VC ’ s corner campusreview . com . au we have a vice-chancellor , and that enables us , firstly , to have a very dynamic management context in the sense that we continuously have a first-hand focus on the broader strategy , the overall institutional governance , and the running of the business aspects of the organisation .
On the other side , you have full-time focus on the academic and research part . We can continuously make sure that we have that day-to-day attention to this , and then the synergy existing between these two positions enables us to move in a very dynamic manner to make effective decisions , to make sure that we support each other from both worlds and are continuous , and linked to that , of course , we have a strong executive focusing on this .
We have our own governing board in Australia . In other words , we have short lines of decision-making and effective governance directly linked to the executive management , and we then have our link , of course , to our owners in the US . We have all the relationships in terms of the NASDAQ ownership and all those things . So , we have to manage those relationships , but the fact that we organised ourselves in a different way enables us to move faster , plus there is the advantage that we started off with a strategy , we developed our brand around this strategy , which enables us in this context to grow faster .
You will have heard the minister talk about moving from onshore international students to more offshore and online students . Is that something you think Torrens is particularly well placed to respond to and lead the sector in ? I do believe we are very well positioned in that space . Being part of the Laureate international university network enabled us to function on an international basis over a long period of time , and develop very sound practices around that and an understanding of the international market . So , like most other universities , we have a strong onshore basis , but at the same time we also have a very strong offshore involvement already , and that enabled us to develop our delivery models and develop our practice and approach effectively . It enabled us to develop a whole range of partnerships internationally which we work with , plus a well-developed international network of agents representing the institution in the market .
We understand that in the era of the fourth industrial revolution , the world is changing . Lifelong learning is looking different , and people are talking differently in terms of skills and human development . How do we bring business education and online delivery together and make sure that we can scale the competencies we have as institution to the extent that we can reach much wider ? Our whole approach is about continuing to grow this balance between domestic and offshore , local and international , and our intention is to be involved globally . This is our focus .
The minister ’ s position of making sure that you strengthen the Australian base we have here , but find your students internationally , is absolutely our strategy . We continue to develop in both areas . We have the capacity , and we always say and we always refer with appreciation to the long development path that we had with Laureate and the capacity that we could develop . And for that reason , we think we can claim that we can play a leading role in that whole process .
What is your ambition for research at Torrens , and how are you going about realising that research vision ? This is one of the extremely exciting parts of my involvement with Torrens . As a young institution , we ’ re busy building our own research tradition . We ’ re committed to the idea of contributing to society and making a difference , and for that reason , our research serves this purpose as well .
We focus very much on developing research teams , because as a young institution you also grow your staff profile , and you have a significant percentage of young researchers and new researchers entering this space . You have to use the expertise that you have well . So bringing people together in the research space is very important to us .
Secondly , of course , collaboration is fundamentally important to us . We want to make sure that we continuously function in networks , that we contribute in networks , and that we do not try to repeat things that have been done already . We want to participate in leading the process in the space of collaboration .
The next thing is that we focus our research well . We have four key research themes ; the first is that societies are in drastic change . We understand that if you have massive fires in Australia , or you
Higher education is a common good , and we have to make sure that we align with the national strategy .
have COVID across the world , or if you have the fourth industrial revolution , those things are critical in society , and we need to understand that as higher education institutions in order to contribute in that space , we also need to assist in the understanding and development on that basis . So , we moved radically beyond the idea of producing research reports . We also get involved in ways that we can make that difference .
The second theme that we have is preparing organisations and people for change and impact in society . So , how do we support the development of organisations ? How do we support the development of our students , but also the staff of our collaborating organisations to prepare them to be more ready and prepared to make a difference in the society and environment they function in ?
The third thing is developing health systems and solutions to ensure human wellbeing . And the next one is security and sustainability in the process of change . There are four wide definitions , but it aligns well with the sustainability goals , and it aligns well with clear priorities worldwide . Based on this , we then have a clear understanding that , firstly , we need to drive our strategy consistently . We need to make sure that we also mobilise enough grant funding to ensure that we can enhance our activities .
We want to make sure that we continue to deliver high-quality output and impact . Thought leadership is important for us . If people come to us and say , ‘ We want to fly to the moon ,’ we say , ‘ We probably don ’ t fly to the moon , but we do other things well . We can talk about that .’
We have innovation from invention . In other words , as we develop the inventions , how do we translate that into innovation and how does that lead to potential commercialisation ? Our commitment on the research is very much based on strategy , very much linked to our relationship and commitment to society at large , and very much based on consistent collaboration , partnership , and building staff capacity . ■
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