VC’s corner
campusreview.com.au
He urged Australian universities to learn a lesson from
the inaction of its UK counterparts: get on the front foot. “If
universities do not change, and the world does, we may forever
remain a problem child or – probably worse – become irrelevant,”
he said.
Galbraith spoke with Campus Review in advance of his speech
to unpack some of the complex, global themes he will address.
CR: You raise two key things happening at the moment that are
affecting the world and in turn affecting universities: the rise of
populism and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. How are they
affecting universities specifically?
GG: For generations, universities have been seen as very much
trusted institutions. In recent years, however, the rise of market
forces within higher education, combined with the kind of
political changes we have seen following on from the financial
crash, has meant that many people are questioning universities
and maybe in their minds questioning some of our motivations
for the things that we do.
There is no doubt that universities are really good at responding
to their own business needs and doing a fantastic job, but I think
we need to now do more than that. We need to rediscover our
role, if you like, as enabling institutions for society.
Staying
relevant
Photo: Portsmouth University
Universities and the rise of populism,
the Fourth Industrial Revolution and
the risk of becoming irrelevant.
Graham Galbraith interviewed by Loren Smith
R
ecently Theresa May urged her party to unite despite
divergent views on Brexit. Glaswegian Professor Graham
Galbraith has a similarly broad, communal message for
Australian universities: think big, together.
In Perth to deliver the 2018 Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished
Oration at Edith Cowan University, like the UK PM, the vice-
chancellor of Portsmouth University initially uttered the much-
maligned ‘B’ word.
“You will be delighted that I don’t intend to focus on Brexit
itself,” he assured the audience. Instead, he explored its causes
in the context of his lengthy speech, ‘Universities are central to
societies’ future success – but only if we learn some lessons’.
How is the UK’s separation from the European Union relevant
to Australian higher education? Galbraith says it is indicative
of the social and economic change sweeping through the
Western world, resulting in troubled democracies, which in turn
impact universities.
The two big changes are the rise of populism and the Fourth
Industrial Revolution.
In addition to socioeconomic ills affecting universities,
Galbraith argued that universities have a responsibility to
help tackle them. “It would be wholly wrong to think it is only
politicians’ responsibility to address the problems our societies
face,” he said.
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You talk about what’s happened in the UK – for example, Brexit –
and you link it to Australia, in that we’ve had some political turmoil,
but obviously Australia is different to Britain. We seem not to have
such deep class divides, and populist parties don’t have as much
support as they seem to in other parts of the world. Given that, is
Australia a little more immune than Britain from these issues?
I don’t think anybody is immune from any of those issues, and
I think that, often, things that happen in Britain follow around the
world in places like Australia and vice versa actually. I think there
has been a period of time when rules opened up in Australia for
immigration and the like, and there are some forces rethinking
that. There were, of course, some issues in Australia in the past in
relation to Indian students being told to go home and things like
that, and it caused some challenges for Australian universities.
It would be complacent to think these things can never happen
in Australia, and in many ways, what I’m trying to say is there
may be lessons learned, things to look out for and be aware
of, because what’s happening in Britain is certainly reflected in
the whole of Europe, where there is a rise of populism, and in
America, where there is a rise of populism with Donald Trump. I
think it is a reaction to a divided society, and it may well be less
marked in Australia, but I think it’s worthwhile to be cognisant of
the risks that it poses.
Two issues that have been big in the UK in relation to universities
are VC pay rises and student fee hikes, and I understand yours
made the news earlier this year. Are those things that Australian
universities should be thinking about now, in terms of how to
respond to them if they happen?
Yes. I think there is concern. I think it goes back to the idea that
in the past, universities were always viewed as kind of public
institutions serving public need. I think since fees were introduced
in Britain in a similar way that they exist in Australia, there has
been more suspicion about universities acting much more in
their own interests and much less in the interests of society. One