5 December 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… This post on Science Alert by Fiona McDonald, celebrating Australian innovation, was sponsored by Universities Australia as part of its Keep it Clever campaign. The campaign website includes an online petition. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… By now, most Australians know that our university researchers were behind the invention of the bionic ear, but more often than not, the world tends to focus more on our venomous snakes and spiders and overly muscular kangaroos than anything coming out of our labs. But the reality is that Australia puts out 3.9% of the world's research, with only 0.3% of the world's population, … [Read more...]
How teaching funds research in Australian universities
28/11/2015 by
28 November 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… A report by the Grattan Institute report finds that universities earn up to $3.2 billion more from students than they spend on teaching, and have powerful incentives to spend the extra money on research. International students, who usually generate more revenue per student than domestic students, contribute a substantial proportion of this surplus. The report’s author, Andrew Norton, says the finding is concerning because, while university research matters to Australia, the evidence that it improves teaching is less clear. He observes that direct spending on teaching, by contrast, is far more likely to ensure that universities … [Read more...]
Redesigning Australia’s tertiary sector
29/10/2015 by
29 October 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… If there is the collective will, a window of opportunity has opened for a serious discussion about the future architecture of Australian tertiary education and the funding mechanisms that would encourage genuine diversity to flourish, write Richard James and Leo Goedegebuure. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… After two lost years the sector desperately needs funding reforms. But how can the debate be placed on a new footing? We believe the answer lies in returning to first principles: what kinds of institutions, and what mix of institutions, would best serve Australia? Our thinking is simple: let’s develop a farsighted … [Read more...]
Universities warned to brace for funding cut
02/07/2015 by
The Australian | 1 July 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Universities have been warned their funding will be cut by 20% almost immediately, an average of $32 million a university, if the government can get its higher education reform package through the Senate by the end of the year. The legislation, rejected by the Senate in March, was due to be reintroduced during the budget sittings of Parliament but has been left to "lie fallow" as education minister Christopher Pyne presumably cultivates the Senate crossbenchers. Most informed commentary is that the legislation has little prospects of passing in its present form. So will the government amend the bill? … [Read more...]
UA’s ‘Keep it Clever’ campaign wins national award
30/06/2015 by
19 June 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Universities Australia's (UA) public awareness campaign 'Keep it Clever', highlighting the importance of proper investment in university education and research, has been awarded the Government Relations Campaign of the Year 2015: Services Sector at an award ceremony in Canberra.. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The highly contested prize, presented at the Government Relations Awards 2015, was awarded in recognition of how Universities Australia's integrated traditional and new media campaign had shifted perceptions about the value of universality education and research to the nation. UA chief Belinda Robinson said … [Read more...]
Seven seriously bad Ideas that rule higher education
28/06/2015 by
17 June 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The commodification of higher education....casualisation of the academic workforce....online is the way to go....public disinvestment in education is inevitable .... higher education is in crisis. This repost from Inside Higher Ed by Joshua Kim is about the US higher system but the themes are all too familiar to anyone associated with Australian higher education. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Seriously bad ideas, I’d argue, have a life of their own. And they rule our world. - Paul Krugman, from Seriously Bad Ideas The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right … [Read more...]
The 2015 Budget: university sector comment
13/05/2015 by
12 May 2015 …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Research programs take a hit as universities and students left in policy limbo. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Some positives, but uncertainty remains. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… IRU supports the Government's determination to continue with its plan for major reform of higher education. This requires a major change in approach to develop a package that can gain the needed parliamentary support. This will not be possible for introduction in 2016. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Hidden behind all the hyperbole – cutting research funds is a step too … [Read more...]
