Future Campus

Adam Shoemaker joins our panel of experts for Brand Australia 2025! This mini one-day conference, timed to coincide with many HE representatives descending on our nation’s capital, will ask some of the questions that nobody else is likely to ponder – and provide opportunities for you to ask questions and contribute to the conversation. Brand Australia 2025 will run from 11.00 am - 4.30 pm at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra followed by networking drinks sponsored by Future Campus and the Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN Universities) in the NFSA’s historic courtyard, from 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm. 📅 Get your tickets now: https://lnkd.in/geVeP5vY #HEEvents #BrandAustralia2025 #FutureCampus #HigherEducation #EdInnovation #ShapingTheFuture

Australian universities – with the explicit backing of successive governments – rode the wave of globalisation more successfully than universities in almost any other country. But events of 2024 have made it clear that this era of globalisation is over. We are going to need new models in 2025 and beyond, and new forms of partnership between universities and government. The good news is that the rest of the world – and particularly our Indo-Pacific region – is not done with international education and research. Global demand for higher education is projected to grow to 2050. If we are clever, Australia can find new ways to ride new waves. Read more in our latest article by Paul Harris. #Globalisation #InternationalEducation #HENews #HigherEducation

A big thank you to you, our contributors and readers who have supported Future Campus, provided valuable feedback and crafted a treasure trove of insightful stories during 2024. Today's edition is the last edition for this year. The Future Campus team will resume our tri-weekly bulletins on 20 January 2025, ready to announce three new partners, some exciting new events and of course, fresh perspectives and insights from sector insiders. From the Future Campus team, we wish every one of you a restful and rejuvenating time over the traditional Christmas-New Year shutdown. #FutureCampus #HENews #HigherEducation

What will help universities to recapture social licence with the Australian community? The one thing we all know is that new approaches are required if we are going to recapture support from Australians – or else we risk suffering legion negative headlines and a continuation of the sentiment spiral observed during 2024. At a time of bipartisan commitment to slash revenue and Government implementation of large-scale regulatory and funding reform, there is no question that the sector will be altered – but no clear insights into what it will become. Brand Australia 2025 is a one-day conference that will feature panels of experts from diverse perspectives, providing an opportunity to explore perceptions of HE, and discuss who should really be shaping the future of the sector. For years the sector has talked about brand in terms of the way Australian education is presented to international students, but now we confront a more pressing issue – how to craft positive and authentic perceptions of Australian HE in the Australian population and in our own institutions. Brand Australia 2025 will include panel discussions and presentations curated by the Future Campus team, providing fresh insights into perspectives and opportunities that every institution should consider in 2025. This mini-conference, timed to coincide with many HE representatives descending on our nation’s capital, will ask some of the questions that nobody else is likely to ponder – and provide opportunities for you to ask questions and contribute to the conversation. Brand Australia will run from 11.00am-4.30pm at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra followed by networking drinks sponsored by Future Campus and the Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN Universities) in the NFSA’s historic courtyard, from 4.30pm-5.30pm. Tickets: https://lnkd.in/geVeP5vY #HEEvents #BrandAustralia2025 #FutureCampus #HigherEducation

There was a debate in the Reps the other day about construction skill shortages. It was standard stuff, part of the Opposition’s pushing back on the Government’s sell of “fee-free TAFE.” “When we talk about skills it needs to be about more than just ‘TAFE’,” says Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley. But Terry Young, member for the Queensland seat of Longman brought universities into it. “I have got no problem with university education; we need it. We need doctors, physiotherapists, teachers, nurses and the like but not at the expense of plumbers, hairdressers, chippies, and retail and hospitality workers,” he said. There was more. “I cannot count the number of parents and young people who have felt pressured or guilted into taking on a university degree, even though university wasn’t something they had a great interest in. I spoke to a young man recently who had done two years, reluctantly, at university after feeling pressured by well-meaning staff at school and his parents to enter university … Frustrated, he finally left and for the past 12 months he’s started a small business doing bond cleaning for real estate. He is now earning a good income, and, more importantly, he is as happy as a pig in mud.” Mr Young is deputy chair of the House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, and appears to be spruiking a message very different to the Accord, which emphasises that post-school qualifications are essential for 4 out of every 5 Australian workers by 2050. The Coalition’s message about training will appeal to many who do not currently see value in universities. Certainly Education Minister Jason Clare mentions training when he talks about the economy needing people with post-school qualifications, but he emphasises expanding access to university for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It’s an opportunity for the Opposition to argue the Government wants to push young men into universities where they don’t want to be – already Australian men account for a bare 40 per cent of local enrolments, when there are shortages across trades. It is also a chance for conservatives to culture-war higher education without event starting to head back to familiar ground lamenting what is taught in arts faculties. Notice the vocation-based university degrees Mr Young approves of? Add this to the Opposition saying (without detailing) they will go harder than Labor on international student numbers to reduce migration; and higher education is starting to look like an ideological issue for the imminent election. #HigherEducation #HENews #FutureCampus #HEAustralia

This is an exceptional initiative from Amanda White OAM. I'm guessing it's mostly only people who are really confident in their capabilities who feel comfortable to talk openly about their failures and what they learned from the experience, but it's a great learning resource for the rest of us.

Three of the nation’s four university lobby groups have joined forces to make the call – creating a new, stronger bloc of strategic lobbying support for the sector. Universities Australia, which is forced to try to grow consensus across all institutions, and the elite Group of Eight were notably absent from the united pitch made by the Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN Universities), Innovative Research Universities (IRU) and Regional Universities Network (RUN). Read more about it in our latest article by Tim Winkler. #FutureCampus #HigherEducation #HENews

Research for the Department of Health and Aged Care reports everything you suspected is true. How many: there are 39,000 health and medical researchers. 65% work in universities and research institutes, 33% in “non-traditional” roles (private sector, clinical space) and the rest are in both. Plus the departed: There are 20,000 or so ex-HMRs, 30% are in the public sector, 20% in universities “possibly in non-research capacities.” Most inactive researchers are in healthcare and social assistance (31%) or PST services (27%). Over five years 47% of post doc fellows who change jobs leave research. Where they are: 50% in Victoria Where they come from: 35% of traditional researchers moved to Australia for a job. Here’s hoping it was worth the trip: 55% of researchers in the traditional health and medical research areas, which are mainly university sector, are on fixed-term or casual contracts. Gender: 52% are women but they make up 25% of senior positions. 56% of women have career interruptions, mainly for parenting. Love of the work cuts both ways: “Passion for research and impact on society attract and retain researchers but funding and job security are key challenges and reasons for leaving.” Where the cash comes from: The three big grant sources for traditional researchers are National Health and Medical Research Council (68%), Medical Research Future Fund (42%) and Australian Research Council (12%). And (who would have thought!): The lack of funding is the most challenging part of research, followed by job security. #MedicalResearch #HEInsights #FutureCampus

Australia’s most generous scholarship program has been established at the University of Canberra , in a partnership with Snow Foundation. The program will provide up to $30,000 per student per year for the duration of their degree, as well as holistic wrap-around support, in an innovative program carefully crafted to overcome disadvantage for under-represented cohorts, particularly in the University’s backyard of ACT and regional NSW. The program aims to remove financial and support challenges for students from a range of backgrounds, including a significant number of Indigenous students and students from low SES backgrounds. Snow Foundation CEO Georgina Byron crafted the idea for the program after recognising how many highly capable students were falling through the cracks. “Our vision is to attract students with smart minds and big hearts and to enable them to reach their potential and make meaningful contributions to their communities and beyond,” Ms Snow said. “The ripple effect of Snow Scholarships will be profound, aiming to nurture the next generation of globally aware and socially conscious leaders across sectors – whether in community, business, science, law, health or politics.” Read more at Future Campus: https://loom.ly/RHRcFug #FutureCampus #HigherEducation #UC #HEScholarships #HENews

In a big weekend pitch to the 3 million Australians carrying student debt, the Albanese Government has promised to cut 20% off all student loans from 1 June 2025. The $16 billion debt cut, adding to the $3 billion cut as a result of indexation changes in the May Budget is a clever pitch in a space where the government has been found wanting – non-inflationary cost of living relief for younger Australians. They might not be able to buy a house, but their debt burden is suddenly looking better. The Government also proposes to change repayments for HELP, VET Student Loan and other students loans, raising the minimum repayment threshold from $54,000 to $67,000. This is an interesting play – many outlets rushed to broadcast the annual saving to graduates without looking at whether students will ultimately pay more, as a result of paying the loan off more slowly, or why the Government has opted for this reform instead of booting out the hated and almost universally condemned Job Ready Graduates pricing plan for degrees – which sent humanities degrees in particular through the roof and failed to make significant dents on student course selection. Read more at Future Campus: https://loom.ly/Nwc4rxA #StudentDebt #HigherEducation #FutureCampus #HENews