still being guided by the strategy , while at the same time acknowledging that we ’ re actually moving through a period of change . For us , looking ahead has also been a bit of a lighthouse or a compass to help guide us as we made some of these tough decisions .
Are you actually enjoying the challenge of being a VC at a leading university right now ? Absolutely . As someone said , some days are diamonds , some days are stone , and you do have your ups and downs . Overall , it ’ s a wonderful institution serving a fantastic region . There ’ s great people here , both students and staff , and yes , like any family , you have you your good times and your bad times , and we ’ ve got to get through the bad times so we can really enjoy the good times . I ’ m very proud and feel very honoured to be part of the University of Newcastle . ■
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