The University Merger – Insights From The Inside

There’s been a tough few years in the higher education sector in Australia. We all suffered financially through COVID, and more recently, inflation and the cost of living crisis hit student numbers hard. The release of the University Accord also sent ripples of change through the sector. Despite the huge challenges facing us as a sector, whenever I travel, the only thing people want to know about is the merger! So here it is, a bit of campus gossip to share – insights from the inside.

Why are we merging?

Originally established as a provider of In 2022, the South Australia government announced its intention to review higher education in the state, a promise made at the previous state election. Before the review was due to begin, the Councils of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia resolved to enter into a Heads of Agreement to support the

Vision statement Adelaide University have published quite an extensive vision statement. Some of the highlights for me from the statement include:

“Australia’s new for-purpose university is a leading contemporary comprehensive university of global standing. We are dedicated to ensuring the prosperity, wellbeing and cohesion of society by addressing educational inequality through our actions and through the success and impact of our students, staff and alumni.”

“For tens of thousands of years, First Nations Aboriginal people in Australia and in South Australia have come together to teach, create and discover knowledge. Our universities today are wholly committed to reconciliation and addressing generations of injustice, but we believe this is only the beginning.”

State Government in the creation of a new university to be called Adelaide University (don’t get confused, the University of Adelaide is the old one, Adelaide University is the new one). The new university will open its doors to the first cohort of students in January 2026.

Both University Councils were satisfied that the creation of Adelaide University underpinned by the State Government’s funding package would be in the best interests of each the individual Universities. The new Adelaide University will be a University for the future, fit for purpose, and be a benefit to the state of South Australia. This is particularly true for research. Research is an increasingly costly activity, and shared facilities, strong student numbers and the ability to hire exceptional research groups are all things enabled by a larger and stronger merged Institution.

How do we merge?

You can’t just open a new university. Its actually quite complex. Each university is established by, and operates under, state legislation. Therefore, any decision to combine the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide to create a new Adelaide University, including the how and when, is a matter for State Parliament.

In 2023, a Joint Committee into the Establishment of Adelaide University conducted a three-month parliamentary inquiry to further explore the merits of a potential new university in South Australia. The Joint Committee called upon a wide crosssection of witnesses and considered approximately 85 submissions from different organisations, individuals and groups. The University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia submitted additional documentation from the extensive feasibility study, appeared at two public hearings and one in-camera session to further discuss investment and risk, and responded to 105 Questions on Notice from legislators. Draft legislation was introduced to State Parliament with the necessary crossbench support and was passed in both the Upper and Lower House. The Bill then received royal assent.

On 8 March 2024, Adelaide University was formally established as a new entity under the Adelaide University Act 2023 (Day 0), along with appointment of the Adelaide University Transition Council and approval of the Terms of Reference for a Transitional Academic Board.

Regulatory approvals from the Commonwealth are also required for the new institution to fully commence its operations from 1 January 2026.

Adelaide University has received the necessary registration from the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) as a new Australian University higher education provider. Adelaide University is now progressing the required amendments to the Higher Education Support Act (HESA) to receive status as an Australian Public University and registered CRICOS provider.

Research

The research strategy for Adelaide University has not yet been released, but we do know that there will be five signature research themes: Creative and cultural; defence and national security; food, agriculture and wine; personal and societal health; and sustainable green transition. You’ll notice that none of these themes are discipline-based, for example, chemistry or history. Instead, the themes are based on the challenges facing us and the opportunities available to us in South Australia. Personally, I find wine to be a particularly ripe opportunity in my local area. Materials Science is also strongly represented across the themes, and this reflects the strong existing materials community in South Australia. We have a strong additive manufacturing community that has been funded in high profile projects like the iLaunch Trailblazer project. There is also a very strong energy & battery materials research group in Adelaide, as well as strong groups in thermal energy storage, phase change materials, solar technology and energy management. The new Adelaide University will be a powerhouse for Materials Science.

The new curriculum

The creation of Adelaide University provides a unique opportunity to review, reset and redefine an entire curriculum for the future. Our curriculum is designed to be more flexibility for students than ever before, with more pathways for entry, and multiple transition and attainment points. The University’s curriculum is unique in the distinctive features that apply to every program. These include modular and stackable learning, a flexible academic calendar, a digital underpinning that embraces AI technologies, work integrated learning, along with embedded graduate qualities to ensure strong employability. This curriculum approach, called the ‘Adelaide Attainment Model’, places students front and centre.

The first wave of new degrees is available on the Adelaide University website. More to come! The newly co-created Engineering curriculum has been designed and approved by the Transition Academic Board, and the new courses are currently in development. Every single course in the new suite of Engineering programs is being rewritten, over a hundred of them, ready for launch in 2026. The new curriculum will offer a Masters of Engineering (Materials), and will also have a stream of materials and manufacturing courses in the undergraduate mechanical engineering degree. Materials Science will also make an appearance in all first year Bachelor of Engineering programs. Im not sure that anyone has ever research it, but I suspect this is the largest curriculum development project ever undertaken in Australia, possibly the world. Almost every degree is being completely re-written, across the University that’s thousands of courses being written in just a few years. In order to create this huge volume of content, while at the same time still delivering high quality teaching to our existing students, we’ve hired a bunch of new staff, had staff delay retirement, people have increased their working fractions and a bunch of our PhD students have been given the opportunity to be teaching assistants. I don’t know the total cost of the curriculum development, if I did I probably wouldn’t be able to say, but we are definitely in the range of millions of dollars. A massive investment in teaching content that I reckon has never been made before in one big hit.

What has the process been like?

To understand the enormity of the process, you need to understand the one piece of information not reported in the media. Everything in new, everything. The Vice Chancellors agreed that if they went ahead with this it was not an agglomeration or take-over, it was the creation of an entirely new organisation with new structures, vision, values and ways of working. Everything was co-created, every policy, procedure and guide was co-created. Behind the scenes there is a huge amount of work being done to integrate our new digital systems such as our research management systems, student information systems and most importantly, payroll. There are hundreds of different software systems running the two organisations, and these are being consolidated or replaced, and new versions being rolled out ready to open our doors in January 2026. Some systems, like the curriculum management system, are already up and running. Most are in the process of procurement and installation. Most staff are really excited to get new bespoke software, dashboards and information management systems.

I think a question your probably asking yourself, how are the two sides working together? Is it functional? This is, after all, a lot like a forced marriage between two reluctant brides. Although I cant speak for everyone, I can relay my observations from the people I know. There’s a been a lot of people in my area (STEM) volunteering to be seconded into one of the merger projects, so there’s a lot of people who are seeing lots of opportunity for promotion and expansion of their professional skills through this process. Lots of academics are keen to re-write tired lecture notes, and there have been surprisingly few complaints about our new team mates. Personally, I will admit a couple of things. In the first few months of the merger process the vice chancellors ran a few horrendously uncomfortable drinks sessions so that the senior staff could get to know each other. FYI – it didn’t work. Im really glad they stopped. The other thing is that yes, I’m very busy, but I’ve learned a lot and met some really great people. Unlike normal business-as-usual, this process has allowed me to shape and mould the new organisation in much more significant ways than I’ve ever been able to before.

Will this be the first of many mergers across the sector?

To answer that question, read ahead

How much will it cost?

The media reported that the merger will cost $450 million. I suspect this will be a significant disincentive for further mergers, but stranger things have happened. It’s important to note that, despite this merger being both encouraged and supported by the state government, the entire $450 million was not at tax payers expense. Most of it came from university savings and the sale of land no longer required by the merged institution. One of the pieces of land that’s been sold is a golf course adjacent to the Mawson Lakes campus. You might ask why the university owns a golf course, but rumour has it that it never actually bought one. In the 1970’s the vacant land was turned into a golf course by university staff without any particular consent or approval. It just became, well, part of the landscape. Only in Adelaide ……