WWW.CAMPUSREVIEW.COM.AU | VOL. 23 | issue 7 | JULY 2013
International education: are we still competitive?
New alliance demands long-term R&D strategy
Technology:
why unis must keep up
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SALES
news 04 Carr’s stamp on portfolio
James Macauley (02) 9936 8713 james.macauley@apned.com.au
05 Union’s $1m splurge
14
23 Re-invest in education
Universities, TAFE, falter without funding
Senator re-thinks funding cuts and caps
24 Changing mood
There is a new sense of activism concerning higher education
NTEU back Greens
Steven Patrick (02) 9936 8661 steven.patrick@apned.com.au
06 SSAF dispute
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07 What’s in a name?
faculty focus 26 Engineering update
Student association accuses uni of administrative breach
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Ballarat University to re-brand in regional merger
08 DeakinConnect
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Uni launches its own MOOCs model
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10 Student poverty
Industry-university collaboration equals innovation
11 IT and innovation awards We profile the 2012 winners
Industry bodies lobby for government support
28
Provisions for employers, not providers
36 Learning communities
feature 16 Technological breakthrough
37 Addressing numeracy skills
Local and global relationships multiply
Banking on international students
VET practitioners a necessary part of the equation
38 Academic vs. vocational
policy & reform 20 United front on research
Calls for a long-term strategy
v
VET 34 Co-funded training
14 Smart investments
Unis embrace the digital experience
Audited 2,664 September 2012
Why keeping up with technology matters
VC’s corner 32 Working together
ACT unis supporting cashstrapped students
international education 12 A leadership challenge
technology 28 Professional development
Ex-army officer’s new role as TAFE director
Axe wielded at duplicate roles
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Education key to profession’s prosperity
TAFE 30 Fresh perspective
09 Staff cuts: ANU
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
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22 New minister, new policy
Higher education faces another shake-up
Distinction in learning is disappearing
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noticeboard 39 The latest in staff appointments
more than a room We draw on global expertise to provide quality facilities and exciting student communities
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Issue 7 2013 | 3
news
Return to enrolment caps: Carr
T
he new federal minister for higher education, senator Kim Carr, has hinted at a reintroduction of caps on undergraduate places, saying the boom in student numbers has jeopardised the quality of university degrees. Senator Carr was reported saying he is concerned about the rapid growth in the number of students attending universities. “We have to also ensure that there are appropriate levels of quality in terms of the students that are entering the system,” Carr said. The demand-driven system introduced last year removed the cap on the number of funded places, allowing universities to enrol as many students as they want. Enrolment caps would relieve the budgetary pressures the government faces in funding the hundreds of thousands of additional places, particularly in the wake of the $2.3 billon cuts to the sector announced by Labor earlier this year. But a move toward enrolment regulation
has been criticised by those in the sector already committed to hitting participation targets to 40 per cent of the number of people aged 25-34 with a degree by 2025. The Regional Universities Network (RUN) said an end to the demand-driven system would be a huge loss to regional Australia. “If the caps were put back on at this point, we’d see an enormous opportunity for regional Australia to catch up with metropolitan Australia vanish,” said professor David Battersby, the chair of RUN. Innovative Research Universities said “demand-driven funding works”, adding that the capped system discouraged growth in important disciplines including science, technology and health degrees. The number of bachelor students in the natural and physical science, smaller agriculture and environmental sciences and engineering courses all grew by 12 per cent from 2009–2011, according to 2013 budget statements from the Department of Tertiary Education.
Senator Kim Carr
Meanwhile, Belinda Robinson, the head of Universities Australia, welcomed senator Carr to the portfolio, but urged him to reconsider the budget cuts. Carr’s appointment will be the federal’s government’s fourth higher education minister in less than six months, following the recent Labor leadership change from Julia Gillard to Kevin Rudd, which resulted in Craig Emerson announcing his retirement from politics at the upcoming federal election. n
Curtin insists restructure
does not affect current jobs
The union is warning of widespread redundancies but Curtin University’s deputy vice-chancellor insists more jobs will be created under a restructure plan. By Antonia Maiolo
C
urtin University has rejected claims that all staff members will be forced to apply for their own jobs, amid a restructuring of its academic workforce. The clarification comes in response to the National Tertiary Education Union’s (NTEU) claims that the university plans to spill all academic positions under the restructure which will see the creation of more teaching-only roles and less traditional teaching and research positions. The NTEU has notified a dispute with Curtin University for allegedly breaking its workplace agreement. Applications for the new teaching focused and research focused positions are open to academics currently employed at Curtin University, but those who don’t apply run the risk of facing redundancy as
4 | July 2013
fewer positions will be available following the restructure. Under the new plan, the number of teaching-focused roles has been capped at 20 per cent of the academic workforce. However, deputy vice-chancellor professor Colin Stirling said the number of jobs available will increase under the restructure, with existing staff given the first opportunity to occupy the new positions. “Curtin is not shedding all academic positions,” Stirling said, adding that only where new positions are not able to be filled internally will external applicants be sought. Stirling said the NTEU together with staff agreed in the recently established Enterprise Agreement to create a new teaching-focused academic position. Stirling did admit, however, that the new specialist positions (new TeachingFocused and Research Academic) may result in fewer traditional teaching and research positions, but said “the overall size of the academic workforce is not expected to change”. Stirling said the university expects all schools to be involved in the new process by the end of the year. But according to the NTEU this process will lead to mass redundancies with a
smaller pool of jobs available, meaning that the remaining staff will have to deal with a heavier workload. The union also said at least 45 jobs will be abolished in a trial that has already extended across four schools at Curtin, with potentially hundreds more job losses to come if the action is applied across the entire university. The schools of accounting, speech pathology and psychology, science and built environment are the first to undergo the restructure. NTEU WA division secretary, Gabe Gooding, said no academics are immune to redundancy with senior professors being required to submit expressions of interest to continue employment. “Curtin University’s plan potentially plunges the entire academic workforce into redundancy,” Gooding said. “Such an action is unprecedented in Australia. At no other university is the management attempting to force academics to apply for their own job.” n
news
NTEU backs Greens
in federal election
The National Tertiary Education Union will stump up $1 million to back the Greens in the next election. By Antonia Maiolo
T
he union supporting university staff and academics will put up $1 million of its members’ money to back the Australian Green in the upcoming election. The National Tertiary Education Union said although it doesn’t want to see the Labor government voted out, recent cuts to the sector by the ALP along with the Coalition’s tough stance towards tertiary education, has compelled the union “to defend higher education”. The union voted to spend $1 million on an election campaign in support of maintaining the Green’s balance of power in the Senate. Jeannie Rea, NTEU president, said higher education will “feel the brunt of Tony Abbott’s axe” if the Liberals win control of the Senate. “It’s really important to look at how we can prevent the Coalition having control of both houses,” Rea said. “We don’t want to see the Labor government voted out and a Coalition government voted in, but the ALP needs to hear loud and clear that the $4 billion cuts to higher education since 2011 are dumb.” According to the union it will not be making any donations to the Greens or any individual candidate, but instead plans to support “selected” lower house
candidates who commit to the union’s election priorities – a reversal of the $2.3 billion cuts, a 10 per cent increase in funding per student, no further cuts, plus no undermining of trade unions. It looks like Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt fits the bill. Bandt led a motion in June to rescind the cuts which House of Representative MPs ultimately failed to back. Only four MPs voted in support of Bandt’s motion to restore funding to higher education. Matt McGowan, assistant national secretary of the NTEU, said that the vote confirmed the correctness of the NTEU’s decision to spend up to $1 million on its own election campaign in support of maintaining the Green’s balance of power in the Senate. “It’s clear that higher education is no longer a priority for the ALP. Only the Greens and a handful of individual MPs seem to be prepared to throw their weight behind higher education in the coming election,” McGowan said. Meanwhile, Bandt has welcomed the support of the NTEU, “I strongly welcome the support of the NTEU for my campaign in Melbourne and the Greens’ campaign to retain balance of power in the Senate,” he said. “This decision reflects the level of community concern about Labor’s uni cuts. “The NTEU’s support will have a decisive impact on the election, particularly in Melbourne where concern about Labor’s $2.3 billion cut to university funding and student support is so strong,” Bandt said. Elsewhere, Universities Australia (UA)
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kicked off its own regional campaign in response to the federal cuts. The sector’s peak body, just a day prior to the NTEU’s campaign launch, unleashed its $5 million advertising blitz to 80 regional areas. UA’s Smartest Investment campaign – calling for the government to provide funding to universities – has been running nationally on TV, radio, in print and online since the end of February. UA chief executive Belinda Robinson said regional areas have been chosen because of their university presence. “The local ad blitz reflects the fact that universities are vital to every facet of the Australian economy, whether in the cities, the suburbs or rural and regional towns,” Robinson said. She said it was important to remember that in the regions alone, universities employ more than 10,000 Australians, educate more than 100,000 students and contribute around $2 billion a year to local economies. “Our universities also closely collaborate with local business and industry, helping diversify and transform local communities and keep them competitive.” Robinson said that funding cuts to universities and students “hurts economies locally” as well as the country’s global competitiveness. She said UA will continue to oppose the $2.3 billion cuts up until the time that they are made law. “We owe nothing less to the overwhelming number of Australians who are concerned about the impact of these cuts on Australia’s future.” n
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July 2013 | 5
news
Newcastle uni row over
fee allocation Student association says they were not consulted about the allocation of compulsory fees. By Antonia Maiolo
A
student association at the University of Newcastle Ourimbah campus has condemned university management for failing to consult with them over the allocation of hundreds of thousands of dollars under the compulsory student services and amenities fees. Campus Central has accused the University of Newcastle of breaching its administrative guidelines and legislation relating to the SSAF funding, saying it is using the money as a means to control and disengage independent student associations. Legislation for the Student Services and Amenities Act was passed in 2011 allowing universities and other higher education providers to charge a compulsory fee to students. A proportion of the funds were to be allocated to student unions to spend on services, following voluntary student unionism (VSU) that was introduced by the Coalition in 2006. But after missing out on the funding this year, the independent student association which has provided student services for 20 years is demanding to know where the money is being spent. Michael Maas, CEO of Campus Central, said he has asked the university to clarify where SSAF is being distributed, while repeated requests by the group to discuss the funds have gone unanswered. “Unfortunately, SSAF at the University of Newcastle has almost been like a covert operation,” Maas said. “To our knowledge there have been no consultations with representatives from major student organisation regarding where 2013 SSAF is being spent.” Maas said the University is not being transparent about where the $900,000 of student money for Ourimbah campus is being allocated. He also alleges that the university is attempting to destroy the group’s revenue base by supporting a duplicate association – the university controlled entity, UoN Services – through the additional SSAF funding. For the past two decades Campus Central have secured long-term on-campus leases for their commercial retail, food and
6 | July 2013
beverage operations that employ up to 40 full-time, part-time and casual staff. As it is a not-for-profit organisation any earnings are invested back in the company to refurbish facilities, provide subsidised services for its members and students, including independent representation and advocacy, Maas explained. Maas said he fears the group will no longer be able to keep prices low and keep outlets operational during all hours during the day, with the university allowing UoN to take over services operated by Campus Central. “They are using predatory tactics here, to use their own controlled entity to provide services that we used to do, that’s replicating something that already exists. That’s a waste.” Maas said that job cuts can be expected and commercial leases and remaining surplus could come under the control of the university. “The university’s motives have to be questioned when we stand to lose, to the university, our long-term leases and any surplus funds,” Maas said. A spokesperson for the University of Newcastle confirmed that the university has not provided any SSAF funding in 2013 to Campus Central to deliver services, but said they are being delivered “by other means”. According to the university, SSAF funding for activities have in fact been increased compared with previous years, with more money being provided for activities including orientation, health and welfare services, sports and recreation (including clubs), careers and employment, arts, library and media activities. “With specific reference to Campus Central, the university has not provided any SSAF funding in 2013 for Campus Central to deliver services. “The university has indicated on several occasions to Campus Central a willingness to meet to work through the issues of concern it has, and which informed its decision to use other services delivery mechanisms in this instance,” a spokesperson for the unversity said. The spokesperson said the University decided not to fund other student-led organisations for certain SSAF services in 2012 and again in 2013, but it has since worked through several “issues” with one organisation to a “satisfactory” conclusion, adding “there is no reason why this approach cannot succeed in other instances”. n
news
Ballarat
name
change
‘imminent’ By joining forces with Monash University Gippsland, the University of Ballarat has to choose a new name. Insiders say the process has been a challenging one. By Antonia Maiolo
u
niversity of Ballarat vice-chancellor David Battersby has said a name change for the institution is “imminent”, despite public opposition. The University of Ballarat is expected to become Federation University Australia in January next year once legislation has passed through the Victorian parliament. It has been reported that premier Denis Napthine will support the request for a name change. The proposed change has come about as a result of the plan for the University to join forces with Monash University Gippsland to form an expanded regional institution. The merger is currently pending approval by the federal government. Federation University Australia emerged as the preferred name for the new regionally focused university, withstanding criticism from former UB college council chair, Dr William Pryor, and City of Ballarat mayor, John Burt. But Burt has since said, “While its disappointing that Ballarat will no longer feature in the university’s international marketing and as point of reference for alumni, we’re satisfied that this decision is in the best interests of the university”. Battersby said the title “University of Ballarat” no longer communicates the scope and capacity of the university, particularly given the possibility of joining forces with the Monash Gippsland campus. “This wasn’t a flippant decision, it was based on really quite strong and hard evidence,” Battersby said. “The name doesn’t signify the scale of the University’s teaching and research responsibilities.” At present, the university teaches 23,000 students and this number is expected to exceed 26,000 with the proposal to merge with the Gippsland campus. Battersby said a name change would reflect the expansion of the University’s “regional footprint” and would allow new aspirations to be set. The process of joining with Monash’s Gippsland campus requires the university to seek legislative amendment to the University of Ballarat Act 2010, which presented an opportunity for the name change. Current students will be able to finish their course under the existing the University of Ballarat name or change to Federation University Australia, once the bill has passed through parliament. The University of Ballarat Council – the governing authority of the university – said that the name Federation University Australia recognised “the partnerships, collaboration and co-operation among a federated network of campuses in regional Victoria”. It was a lengthy and challenging process that involved more
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than 30 different names. These were considered by the University council, with a number of these names contributed by staff, students and community. Dr Paul Hemming, chancellor at the University of Ballarat said, “A change of name does not imply any change to the education, commercial or community activities and associations that have made the University of Ballarat successful”. The proposal for the University of Ballarat to join forces with the Monash Gippsland campus is now going through a set of approval processes with the Commonwealth, the state government, the Parliament of Victoria and TEQSA. n
July 2013 | 7
news
Deakin takes
a lesson in MOOCs
Deakin University is joining education providers worldwide by offering its free online course to its students, which can go towards a postgraduate qualification. By Antonia Maiolo
T
he 12-week course on humanitarian emergencies will be the first in the University’s new open learning sphere known as DeakinConnect and will start this month. The course – Humanitarian Responses to 21st Century Disasters – will explore the complexities of working in the global humanitarian field and examine the ethical challenges of disaster and emergency response. It will be free and open to anyone. For students wanting to earn credit towards a postgraduate qualification, they can do so by paying Deakin a fee of $495 to have their work formally assessed. Besides the fee, students will need to complete a separate research paper and pass an interview in order to gain accreditation for the work completed. The credit option has been set a limit to a maximum of 100 students as the number of people who will opt for formal assessment and who will be doing the
course is unknown at this early stage. But all students will be encouraged to award “peer credits” to other students’ work using digital badging to be shared using Facebook or LinkedIn. Deakin vice-chancellor professor Jane den Hollander said peer assessments would provoke “rich digital learning”. “Participants will be invited to create up to six learning exhibits that specifically demonstrate their capabilities and share their exhibits with peers,” den Hollander said. She said DeakinConnect – Deakin’s own MOOC model – fits with the university’s aim of offering students “brilliant education” through “personal, engaging and relevant learning experiences”. Den Hollander said the open learning platform was the ideal delivery channel for the course as it allows participants to
connect from anywhere around the globe. Students will have access to resources including expert commentary and interview test response strategies in ‘Lolesia’, an imaginary country based in south-east Asia. Participants will also be encouraged to explore opportunities to become involved in humanitarian aid programs. Deakin has worked in partnership with groups such as Save the Children, Plan, Care, AusAid, Oxfam, World Vision and the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network in the development of the course and will continue to work with them during the program. n
No charges laid
in UQ nepotism scandal
The University of Queensland has been cleared following an investigation by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) over a student thought to have received ‘special’ treatment.
T
he CMC conducted an independent examination concerning a complaint made over the improper student enrolment of a close relative of former vicechancellor professor Paul Greenfield in January 2012. The review also examined the University’s overall management of official misconduct matters. Greenfield and senior deputy vicechancellor Michael Keniger both resigned after the scandal broke in late 2011. The close relative who received special treatment was at the time a first-year
8 | July 2013
student in UQ’s pre-med program known as the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program. It is understood that the student attained the OP, but did not pass a required Undergraduate Medicine and Heath Sciences Admissions Test (UMAT). Under an admission rule that did not apply in the circumstances, an offer of an additional place was made to the student in this case. According to UQ policy documents admission rules can be bent in “exceptional circumstances”, while the vice-chancellor has the capacity
to waive strict application rules for a particular applicant. At the time, however, Greenfield indicated in an email to staff members that he did not execute such powers. The complaint was first referred to the CMC by the University in October 2011. In a statement, the University of Queensland vice-chancellor Peter Hoj said it has worked extensively with the CMC over almost two years to review the institution’s procedures and processes. “Where there was scope for improvement, these have been completed in conjunction with the CMC,” Hoj said. “UQ is keen to see the CMC investigation finalised.” The CMC is still preparing a full report on the matter for parliament. n
news
ANU faces drastic cuts A $51 million cut at ANU means shedding staff numbers by several hundred. By Aileen Macalintal
T
o try and secure a “financial footing” amid budget cuts, the Australian National University (ANU) has announced plans to reduce its workforce, offer a voluntary early retirement scheme and recruit more students. These drastic measures come following the announcement of a $51 million cut to ANU’s income over the next two years. Part of the plan is to reduce professional staff numbers by 230, following concerns over the inefficient duplication of roles and processes within the university’s administrative system. The ANU’s vice-chancellor, professor Ian Young, said during a recent meeting with both students and staff that, “ANU currently has the highest ratio of professional staff to academic staff in Australia. We have more than 2300 professional staff to our 1600 academic staff,” Young said. “Some of this is because of the unique needs of a research-intensive university. But much of it is because we have built administrative systems that are overly complex; we have duplicated roles, and created processes that are frustrating for all of us.” Aside from a significant administrative overhaul, funding of $1 million will also be provided for retraining, redeployment and management change. Amid the cuts, Young also announced that “all ANU staff will receive a two per cent salary increase. That increase will be backdated to 1 July, and paid on 1 August. It will be followed by a further two per cent pay rise on 1 July 2014”. However, Deborah Veness, acting ACT division president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), said the union is uneasy about the drastic workforce cuts.
“We deplore the funding cuts that have driven it to make these decisions. However, we are concerned about a number of aspects of the proposal, which we believe will cause greater problems for the institution,” said Veness, who is also a member of ANU staff. “I don’t know how many of the 2300 non-academic staff positions will remain because the university has not shared that information,” she said. Veness said it was important to ask how many of the university’s staff members are not academic, technical, specialist, or research assistant. “It is from this relatively small group that the university intends to shed 230 positions. Once we know how big that group is, it is worth knowing what those people currently do. And who will do that work in the future,” she said. Veness said the ANU is struggling with funding as are other institutions. “However, the package outlined by the vicechancellor is very unfair to a small subset of professional staff, and, in the union’s opinion, will cause more problems in the short-to-medium-term than it will solve.” She added the planned boost in undergraduate students will increase the remaining staff’s workload and also warned that industrial action was a possibility. “We are in the middle of a bargaining period, during which we have the option of taking industrial action. We would prefer not to do that, but if our members begin to show evidence of stress of the levels we are expecting, we will need to address that in some forceful way,” she said. Derek Corrigan, an ANU professional staff member, said he was upset by the vice-chancellor’s announcement.
“As a staff member, the cuts affect me very personally,” Corrigan said. Instead of looking forward to an orderly transition to retirement, Corrigan said he is now forced to rethink his future. “I am required to make an almost instant decision between grabbing any additional money on offer and running, or [making] a continuing contribution to the research effort, following a planned completion of current and future commitments and then making an orderly transfer of my knowledge base. “I still have much to do and many projects to complete. It has been my observation over many years that the ratio of professional staff to academic staff is a naturally maintained distribution, relating to the workload generated by the teaching and research activity.” Meanwhile, the Australian National University Students’ Association (ANUSA), is relieved to find no cuts to education and teaching funding at the university. ANUSA president, Aleks Sladojevic, said that while a decrease in professional staff numbers is regrettable, “the quality of education and teaching at the university is now secure”. The comprehensive package includes a student recruitment drive to increase undergraduate student numbers to 2550 commencing students by 2015 and international coursework students by 1.5 per cent each year. Sladojevic sounded a warning, however, about future class sizes. In increasing the intake of undergraduate students, he said, “The university must ensure that tutorial sizes do not increase as student numbers grow at the ANU”. n
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news
Students
at poverty’s door
A shocking number of tertiary students in Canberra are experiencing the kind of stress over housing costs, paying bills and groceries that could see them ‘drop out’, says a charity report. By Aileen Macalintal
A
nglicare surveyed more than 200 students from the Australian National University, University of Canberra, Australian Catholic University and Canberra Institute of Technology, and results showed that 87 per cent experience some level of housing stress. For Jeremy Halcrow, co-author of the report, the most striking part of the study has been the personal experiences, including tales of students sleeping in their cars for extended periods due to homelessness and poor health resulting from inability to maintain a healthy diet. Halcrow said their research was prompted by Anglicare’s need to understand what might be driving shared housing and the rise in the number of students seeking emergency food. “We had gaps in our understanding of the full housing picture around shared housing thrown up by our annual Rental Affordability,” he said. “We had seen increasing number of tertiary students requiring emergency food because they had run out.” Housing stress was reported to be linked to a range of poverty indicators for tertiary students. Of the tertiary students surveyed, 28 per cent could not regularly pay for at least one basic need – whether it be food, utility bills, or health care. The report also found that those who had been unable to pay a bill, monthly or fortnightly, were also experiencing food insecurity and were unable to afford the medical treatment they needed. Moreover, the financial stress affecting more than half the students surveyed was impacting on their studies, with 16 per cent considering discontinuing study. Halcrow said Canberra’s rental market is “very expensive and very tight”. “Canberra, together with Perth, has the worst rate rental affordability of all capital cities,” he said. He said aside from sleeping in cars parked in places like the university or on the floor of university colleges, many
10 | July 2013
“couch surfed” with friends or stayed at a backpacker’s hostel. The ACU said it felt concerned by Anglicare’s shock findings. Associate professor Patrick McArdle, ACU Canberra dean, acknowledged the high costs of housing was probably a factor. “University students today face major hurdles in terms of the costs they face to achieve a university education,” said McArdle. He said that when periods of income stress hit, students were likely to ignore basic health and dietary needs. ACU assists students in need through access to scholarships and grants, free lunches, and a free food cupboard supported by the Students’ Association, Campus Ministry and the Office of the Campus Dean. “The weekly free lunches on campus are popular and the free food cupboard on campus is restocked several times per year to attempt to meet student needs,” McArdle said. However, these did not meet the needs of students in real distress, he admitted. “Most students are able to maintain a reasonable budget for their general living and study needs, but when large items like winter utility bills or car registration become due or when they need to suspend their regular paid employment to undertake course demands, especially practicum placements, then there are no savings to draw on,” he explained. “Students are living from week to week. In Canberra, this is exacerbated since the relatively high levels of parental income deny many students government assistance, while for students from the country, high rents and the costs of relocating take their toll,” he said. A spokesman for the University of Canberra agreed that the rental market in the capital is extremely competitive. “With the assistance of ACT and
Commonwealth governments under the National Rental Affordability Scheme,” he said, “the university opened a new 220 bed accommodation complex last year and work is well advanced on a brand new building that will house more than 400 students,” the spokesman said. “Accommodation under NRAS is rented at 20 per cent below market rate to make it affordable.” Like ACU, UC offers a range of grants, scholarships and loans, as well as advice, support and referrals available from the University’s Student Welfare Officer and from the University’s Students’ Association. UC can also arrange for emergency funds to support those students in need. On other accounts, graduate students seem to be better off than their undergraduate counterparts. “As for our own situation, we provide residential accommodation for 10 postgraduate students in single apartments, and have space for several more in a temporary residence,” said Mike Fowler, school manager at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at ANU’s Mt Stromlo Observatory. “Those graduate students who do not live on the Observatory campus either live on the main campus or in shared suburban housing. Most are recipients of the Australian Postgraduate Award, which goes some way to meeting their housing costs,” said Fowler. However, he believed the ANU’s large undergraduate population would be “considerably more stressed about suitable housing” than students at Mt Stromlo. “I do know that the cost of apartment style residential blocks recently constructed on campus (for example, the Loris Wing at Ursula College) is well beyond the reach of all but the most affluent domestic undergraduates,” he said. n
news
Winning ways This month’s winners The Ellucian Award for excellence in Information Technology.
Winner: Merryn Jackson from RMIT RMIT upgraded its PeopleSoft (v7.6) student system commencing in August, 2010, and “went live” on April 1, 2012 with Campus Solutions (v9.0). Merryn Jackson’s role was to act as the academic registrar’s delegate for the project, working closely with the project manager and with a particular remit for change management/business readiness, communications and training. The project was officially a technical upgrade and was delivered on time and within budget. The focus of this initiative is on the preparation of RMIT to be ready to use its new Student Administration Management System (SAMS). This upgrade was the first since implementation and there was a level of underlying concern across the organisation about the upgrade from staff who had experienced the initial implementation, and from staff who had arrived since and heard of it: neither group wanted to be part of a similar situation again. The scale of this activity was significant to RMIT; there were approximately 1100 staff that had access to the system. Formal communications for the project started approximately 12 months out from “go live” although there was already good awareness across the University. The communications plan was to start small using existing University communication tools. This was followed by more targeted and frequent messaging prior to activities where the broader user group needed to become engaged with User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and training. Merryn also had a major impact on the training delivery. Her approach provided staff with direction in the event of issues at “go live”, and reinforced the “how to help yourself” message. The RMIT SAMS Upgrade Project went live on time and within budget, with many positive comments. Around 64 per cent of staff had attended at least one training activity prior to “go live” with many staff advising informally at sessions afterwards that they wanted to attend training after the system went live.
What the judges said
Merryn wins this award for her work on the upgrade of RMITs student administrative enterprise system. Student system implementations and upgrades are invariably big, complex undertakings prone to high levels of risk. Merryn Jackson’s entry was rated highly for the initiative, the implementation and the outcomes.
Top: (left to right) Zanthi Avila, director business development, Ellucian, Jacqueline Perdriau, chair of ATEM Bass and winner Merryn Jackson from RMIT. Bottom: (left to right) winner Giles Pickford, Vicki Rigg from Dragan Naturally Speaking, winner Peter Scardoni, Carl Rallings, chair Queensland ATEM.
• Researching • Teaching honours students • Supervising postgrad students • Running public lecture series • Publishing a monthly e-Bulletin with articles of major public interest • Running residential summer schools • Involvement in major events such as the Centenary of Canberra for 2013 The Emeritus Faculty provides a way of easing people into retirement by affording space for retirees in the physical, social and intellectual life of the university. As well as giving service to the university at virtually no cost through community outreach, academic activities and publications which attract the DEEWR subsidy, this outstanding innovative concept goes a long way to addressing the critical social issue of how to best take advantage of the knowledge and experience of our ageing society. n
The CPSU award for excellence in Innovation
Winners: Giles Pickford and Peter Scardoni and the Emeritus faculty team Australian National University We have gone straight to the judges on this one, with the judges describing the project in their assessment. The ANU Emeritus Faculty was established in 1999 – a time when ANU was facing a contraction of funding and an expansion in student numbers – with the aim of creating, at little or no cost, a collegial organisation for past university members, both academic and professional, to contribute their skills and knowledge to the university and to society more widely. This major innovation has a growing membership of 200 with its members involved in a range of activities including: www.campusreview.com.au
ATEM/Campus Review Awards for Best Practice in Tertiary Education Management All applications are now in for the 2013 awards and the judging panels are now making their decisions. We are now looking forward to the premier night for tertiary education professionals. The awards ceremony will be held at the historic and stunning Cascade Brewery site in Hobart, Tasmania, on September 16th 2013 as part of the Tertiary Education Management Conference. For more information on attending the awards evening contact Paul Abela, executive director (ATEM) on 02 9351 9719. July 2013 | 11
international education
International education: A lobbying effort by those at the heart of international education in the leadup to the federal election is zeroing in on the key issues. By Phil Honeywood
T
he international education sector has, in the past, provided a well-documented case study of government policy implementation falling between the cracks. With no single go-to minister responsible for this $14 billion-ayear industry, any lobbying activity can currently require contact with five separate federal government departments and ministers. Similar advocacy challenges can occur at state and territory government level as well. But in an attempt to challenge the status quo, the peak industry associations involved in international education have combined their lobbying effort in the lead-up to the forthcoming federal election. Joint meetings between these industry bodies are being held, common ground on key policy issues are being established and a combined lobbying campaign implemented. Given previous divergent policy positions on a range of issues, this better coordinated approach has been welcomed by international education stakeholders. So what exactly are the policy issues that need to be addressed? What are the constraints that need to be overcome? Broadly, they are encapsulated in three key problematic areas for the sector of governance, proportionate regulation and Australia’s global competitiveness. We will examine each.
Governance
Having been subjected in recent years to the Baird Review, the Michael Knight Review and, more recently, the Chaney Review, it would come as no surprise that international education stakeholders still hold out hope for a sustainable governance model. As it has transpired, Michael Chaney’s International Education Advisory Council’s recommendations in this area have only gone part of the way to meeting this goal. In itself, the recommendation for a “high level” cross portfolio ministerial council on
What is required is a genuine holistic approach by government, at all levels, to the cause of improving Australia’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. 12 | July 2013
international education is laudable. However, the devil in this proposal is in the detail. Michael Chaney recommended that this council be chaired by the minister for tertiary education (now Kim Carr). What was not addressed here was the very real scenario that this minister might not be in Cabinet. The way in which modern politics has evolved ensures that Cabinet-level ministers, responsible for major portfolios impacting on our sector, such as immigration, trade, education and foreign affairs, would be most unlikely to attend a council that is chaired by a junior non-Cabinet ministerial colleague. Instead, they would probably succumb to the temptation to send their parliamentary secretaries to represent them. The effect would be to ensure that such a ministerial council would have very little influence on the decision-makers in government. A second plank to Chaney’s recommendation on the proposed ministerial council is that it need only meet twice a year. Anyone working in international education would agree that such are the complexities of the regulatory framework that we are now required to work within (genuine temporary entrance test, risk assessment framework, streamlined visa procedures, tuition protection service and post-study work rights to name just a few) that the time lag between meetings of the council would be too great to implement a comprehensive reform agenda. The answer here will be to either have more meetings, at least initially, of the council or for it to delegate much of its work plan to smaller specialist working groups.
Proportionate regulation
The sector has, on the whole, responded well to the challenges thrown up previously by poor quality education providers who were promoting migration over quality education outcomes. The move from state-based regulatory authorities to national regulators initially caused massive disruption and administrative burdens. Many low-risk, high-quality education institutions quite rightly questioned why they were being subjected to the same level of scrutiny as those with a higher risk profile. The recent announcement by the federal government of a review to be headed up by professor Kwong Lee Dow of TEQSA’s evolving role was a direct response to lobbying by the sector. The peak industry associations involved in international education are of the view that the time is right for the introduction of a proportionate regulation regime.
international education
the new frontier The basis of this would be that it should not matter if an education provider is delivering higher education or VET, is schoolbased or English language only, is a public or a private institution. Instead, every provider involved in the delivery of courses to international students should be assessed on an objective range of criteria that sets high standards for teaching and learning outcomes, the student experience and financial risk. Those providers that meet the criteria should then be subjected to a “lighter touch” regulatory burden than those who do not. In effect, the level of scrutiny by the appropriate regulator must be proportionate to the risk posed by each education provider.
Our global competitiveness
During this recent period in which Australia’s international education sector has been distracted by ongoing government reviews and new administration requirements, our competitor nations have been very active. Some of these alternative study destination countries have only recently realised the economic and social benefits that can accrue from having their own robust international education sector. When these competitors’ efforts to increase market share are factored into Australia’s proportionately
high dollar, somewhat tarnished brand reputation and the loss of onshore migration options, it is not surprising that we have dropped from a $19 billion a year industry to $14 billion. Many of our longstanding reputable education institutions are now calling on both Labor and the Coalition to commit to a “shot in the arm” for our sector. Whether this be via an industry assistance package to enhance our marketing campaigns, a reduction in our uncompetitive student visa charges or more rapid turnaround times in health checks and visa approvals is not in itself the issue. What is required is a genuine holistic approach by government, at all levels, to the cause of improving Australia’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. In conclusion, whether it be achieving the right governance outcomes, finally locking in an appropriate regulatory framework or re-establishing Australia’s international competitiveness, these are all challenges that the peak industry associations are currently addressing head-on. Importantly, our international education sector can only benefit from this combined strategic approach. n Phil Honeywood is executive director of the International Education Association of Australia.
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July 2013 | 13
international education
Turn negatives into a way forward Cashstrapped universities need to tap into markets that are big earners, such as the overseas student market. By Mark Pettitt
14 | July 2013
U
niversities have been hit in recent months by proposed Labor reforms, set to slash $2 billion of higher education funding which will instead go to the country’s schools under the Gonski education reform. The government also confirmed it would slash spending on universities by $900 million – leaving it up to university chiefs to miraculously work out how to find the money to replace traditional sources of funding. Throw into the mix the ever-increasing tasks of regulatory compliance and reporting required in this day and age by the federal government, which is in itself an escalating cost for universities to comply with, with the flow on effect of extra administrative staffing costs. It appears that there are two options. Universities can band together to lobby against these changes or accept them and turn this into an opportunity to reinvent themselves, finding ways to turn their institution into a revenue-generating machine. The issue of lobbying the government could ultimately have the desired end result – but besides that being an exhausting uphill battle, it takes time that universities don’t have, and by the time any changes are actioned, they could already be in financial trouble.
The revenue-generating machine seems the most realistic option. There are already examples of universities taking the bull by the horns, so to speak, and handling it personally, rather than looking to a government whose funding model is precarious in the first place to make amendments. When looking at making savings, the subject would automatically jump to negative cost-cutting that would affect both the university’s staff and the service it provides to its students – whether through job cuts, increased class sizes or other measures. In reality, universities can see this as a new start for a very different future. A positive opportunity to re-fresh, update and revolutionise the way they operate – and there are already perfect examples that have successfully streamlined and modernised themselves to further tap into markets that are large revenue earners – the international student market. Universities are expected each year to do more with less and still generate revenue while tackling the burden of ever increasing government administration and legislative requirements. It can be a huge amount of work. Luckily, some universities are seeing this as a chance to reshape
international education
Universities need to cut costs, streamline processes and get their message out to the right people across the globe. It’s a simple mandate. Spend less, acquire great overseas talent and start generating more revenue.
the way they operate to fully exploit the potential in markets they already operate in, such as international student acquisition and ultimately become more profitable – without an over reliance on government funding models. Universities need to cut costs, streamline processes and get their message out to the right people across the globe. It’s a simple mandate. Spend less, acquire great overseas talent and start generating more revenue. The international student space is one that has provided universities with the most profit in terms of revenue, yet is the most complicated and arduous of all recruitment processes, as well as increasingly competitive – so it seems relevant that in the current economic state that streamlining this process to make it both an easy, modern method in acquiring overseas talent and a cash generator for struggling universities. In addition, students with the financial resources and appropriate academic background, now have more choice than www.campusreview.com.au
ever, so to compete Australian universities need faster and better recruitment systems and practises. Since the introduction of streamlined visa applications in Australia in 2012, extra pressure and further layers of administration have been added to the system. It’s something that was an unexpected weight to tip the scales of departments already at capacity or under-resourced. Using modern methods to track, trace and manage across the board from one centralised tool provided by Object Next Software (part of the OCA Group) is something that the University of South Australia (UniSA) has done. It now has systems in place that mean pre-visa applications can be completed and viewed by both the university and students alike, which is supported across all internet browsers and in some cases, has helped group information from areas with poor internet connection, meaning all the information comes at once. Having this capability means all the information is in one place for processing and cuts down the arduous task of managing many different incoming communications. Similarly, it has an up-to-date database to track and detail all its agents worldwide, with all correspondence logged and easily accessible. It can now store, track and communicate with multiple agents at once, which previously was a role that was taken by multiple members of staff with communication stored on paper. As such, all this information is now available from a central server and visible to anyone dealing with a particular case, meaning there is less need for dedicated account managers. The printing and global distribution of its marketing collateral is also centrally controlled via an online system provided by BPO Intelligence (also part of the OCA Group), meaning it can efficiently order and send the right materials in the right quantities across the world – reducing
wastage costs. Similarly, the process of finding the most cost-effective, yet quality service is also taken care of – alleviating the need to spend time sourcing printers, negotiating rates and managing external suppliers. The hub that transparently manages all the communication and administration of the University is one tailor-made to the way in which it operates and can therefore be adapted to handle any changes in internal or external processes. It ultimately saves man-power and simplifies the process across the board, so minimal time and minimal staff is needed to stay in control – leaving more time for other important tasks. Rob Greig, director of International at UniSA, commented: “The main issue is the amount of compliance implemented by the federal government. Streamlined Visa Processing is a perfect example of that. No one knew the impact that would have and it was much more of a burden than anyone anticipated. “The trick was implementing something that was consistent and flexible and took our entire business into account, so our processes could change as legislation changes – as well as cutting the fat on how we operate and bringing a ‘united front’ to our brand and to the way we communicate to our potential students. “Using technology to keep track of everything in one place means that we have to spend less time and effort on the process, freeing up time for us to deal with what matters – service to our new students.” Universities should see the UniSA as a terrific example of how to make the best of a bad situation. They have seized this opportunity and turned it into a successful part of their business. n Mark Pettitt specialises in helping education providers cut their costs while improving their efficiency and marketing/recruitment capabilities. July 2013 | 15
feature
Universities embrace the
digital
revolution
How students are learning at university is being shaken up, with the future looking brighter than ever. By Louis White
t
ry spending 10 minutes of your normal working day without being influenced by technology in some way. Hard, isn’t it? Now, consider the life of an academic or that of a university in general where young eager minds not only are keen to be full of knowledge on the subjects and courses they are studying, but also expect course material to be delivered with the latest technology available. No easy task especially when federal government funding continues to either stagnate or be cut to the higher education sector. 16 | July 2013
The good news is that Australian universities are fighting hard in the battle to stay abreast of worldwide technological advancements and intertwine them into the lectures and tutorials, but that doesn’t mean students are seeking other options such as Open University and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). Most universities are working as quickly and sensibly as they can to ensure that all students can not only experience enhanced digital learning experiences in the classroom, but also ensure that once they are in their own time that the right
resources are directed their way to help in the quest for specific subject knowledge. “A great deal of effort is ensuring that students are coming to class well prepared so that their learning experience has been increased through the latest research available digitally and through traditional methods too,” says professor Adam Shoemaker, deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president (education) at Victoria’s Monash University. “The learning experience starts from when the course begins and continues each minute of each day. What we are
feature seeing is a transformation through the advent of mobile technology and everyone is part of it. “It is no longer just the students lapping up the information taught and shared with them by lecturers, but they are also bringing in new and additional research into the classroom. “I think in the not-too-distant future you will see lecture theatre become more of a learning theatre where small groups will be formed.” Australian universities are establishing bases overseas and Monash currently has campuses in South Africa, Malaysia, China, India and Italy. Australian universities, too, are partnering with universities overseas in order to not only widen their student appeal, but also ensure that they are not behind in any component of teaching. “We have some very strong partnerships around the world and a key element of that is online learning,” professor Shoemaker says. “Online learning also allows very specific cultured learning, which I think can sometimes get missed in traditional teaching. You can tailor courses into a specific language and this is a lot easier to do online. “Overall, the quality of education is improving and student visibility and quality is only enhanced through the digital revolution.” Universities are also seeking ways to minimise cost and spread efficiency of IT resources. “Like many other Australian universities, Queensland University of Technology actively seeks to achieve higher returns from its technology investments,” professor Tom Cochran, deputy vice-chancellor technology, Information and Learning Support, Queensland University of Technology, says. “QUT is achieving early results from the adoption of an enterprise model for standardised desktop computing
www.campusreview.com.au
procurement. Under this model, procurement of QUT standard hardware and software is centrally coordinated in order to achieve savings through economies of scale. QUT has also achieved 70-80 per cent virtualisation of its data centre services, which has maximised its investments in servers. “Further to this, QUT is also using its underpinning data network to reduce legacy technology costs by delivering TV and video distribution across the QUT data network. This approach allows rich media to be delivered across QUT’s 16 sites at no incremental cost. “Through selective sourcing, the university has consolidated and streamlined service delivery, with the integration of more than 30 externally hosted (or cloud) services. This has enabled more agile delivery and a reduction in IT costs.” Learning at QUT embraces new technology with a range of cost-effective methods and free services. For examples, technologies such as QUT Blackboard Collaborate, QUT Media Warehouse and GoSoapBox are expensive, while networking sites and social media tools such as Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook are all free. Accordingly, lectures and tutorials have also changed in order to engage students in more active, collaborative and authentic models of learning. “Whereas traditional approaches focused more on the didactic delivery and passive transfer of knowledge, richer and deeper forms of synchronous and asynchronous learning are now possible,” professor Cochran says. “Via their own web-enabled devices, students are able to participate in formal and informal learning by using
various applications such as Google Drive, Blackboard Collaborate and GoSoapBox.”
MOOCs and Open University
The University of Melbourne is the first Australian university to join Coursera, the educational technology company which partners with over 30 leading universities world-wide to offer free online access to world-class higher education. Through Coursera, the University of Melbourne can provide first-class tertiary courses to a broad and diverse new audience who otherwise may not have the chance to engage with the University. The University’s first Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are already heavily subscribed, with enrolments numbering over 214,000 – greater than the university’s entire current on-campus student cohort. “Our aim is to use technology to enhance learning,” says professor Pip Pattison, deputy vice-chancellor (academic), University of Melbourne. “We have increased our investment in the use of technology in two ways. The first is through a competitive learning and teaching
July 2013 | 17
feature initiatives program in which ideas for effective use of technology in our existing programs are proposed by our staff. “These ideas can receive both in-kind and direct funding support for development in specific subjects and courses, or they may lead to projects for broader implementation across the university. “The second investment is in the team supporting new developments, including the creation of new online and e-Learning resources. In other words, our focus is on improving the experience and effectiveness of learning rather than on cost reduction per se.” Professor Pattison says that the university also encourages students to bring their own learning experiences into the classroom in order to share with fellow students plus tutors and lecturers alike. She believes that students discovering new technologies that aid their understanding and development of a subject and imparting that to both fellow students and lecturers, can only benefit everyone. “Through the design of our curriculum, we strongly encourage students to bring a diverse range of other learning experiences to any particular subject or topic of study,” professor Pattison says. “This encourages students and staff to challenge one another more broadly, and creates a productive environment for learning.” Established in 1993, more than 250,000
people have studied online through Open Universities Australia. Formed by a combination of universities in Australia the numbers continue to grow. “Student numbers have increased 154 per cent since 2007,” Paul Wappett, Open Universities Australia chief executive officer, says. “On average, we’ve seen almost 30 per cent growth in student numbers every year. In 2012, more than 60,000 students studied online through Open Universities Australia. “OUA is spending tens of millions on technology. The technology we’re investing in helps us understand who our students are and identify their needs and expectations. “The technology allows us to deliver education in a personalised way which leads to better learning outcomes. The investment isn’t just in run of the mill technology – it’s designed to get very individualised, personal approaches to education. That is why it warrants the investment we’re making.” OUA has developed a new teaching and learning framework tailored for online learning. The university has also moved to cloud technology for growth and flexibility while student advisors are being taught new tools and techniques through a customer relationship management platform benefiting all parties concerned. Wappett believes that Australia is on
par with its European and American counterparts when it comes to embracing new technology and imparting learning experiences through its courses. “Australia has been hugely successful in comparison with Europe and the US, partly due to Australia’s experience with distance education,” Wappett says. “Australia was very well placed in the 1980s and 1990s for uptake of technological solutions particularly in the area of distance education. “Let’s not forget that Australia is home to both Moodle and to Lectopia, both of which were taken up by US organisations some years ago. These two learning tools have been very popular internationally. “Australian universities have been at the forefront of embracing technology in a way that European universities are still discovering. “A challenge for universities in the UK is that they are now charging £9,000 [AUD$14,700] per year and students are demanding technological improvements. “Early results are also indicating that Australia is setting world standards again, but this time with the delivery of free online education or MOOCs and Open2Study, designed and launched by OUA in March 2013, has already set records for having the highest completion rates around the world at almost 24 per cent, which is four times greater than the industry average.” n
The future of learning Students at Australian universities will continue to embrace both traditional methods of teaching where they attend campus along with online learning based on current research from academia. “Utilisation statistics collected at QUT show that students are using both the physical infrastructure, such as traditional computers, and online materials such as recorded lectures in even greater numbers than in the past,” says professor Tom Cochran, deputy vice-chancellor, Queensland University of Technology.
Paul Wappett, Open Universities Australia chief executive officer, believes that not only has the technology benefitted students, but also lecturers, and this will continue to augment learning experiences in the future. “Unified communications has enabled staff to work anywhere, which for universities means researchers and tutors can work remotely reducing travelling and facilities costs,” he says. “Some universities are looking into BYOD as a means of enabling a better student experience on campus while reducing the need for computer labs.
“The utilisation of recorded lectures has doubled in the last year to 600 000 student online lecture views. This is expected to increase by at least by 300 per cent during 2014 as all lectures become recorded as a result of recent policy shifts that will promote increased lecture recording at QUT.
“Personalised and adaptive learning is going to become more important especially because students as consumers want a more personalised approach. They get this with other online experiences so why not education. “In effect, it shouldn’t matter how you travel through a course of study, you just have to be able to demonstrate the learning outcomes. “This is what universities do but traditionally they have done this over only one pathway. In future, students will want a learning journey that is personalised to suit their needs and lifestyle.”
“The QUT Library now has more ebooks (480,000) than print books in its collection. This has been in response to student demand for more electronic resources. eBook usage is about 1.75 million ‘borrows’ compared to 400,000 borrows of printed books. The Library now invests in 110,000 online journals and about 2000 print journals.”
18 | July 2013
feature
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July 2013 | 19
policy & reform
Why government
must support
long-term W
research
hen Nobel Laureate professor Brian Schmidt and the president of Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) started a dialogue with various sectors, they found out they were not the only ones with the idea. “Brendan Crabb from the AAMRI and I were discussing the lack of strategic planning across the science/research and development sector with respect to government funding, when we realised that the issues facing the sector were universal,” Schmidt said. Like many research groups, he felt strongly about how important science is to Australia’s future. Opportunities are lost, he lamented, “not because there isn’t enough money, but because of poor strategic planning on how the money we spend, is spent”. “I hoped that by lending my voice as a high-profile researcher who is being directly affected by the short-term nature of scientific funding in this country, I could give currency to this important problem to a wider audience,” he said. If the government fails to get a longterm research policy on board, the distinguished professor said Australia will miss capitalising on R&D investments. The absence of such policy will lead to “lower growth, poorer R&D outcomes – and a poorer, less well-off Australia in the long term”. He cited other countries that have successful long-term planning and sufficient government backing for scientific research. “The European Union has an impressive long-term way of managing scientific research,” he said. “The United States, despite the screws being tightened on research money right now, still has a longterm view on all of its programs.” The group will thus keep on sounding the clarion call. “The message is clear – we are just going to have to repeat it until we are heard, 20 | July 2013
hopefully by politicians who are genuinely interested in doing the right thing for the country, and be willing to do business differently than has been done in this country in the past. It’s a change of culture, but an important one,” Schmidt said.
One call
Professor Les Field, chair of the Group of Eight, said, “It was quite remarkable for this group to come together with a single voice to highlight the fact that the research sector is an important driver for Australia’s future”. Field, who is also secretary for science policy of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), said the united call of research groups for research policy support was ignited as various groups in the sector realised that they were all trying to send the same basic message to the government, whether current or incoming. These messages focused on a strategic national research policy grounded on six fundamental principles, which the newly formed alliance has outlined in a media release. Aside from Schmidt, Crabb and Field, other representatives of the alliance include professor Robert Williamson from AAS, Peter Laver from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and professor Tony Peacock from the Cooperative Research Centres Association. Universities Australia and Science and Technology Australia also signed on. The alliance is pushing for the federal government to commit to planned, stable and appropriate investment in research over a long period. They believe this would result in a far more effective outcome when tackling complex problems. “This will yield better results and ensure the best use of every dollar spent,” they said. They also pressed for “bringing industry and academia together”. Field agreed that ongoing collaboration is important between industry, public sector, university and research institutes for the continuity of researches.
Leaders of the country’s most respected research academies and institutions are banding together to call for nonpartisan support for long-term scientific research policy. By Aileen Macalintal
“Research doesn’t happen in fits and starts. The timeframe to tackle complex significant issues transcends the normal three-to-four year cycle of governments,” he said. “We need a stable, coordinated, long-term strategy for research in Australia with a focus on excellence and quality.” He said this kind of strategy would foster collaboration between the different parts of the research sector, including universities and research institutes, and between the sector and industry. This will ensure that research is translated into industry and the wider community. The alliance called for the government to ensure clear and reliable policy incentives for deep and sustained collaboration among the players. “This not only ensures that the benefits from basic research are translated into practice in Australia, but also harnesses national talent and creates knowledge, opportunity and new jobs,” they said.
Look to the future
The researchers also envisioned a productive system through a solid funding framework for research infrastructure, including buildings and equipment, as well as technical experts who operate them. Resources, in other words, will keep valuable facilities running. “Again, this is part of the absolute need for a long-term vision,” Field said. He said major research infrastructure has a typical lifetime of two decades or more. “Facilities such as our large telescopes, our Antarctic research vessels, the synchrotron in Victoria or clusters of microscopes need to be maintained, upgraded and supported for some considerable time,” he said. Significant investment was used in setting up these facilities, so he argued, we need to plan for their entire lifecycle to reap the maximum benefit from that investment. “Last year, the Australian synchrotron in Victoria – a $250 million facility, which works brilliantly from all accounts – was threatened with being switched off. So
policy & reform
Prudent investment
From left to right: Brian Schmidt, Les Field, Aidan Byrne
while we had managed to build the facility, there was no effective plan or stable working environment in which it could operate.” “We currently have a stopgap solution to keep it operating temporarily – but like all our major research infrastructure it needs to be part of long-term plan,” he said.
On the world stage
The alliance is also keen on being at the top of its game. It wants to be seen as “being among and working with the world’s best” as well as “getting and keeping the best (research workforce)”. Global collaboration, said the alliance, is “more necessary than ever with the rise of international research, commerce, communication and other systems that transform our lives and opportunities”. “Many of the nation’s world-class researchers are stuck in a cycle of one- to three-year grants for their salaries and research materials,” the alliance said. “This career uncertainty means many leave research or leave Australia to seek a stable future.” Australia also needs to be an attractive place for international companies to do research, so they called for a strategy to survive in a highly competitive contemporary world. “In research we know that the more the nation invests the more rewards we will all have to share for decades to come,” it said.
Just as the group of research bodies came out with their call, the prime minister, together with tertiary education minister, research minister, and the chief scientist, released a comprehensive and long-term plan for Australian research. The Strategic Research Priorities highlighted the role of university research in driving future prosperity. Universities Australia’s chief executive Belinda Robinson said, “In a financially constrained environment the Strategic Research Priorities provide a focus to support prudent research investment decision-making”. Robinson said this research plan will also help maximise the investment return to the nation. These priorities, she said, will foster the development of a long-term strategic vision for science and research, as called by the alliance. A national research strategy is needed to secure a skilled research workforce, world-class operational infrastructure, and a research environment that encourages global research collaboration. “The Strategic Research Priorities is a critical part of the recently-finalised National Research Investment Plan that enables a coordinated and welcome whole-of-government approach to research investment planning.” “This is an investment we can’t afford to ignore and must be pursued with focus, constancy and purpose and always with an eye to the most efficient allocation of the resources available,” Robinson said. n
Supporters
The Australian Research Council has welcomed the alliance’s call. CEO of the council, professor Aidan Byrne, said, “the ARC is committed to investing in research for a smart and innovative Australia”. Byrne said their mission is to “deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.” He said the ARC does agree that investing strategically and sustainably are crucial elements in a successful innovation system. Another supporter is Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt, who has backed the call for a strategic national research policy to build a stronger, smarter nation. “The Australian Greens wholeheartedly support the six principles outlined by the research and science community,” said Bandt, who is also the science and research spokesperson. He said support for science and research is critical to continued prosperity and important in addressing many challenges. “As recent cuts to research and university funding have shown, there is not a strong enough consensus on the importance of science and research,” he said. “I call on the old parties to get behind this timely push for consensus on a national research policy.” He added that the Australian Greens want the government to set a national target of three per cent of GDP for research and development funding, “bringing us into line with the top research nations of the OECD”. www.campusreview.com.au
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policy & reform
Oh Minister
– the circus must stop! What effect will this have?
After one of the most tumultuous weeks in politics, the national newspapers finally caught up with the fact that a change of leader actually also means a huge wrenching in terms of policy in Australia. By Danny Bielik
W
e now have our fourth higher education minister in less than six months in senator Kim Carr. And not leaving well enough alone, having ripped $2.8 billion from higher education funding in the recent budget to fund the Gonski school funding model, it seems that we’re destined for another major shake-up. A recent front page of The Australian newspaper tells us that the caps on student funding are to be put back on. As you may remember, in 2008, the government commissioned professor Denise Bradley to prepare a report on the tertiary education sector which provided the government, seeking to burnish their education credentials, with three of the key recommendations being: • Funding to follow the student • Uncapping of student places • Progressive bringing together of the tertiary education sector (i.e. higher education and vocational education and training). Although this was a well-considered document designed to help lift the nation’s productivity and make tertiary education responsive to industry, recommendations were cherry-picked by the Rudd/Gillard government. As we now know, the cherry picking included lifting the cap only for some institutions – i.e. universities. So what happened? Well, as we know the universities “over-enrolled” students. This over-enrolling, we now know, has led to poor outcomes. While the more leftwing elements of the commentariat bleat on about too many fitness instructors in Victoria (can that state really be too fit?) – we now see the same at universities. As just one example, the ATAR scores for teachers have plummeted and plummeted, feeding young trainee-teachers into a system already massively crowded with graduates not able to find teaching positions. And contrary to the argument that we 22 | July 2013
must lift teacher standards in Australia, one could argue that they are indeed slipping backwards as a direct result of the policy designed to get more people into education!
How did this happen?
Another review commissioned by the government in relation to the “Indian student problem” (this is what the sector quietly called it – read into it what you will) the government commissioned a former NSW politician Bruce Baird to conduct a review into the international education industry in 2009. The result of that review was a crash in the numbers of international students to this country. A major Australian industry, our thirdlargest export at the time, was dropped on its head in broad daylight by the Rudd/ Gillard government. While many private providers went broke, some because of shonky business practices that were found out, but a number of good providers, too – the government underwrote “public” providers – i.e. TAFEs and universities. A university cannot be allowed to go broke. Nor can a TAFE. So they don’t. Governments make sure they don’t, no matter how poor their practice might be – it is simply papered over with money. But, there is no doubt that universities felt the impact quite severely. Between 2009 and 2012, international student commencements were down 23 per cent – while enrolments and commencements were growing strongly worldwide. Why is this relevant to today’s debate? Mainly because it was international students who underwrote the finances of universities Australia-wide. Now university funding has been slashed to feed Gonski and to stem budget blowouts caused by poorly-implemented policy. We then learn that our newest minister is considering reintroducing caps on university places.
As a former ministerial adviser, I can tell you with some authority that good policy needs time, if you want it to work as intended and to last. Ideally you start a policy with its intention – i.e. what are you trying to achieve? Then you think about how you might get there… and you don’t do it in a closed room and you don’t do it quickly. You need to consult – ask the experts and more importantly – ask the people to be affected. Here, we should be asking the tertiary education sector, current and prospective students and industry at large (including the international student industry).
This takes consultations.
Then you create the framework – how might this work. Then you model – no, not with clay, with spreadsheets. Model, model, model. How much will it cost/ save? How will this affect enrolments? How will it affect schoolleavers’ decision-making? How will it affect the availability of the future workforce? How will it affect industry, productivity, our international competitiveness? How will it affect our national and personal incomes and our quality-of-life? All the while, you keep people informed – so they can plan. Plan investment in infrastructure, buildings, computers, campuses, laboratories. Plan teacher numbers and train them up. Plan marketing and enrolment processes so prospectivestudents can make life decisions. Or, you could just make a policy announcement on the front page of a national newspaper and leave everyone to scramble. So, if for nearly six years the latter is how policy has been implemented, why would it change today? Then, not so long ago, we get a new minister and a new policy. Leaving people wondering whether they will have a job tomorrow (university staff), what course they will study, whether they will choose Australia over Canada or the US. Not modelled. Not costed. No impacts studied. The only way to end this is to call an election now. n Danny Bielik is a former ministerial adviser and CEO of Central College Online.
policy & reform
The not so
clever country
Funding for the Gonski reforms is coming from additional cuts to higher education. As university budgets are being increasingly squeezed, is this a wise move? By Stephen Dinham
E
arly childhood, school, TAFE and university education are the four pillars of personal, social and economic prosperity in Australia. Their combined influence in opening the doors of opportunity for young people and overcoming disadvantage cannot be overstated. Put simply, education changes peoples’ lives. Yet there have been growing concerns over our failure to adequately invest in education compared with other nations and over the fact that this disparity is growing. There have been efforts to expand the provision of early childhood education, but unfortunately we have also seen state budgets cut funding to school education and TAFE. There have also been cuts in Commonwealth funding to universities. The Gonski reforms were intended to redress the relative decline and imbalances in funding to schools but we now find that a substantial proportion of this funding is to come through additional cuts to higher education. The states and territories must also provide their share if they ‘sign up’. And where will they get this funding? A clue is that one of their ‘big ticket’ budgetary items is education which, as noted, has already experienced severe cuts. This is madness. We are witnessing each pillar of education in turn being sawn off to prop up the others, although in the case of universities and TAFEs those pillars are not being offered any additional support. The recent international QS rankings of education faculties have four Australian Universities – Melbourne (3), Monash (6), Sydney (8) and Queensland (10) – in the top 10. This represents an outstanding achievement, but the improved ranking for our top faculties of education also reflects the widening gap between these and the
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rest. A similar phenomenon exists with the rankings for universities as a whole, with Australia having seven universities in the top 100 worldwide yet a widening gap with the ‘bottom’. Universities have been operating on a declining proportion of government funding since the late 1980s and the most recent cuts to government funding both to pay for Gonski and more general cuts put at risk these improved rankings. There is very little fat left in universities and the constant pressure to cut expenditure and raise income is having an inevitable and deleterious impact on staff, services and the quality of education received by domestic and international students. These pressures are being felt by all universities, but the smaller metropolitan and regional universities are now on a financial knife’s edge. There is a very real chance that some will become insolvent and if this is the case there is the scenario that these financial ‘basket cases’ will be folded into the better performing universities, dragging down the whole sector still further. While – if agreed – the funding for the Gonski reforms will slowly pass to schools over the coming years, the cuts to universities will be more immediate and damaging. There is also the question as to whether any increased funding to schools flowing from Gonski will actually match the funding recently removed from public education by state and territory governments. Thus, any gains from Gonski could be illusory. TAFE of course is the unwanted orphan in all of this, with severe cuts and no compensatory mechanisms. Unfortunately, there appear to be very few votes in either TAFE or universities. Meanwhile, the rhetoric about Australia becoming a ‘top five’ nation on measures
such as PISA whilst closing the equity gap continues as the four pillars crumble. The ‘clever country’? Not on the basis of this evidence. n Professor Stephen Dinham OAM is director of learning and teaching at Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne.
The AIEC 2013 program has a stellar line up of local and international speakers who will inform, discuss and delight delegates at this year’s conference. Following up on the success of last year’s Indonesia in focus session, this year we will bring together a specialist panel on Indonesia to focus on education and training priorities. Social, political and economic developments, challenges, imperatives and opportunities for Australian providers in the region will also be discussed. The panel will include Professor Greg Barton, Monash University, and Indonesia media personality Wimar Vitoelar. Wimar is a communication consultant, the host and writer of the ‘Wimar Show’ talk show on Radar TV, a newspaper and magazine columnist and a former presidential spokesperson serving President Abdulrahman Wahid. Other panels not to be missed at this year’s AIEC include ‘Engaging with the Islamic World through International Education’ and ‘Women Leaders in Global Education’. Visit the conference website to learn more about the AIEC 2013 program and featured speakers. Register and pay for the conference before 9 August to receive the $100 early bird rate. AIEC 2013 - National Convention Centre Canberra - 8-11 October 2013. www.aiec.idp.com July 2013 | 23
policy & reform
Higher
education’s ever-changing mood
I
The winds of change are blowing through the corridors of higher education, bringing with it a greater awareness and activism. By Sandra Harding
t might be just me, but I think I can detect a changing mood when it comes to the importance of education, particularly higher education. The public is engaging with the issue and there is a new sense of activism from those who have committed their lives to education and research. Universities Australia’s public awareness campaign, started in late February this year with a sharper edge since April and now in its ‘regional’ phase, has struck a chord. UA’s own polling shows that Australians are concerned about the cuts to universities and to student support. So much so that stated voter intention is being affected. Around 37 per cent of ‘soft’ voters have indicated that they are less likely to vote for Labor in the coming election in light of the cuts. And 34 per cent of ‘soft’ voters say they are more likely to vote for the Coalition if the Coalition would commit to reversing the cuts. I suspect this changing public mood is a tribute to the penetration of recent government policy. The demand-driven model, where students with capability are no longer locked out of university by a Canberra-led allocation of places, coupled with various programs aimed at encouraging students into higher education, have had an impact. Almost 90 per cent of Australians from all walks of life now say they would encourage their children or a young person they know to attend university. Perhaps in the past we were unsure, but we now know there is a constituency out there concerned about the impact
24 | July 2013
on Australia’s and Australians’ futures if funding for university education and research does not keep pace with our key competitors. Other key stakeholders in the economy are likewise concerned. The Australian Workplace and Productivity Agency, the Business Council of Australia and the CPA Australia among others have all made plain that the jobs of the future, the economy of the future (starting now), demands greater levels of educational attainment, more innovation and much better productivity. Achieving those golden keys to Australia’s future prosperity requires a deft approach to public policy: sound policy anchored in a long term vision for Australia’s future and activated through sensible, stable and sustainable policy settings. Hard to argue against – and why would you? Business knows this, the polity knows this, universities and research organisations know this, peak bodies know this, policy makers know this and our key competitors know this. The difference here is that the issue is being keenly felt by the public and is evidenced in the new activism of some of Australia’s best researchers. Recently at the Shine Dome in Canberra, Australia’s research and science community joined together to call for a strategic, long term and sustainable national research policy to build a stronger and smarter nation. It was the first time that Australian research bodies and groups from across the spectrum, including business and
industry, universities and medical research institutes, have come together to form an alliance to urge bipartisan political support for a nation-changing research and innovation agenda. At its core is the need to retain and develop fundamental national capability in a highly competitive contemporary world. Predictable and sustainable long-term public investment in research is critical to meeting this need. The research alliance identified six fundamental principles as the basis for a committed, strategic approach to supporting the nation’s research system. They go to the long term, nation-building nature of the research and innovation endeavour, recognising the need: • for long-term sustainable research capacity and capability delivered by planned, stable and appropriate investment that balances support for research excellence where it exists and to build the nation’s research capability where it is needed; • to build our research workforce by getting and keeping the best and by reducing uncertainty in support for research and researchers; • for a stable and sustainable funding framework for national infrastructure facilities, including buildings, equipment and the technical experts to keep them operating, because without it critical work cannot continue or even begin; • for strategic investment that facilitates international engagement and collaboration; • to bring industry and the academy
policy & reform
together to ensure the benefits of research translate into productive practice, harness national talent and create knowledge, opportunity and new jobs; and • to expand industry research through the creation of an environment that encourages industry to invest more in research and make Australia an attractive place for international companies to undertake research. These are important principles that provide the basis for sound, long-term policy development and, if implemented, Australia’s more innovative and productive future. Hot on the heels of this meeting, and a signed declaration prescribing these principles and urging bipartisan support for them, the government released the national research investment priorities. The Australian Research Committee (ARCom) has been working on this, led by Australia’s Chief Scientist, professor Ian Chubb. Through their work, Australia’s most pressing societal challenges worthy of research focus have been articulated – living in and securing our place in a changing world, promoting population health and wellbeing, managing our food and water assets, and lifting productivity and economic growth – and 15 strategic priorities for research have been identified to address them. Those priorities at once express issues of national importance and are set to guide the development of national research strength. But the office of the Chief Scientist and ARCom have been busier than this. www.campusreview.com.au
Just recently, professor Chubb announced that he has already started work on a whole-of-government vision for our national science system – a national strategy to support basic research and harness science, technology, engineering and mathematics to increase the global competitiveness of industry. He argues that for Australia to strengthen our position as a competitive, innovative nation with vibrant research and development, we must keep pace with those nations that are already good at it. Almost all countries that outperform Australia have some form of national science and technology strategy that sets out the broad strategies and commitments that provide a framework and general purpose for their various policies. Both of these initiatives, settling contemporary, strategic research priorities for Australia and focusing our attention on enhancing our national STEM capability, are critically important. The key policy thrust is the same. It is long-term and visionary and urges a steady and sustainable approach in support of that long-term vision. It seems to me that researchers, business, universities and the broader public are in heated agreement about the
importance of education, research and innovation to enhanced productivity and Australia’s future prosperity. The good news is that investment in research and research infrastructure has increased over the past decade. And we were on a trajectory to sustainable funding for research – a trajectory that took a downturn at MYEFO last year and a further downward move in this year’s federal budget thanks to the efficiency dividend. Moreover, just when we need more Australians to upgrade their skills and knowledge, the proposed $2000 cap on the taxation allowance for self-education expenses risks making this unaffordable for those who might otherwise be prepared to invest. What we need now is the next iteration of good policy: policy that is visionary, long term, stable and sustainable, powering Australia’s future prosperity. We know what needs to happen, we have a new activism and a changing public mood and we have a national research investment plan and strategic priorities. We know what needs to be done. It is time to do it. n Sandra Harding is Chair of Universities Australia. July 2013 | 25
faculty focus
Need for
more engineers
still
‘critical’
The number of engineering students is not enough to meet workforce demands but moves are underway to bridge the gap. By Antonia Maiolo
o
ver the last few years experts have warned of a potential skills shortage in the field of engineering, calling for urgent action be taken to attract greater interest amongst the student population. But the latest figures show that the number of people choosing to embark on a career in engineering is in fact increasing, with universities reporting record numbers of growth in applications. The number of students gaining engineering bachelor degrees over the past decade has increased by 16 per cent overall (2001–2011). In 2001, there were roughly 9500 graduates from engineering, according to a 2012 overview of the profession by Engineers Australia. The report states that applications for, offers and acceptance of offers, are at record levels even before the uncapping of undergraduate student placements. As of 2012, bachelor degree commencements increased by 4.1 per cent to 12,541, with nearly all the increases being in four-year or four-year double degree courses. “Interest in university engineering courses continues to grow and universities have responded with more offers of places, and acceptance continue to rise,” the report states. Despite this increase in enrolments, the Health of Australian Science report also released in 2012 identified that the total numbers in engineering were not enough to meet demand. Hamza Bendemra, PhD candidate at the Australian National University Research
26 | July 2013
faculty focus The lack of engineering expertise is truly a critical issue that is threatening our standard of living. department of engineering said the number of young engineers coming out of Australian universities is not keeping up with workforce demand.
Shortfall in the workforce
The shortage of engineers was flagged by the Australian National Engineering Taskforce (ANET) back in 2010, where it suggested Australia needs an extra 70,000 experience engineers by 2017, but only produce 6000 domestic engineering graduates per year. The Engineers Australia report confirmed that about 60 per cent of the increase came from overseas students, while 40 per cent were from domestic students. Only 13 per cent of the increase came from women. Bendemra said the lack of qualified engineers has been felt for several decades in every industry – from electrical and civil to mechanical engineering. “The lack of engineering expertise is truly a critical issue that is threatening our standard of living,” said Bendemra. He said this “crisis” was due to several factors including a lack of professional training available to graduates – with firms seeking only experienced engineers – as well as the number of engineers coming out of Australian universities not keeping up with demand. “Experienced engineers are being over-worked, while young engineering graduates are struggling to get on-the-job training,” he said. Bendemra said engineering firms continued to look for experienced engineers, and from overseas if necessary, rather than looking to train engineering graduates. He said a more extensive collaboration with the private and public sector is needed to plan for future industry needs. Professor Moses Tade, dean of engineering at Curtin University, agrees that the industry’s biggest challenge is how to guarantee graduates are career-ready so the industry uptake rate can increase, rather than relying on bringing in more experienced engineers from overseas. “Industry needs to enhance their graduate programs to up-skill our graduates over the first five years,” said Tade.
Curtin University has several outreach programs which target various high schools from Year 8 onwards and have recently introduced a new program to encourage primary school student to know more about science, engineering and technology. Like Curtin, the University of Adelaide is working closely with government, schools and other groups to encourage young people to pursue STEM subjects at university. “Just last week we had hundreds of female school students here during our ‘Women in Technology Challenge’,” said professor John Beynon, dean of the faculty of engineering at Adelaide university. “Throughout the year we hold a range of activities aimed at building appreciation of STEM careers among schoolchildren and to inspire and further develop STEM teachers. “These activities also benefit other areas where there is great demand and rewarding careers needing more graduates such as computer science,” he said. Beynon said an engineering degree is excellent for a wide range of professions, not just those in engineering, saying the skills such as numeracy, problem solving, team work, and analytic skills that are taught in undergraduate programs are highly valued by employers across many sectors. Bendemra agrees that qualified teachers are needed to inspire school children to embrace engineering. He added that the university sector is in a unique position: it trains the science teachers that will one day work in Australian schools around the country; plus, it produces the professional engineers of the future. “The university sector has to do more to attract young bright minds to take on the science teaching career path, and it begins with raising the prestige of the profession to attract those young bright minds,” he said. n
Need for more students to STEM disciplines
Following his latest report revealing the serious shortcomings of Australia’s scientific performance, Australia’s Chief Scientist professor Ian Chubb, has gone on the offensive urging the government, industry and educators to find new ways to attract more students and graduates to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The report, which was released earlier this year, suggests recognition of the benefits that a career in science or engineering can bring would be boosted by an increased emphasis on STEMrelated subjects in schools and universities. Stephen Durkin, CEO of Engineers Australia agrees, saying that because engineering is a profession that relies heavily on advanced science and mathematics, it is crucial to invest heavily in promoting education from an early age. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows an increased participation in STEM subjects in recent years, which may be due to an increase in the overall number of students entering Year 12. Durkin said with school retention rates to Year 12 also increasing, more students are graduating from Year 12 with engineering enabling subjects than ever before. www.campusreview.com.au
July 2013 | 27
technology
Keep up with technology – or perish A university is only as good as its staff and when it comes to mastering new IT, the pressure to keep up has never been greater. By Aileen Macalintal
28 | July 2013
N
ot only do students and teachers need to be up-to-date with today’s fast-changing IT – tertiary education staff also need to be in the loop. “When new technology changes the way we deliver a service or product, the people doing the delivery have to adjust, grow and learn new things. The university must take a leading role in helping team members learn the most useful elements of technology, and to learn them sooner rather than later,” said technology leader and futurist, Scott Klososky. Reskilling a team is crucial in any industry, and in the academic world, such reskilling ought to be in line with a university’s vision for future technology and with the help of proper resources. “It is unenlightened to think people will do all the education on their own,” he said. The best way to re-skill them, he said, is through a combination of learning tools.
“Online courses, workshops, peer groups and books all come to mind,” Klososky said. “Since people absorb information in different ways, it is good to take a multipronged approach. It also helps to give them some kind of incentive to re-skill – either positive or negative.”
Students expect uni to adapt
Bruce Callow, executive director of information and communication technology services at Griffith University, said there is a need to address professional development for tertiary education staff because the current technological environment is evolving at a pace that is perhaps at its fastest ever, and students expect the university to adapt. “The refresh-or-change cycle for technology has gone from two to three years to no more than six to nine months,” said Callow.
technology He said students expect that the University will keep up with technology and that their ability to access resources and conduct business with the University will be done on their device, anytime, anywhere. “This also applies to the academic, research and staff within the university,” he said, adding that only a few roles in a university do not depend on technology. “The staff need to have appropriate technology skills as well as understanding how and where technology can support them,” he said. The professional IT staff should not only acquire new professional skills, Callow said, but they should also adopt a culture that allows them to deal with, and operate in, a continually changing environment. “Even in an environment where many IT services can be pushed out into the cloud and users bring their own device, I would consider it very important to have an appropriately skilled staff who can ensure that students and staff are getting the service they need and making best use of them,” he said. The complexity of technology has to be demystified for many users; for instance, by understanding and managing cloud services and information lifecycle. Here, IT services and organisations play a key role in supporting the university’s professional staff in ensuring the delivery of benefits that technology can bring. “An example here is our move from a ‘break fix’ support mentality to one I am calling a ‘workplace solutions’ capability,” said Callow. “We are currently deploying a Unified Comms capability that is fully integrated with video-conferencing and our use of the Google suite. In doing this rollout, we have moved from training users in how to use the technology to a ‘workplace solutions’ approach, where we come with a box of communication and collaboration tools and work with the work team to identify and implement the combination of these tools that best fit their way of operation,” Callow explained. “To date, this approach has been very successful in achieving high rates of take up and use of the tools, and thus return on investment to the university.”
Move to a service model
Callow stresses that professional university staff will need to acquire and use a different range of skills and capabilities due to the changing technology landscape. “For IT professionals, we are not only talking about their technical skills which they’ve always had to keep updated, but more about their professional skills,” he said. “We need to move from a break fix model to a service model that enhances the user’s use of the technology tools. www.campusreview.com.au
“Alongside this, the security environment and legislative environment becomes more complex and needs close attention.” Thus, some skills that need to be developed are negotiating and managing cloud-based service agreements. Callow added that the university executive expects that “services will continue to be provided in an environment of service demand growth, change and innovation while containing costs”. Fast-tracking the staff’s IT knowledge and skills will depend on many factors and challenges. These include BYOD and cloud-based services, as well as issues in connectivity and delivery of transactions and information. All these must be taken into account, even the advances in ability to collect, store, manage and analyse big data, while containing costs in an environment of service demand. Peter Nikoletatos, chief information officer and director of information services at the Australian National University (ANU), also highlighted the ever-changing technology landscape and its implications. “We are in a tectonic shift right now. Every new cohort of student that comes to our institution is bringing more and more devices. The paradigms of cloud, mobility and social are integrated into their lives. We need to ensure that our service delivery model leverages that,” he said. Indeed, this paradigm shift flips the classroom, as learning has changed. “Two-hour lectures don’t work when the audience tells you Khan [Academy] or TED talks are much more in line with how they learn,” he said.
New-generation students
In training staff, key players need keep in mind emerging technologies and what they could represent. The steps needed to adopt emerging technologies in tertiary education depended on many factors, says professor Mike Keppell, executive director of Australian Digital Futures Institute at the University of Southern Queensland. Keppell said the emerging technology and what was needed to adopt this, depend on the learning outcomes one wishes to achieve. “Selection of an appropriate emerging technology could be undertaken at the institutional, degree, subject, teacher or student level,” he said. He explained that one approach for the adoption of emerging technologies (Web 2.0 tools) is to empower members of tertiary education with “personalised learning strategies and digital literacies that will allow them to adapt and customise their learning”. In the case of students, personalised learning is characterised by ‘new generation
tertiary education students’ (NGTES) adapting, customising and personalising their interactions to suit their needs. “NGTES require a range of digital literacies to enable them to successfully personalise their learning environments,” he said. Moreover, building “rapport with technology” is important, as users, particularly NGTES, generally have an inherent need to express themselves through multiple avenues. Within the higher education environment, users need to be coached to meet learning outcomes, “however, multiple literacies are required to understand the nuances of the technology for learning and teaching needs,” said Keppell. User-generated content includes photos, video and blog posts, as well as status updates or posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. “There has been a fundamental shift towards creating content, that has been enabled by the ubiquitous range of low-cost hardware and software which enables a wider range of people to create content,” said Keppell. “Knowledge acquisition now focuses on networks and ecologies, and knowledge now requires literacies in networking,” Keppell said. To elaborate, Keppell said “students connect via virtual and physical networks, and regularly adapt and personalise spaces around them for their needs. In addition, our learning is increasingly mobile as we move through a wider range of spaces. We now expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever we want. A major trend we are witnessing is that there are now diverse places of learning”. Users may move through a variety of learning spaces – at home, on public transport, or in a café with free WiFi. “Spaces for knowledge generation may be physical, blended or virtual areas that enhance learning, motivate learners, and promote authentic learning interactions,” he said. Nikoletatos says various examples of innovative teaching techniques abound in academia and will continue to become more prevalent. He suggests that perhaps training the staff can be modelled on the latest inuniversity learning. “If you look at those institutions that are producing/developing MOOCs,” said Nikoletatos, “you can determine that this style of online learning will become more pervasive. It will initially complement traditional training models; however, as more and more learning takes place in this vehicle, then teaching will undoubtedly change. When? About five years ago”. n July 2013 | 29
TAFE
The
shape
of things to come
My experience thus far is the vocational training system is far from broken but does need to improve.
30 | July 2013
A stellar army career has provided a fresh approach to adding value to WA’s South West Institute future direction. By Duncan Anderson
TAFE
A
fter accepting the offer of writing something for this publication, I then had to answer this challenging question: how do I add value to the sector? Many who have gone before me would have several years, if not decades, of experience to draw on. Having spent just over three months in this position as the managing director at the South West Institute of Technology in Western Australia, and with my background in the military, how does my background help me? Having spent 15 years in the Army, my “trade” was as an officer in the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery. I am a proud graduate of both the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Royal Military College, Duntroon. I have experienced nearly all of the different Australian training areas and was fortunate to deploy on three occasions, including Iraq and Afghanistan. My experience is in leadership, management, analysis and planning. This led me to conclude that where I can add value is by providing my initial impressions on the sector in WA. I will frame this against the current challenges as I see them, reform, leadership and tradition.
Reform
Reform has little chance of success unless it is embraced by the target audience and is properly resourced. The reform I have experienced in my previous career was wholesale and appeared, at the time, to contain little substance. This review recommended several structural changes in order to address issues around culture and, ultimately, improve the overall situation. It was not embraced by the organisation, and to this day, I do not agree with the way it was handled or communicated. Ultimately, the reform only succeeded in changing the form that the organisation took and, in my opinion, was not successful. I see distinct parallels, at least initially, with the current agenda driving the reform of the vocational training sector, specifically the National Skills Standards Council: Improving Vocational Education and Training, A Case for a New System (NSSC Paper). My experience thus far is the vocational training system is far from broken but does need to improve, ultimately to service industry and meet the challenges arising in the Australian workforce. So why do I think the reform I experienced did not succeed? Looking back, I am convinced the strategic goals surrounding the reform were sound, they were logical and derived from evidence. I suspect that the strategic goals were understood but were not translated into actual operational level plans. Having www.campusreview.com.au
worked at the strategic level and being involved in translating it into actual “feet on the ground” plans, it is an extremely difficult task that required a substantial commitment of intellectual resources. I suspect the leadership team responsible for the reform I referred to in my past life was not resourced appropriately, and therefore its chance of success was limited. The NSSC Paper has originated from a similar position, the argument is logical and reflects current requirements. There is outward acceptance of a requirement to reform the system, however, I am a realist and understand this would not necessarily reflect people’s personal views. I suggest key leaders in the sector must completely embrace both the purpose and the desired outcome for success to be achieved. Additionally, the acceptance of the impacts of the reform needs to be on the table to allow leaders, such as myself, to allocate appropriate resources to the transition of the strategic objectives to operational outcomes. My observation thus far is that reform is moving much faster than the sector is used to and, as such, the considerations I have identified are not being addressed. These considerations alone will not guarantee success – you must have effective leadership within an organisation.
Leadership
I have noted key leadership requirements within the sector, academic leadership and general leadership, to be fundamentally different. Interestingly, it would appear that this is not recognised within structures I have been exposed to thus far. For better or worse, servicemen and servicewomen are selected based on their personality type. This results in many organisational positives for the defence force and Army. Generally speaking, individuals seek promotion into demanding leadership roles and it is rare to find soldiers and officers not interested in promotion. The end result is that the organisation has “grown” very capable leaders and managers of people at all different levels. “Technical” command chains also exist in Army for the purpose of maintaining specific outcomes. An example of a structure is within the maintenance stream where a soldier will be responsible to not only his commander but also his technical supervisor. Within the sector there is a clear and ever-growing requirement for a more academically focused structure to address the growing requirement surrounding regulation and maintenance of standards of delivery. I accept that this requirement has increased substantially in recent years. There still exists a requirement to manage our workforce well and, arguably,
to a higher standard to gain efficiencies in delivery required. But does our workforce structure represent this need? And are we expecting academic leaders to be managers of people when they were not designed to do this? Have we provided sufficient experience and training to our leadership groups? I acknowledge that there are a large number of people who successfully move up the ladder in the sector, successfully transitioning from academic to general leader. However, I suspect that the increased pressure on regulation in the future will require these different types of leadership groups to be more defined. This will certainly test a sector steeped in tradition.
Tradition
Tradition and history should add value to an organisation, not influence outcomes. I firmly believe in traditions having been fortunate to lead (and re raise) an artillery battery that was awarded the rare honour title of “Coral” arising from the Battle of Coral/Balmoral in Vietnam. The key challenge I faced in this endeavour was how to embrace the actions, spirit and camaraderie from an era I was far from familiar with, while not impacting on the current issue of the fundamental move from analogue to digital operations. To be honest, I am not sure how I achieved this and reflecting on this realise it falls into what many refer to as the art of leadership, that component that cannot be defined. Relevance to my current position is that the many people that have gone before me have worked in a vocational training climate I do not understand. So for me it is relatively easy to negotiate the current situation and navigate towards the future within vocational training. I suspect the heavy cloak of tradition may provide some real challenges to many in the sector. I am genuinely excited about the opportunities that present themselves in the future of vocational training in WA as well as nationally, and the importance in providing a key service to my region is not lost on me. I believe my background provides a terrific opportunity for my Institute: I have a different perspective on reform, leadership and tradition to that currently held in many places throughout the sector. I have always felt the greatest privilege is being able to lead professional colleagues in achieving organisational outcomes in service of the nation. It was as an officer in the Army, it is now as a leader in the vocational training sector. n Duncan Anderson is the Managing Director at the South West Institute of Technology in Western Australia. July 2013 | 31
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VC’s corner
Communication
+ Collaboration = Innovation To achieve an even stronger collaboration between universities and industry, we need to address those issues holding this coexistence back. By David Lloyd
T
here’s an oft-quoted line from the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate”. It’s a line that has passed into popular culture but, like many great truisms, is often misquoted and misused, and its original context is seldom appreciated beyond the film’s devotees. Unfortunately, all too frequently it also encapsulates the relationship between universities and industry when it comes to innovation and collaboration.
32 | July 2013
I’ve been privileged to have worked in both sectors. In Ireland, the UK and now in Australia, and I’ve sat on both sides of the table – seeking to engage universities in industry research and vice versa. Along the way, I’ve learned that communication remains the key. Universities exist primarily to generate knowledge, and then transfer it for the community’s benefit. We generate it through our research, and we transfer it in myriad ways – to our graduates via our research-informed curriculum, through publication and public discourse, through patents and collaboration. And sometimes, it would seem, through osmosis. By and large, we are not-for profitorganisations. Industry, on the other hand, essentially produces goods and services that deliver stakeholder returns by generating income. It is an end user of knowledge, which it applies for material ends. It’s what makes the free market world go around. It would therefore appear that universities and industry should make ideal bedfellows, aligned for mutual benefit in a cycle of knowledge generation and consumption.
And yet, from what I have witnessed since arriving in Adelaide six months ago, Australia seems to struggle with this notion of coexistence on an almost genetic level. Workshops are routinely held, new incentives are announced, brainstorms rage. But there remains a sizeable innovation gap, with universities frequently blamed as being the distal, would-be partner. Of course, it takes two to tango. And the prevailing question is which of the partners should lead and which should follow in this collaborative innovation dance? Numerous international reviews and studies have been conducted to try and identify the barriers to effective industryacademic engagement. The UK Innovation Research Centre at Imperial College London’s Business School highlights two major concerns from industry’s perspective. The first relates to intellectual property, and the other the ‘long-term’ research horizon that characterises much academic endeavour. Examining the same question from the university viewpoint, the main issue is an exact corollary – academics worry about the ‘near-term’ nature of industry’s research horizon. The increasing need to get ideas quickly to market. But on the positive side, it also seems that academics are sometimes less concerned about the potential for intellectual property conflicts. In distilling these outcomes we find two areas of mutual unease - one relating to expectation, and the other to perception. There is clearly a need to manage expectation in industry-academic collaboration in the same way it is achieved within industry. Both parties need to discuss and identify their expectations upfront, and agree on timelines for delivery. Industry cannot simply court publiclyfunded research organisations as surrogates to defray the costs of their own investment in research and development. The former must complement the latter as part of a continuum of value creation. Similarly, academia cannot approach industrial collaboration as just another
VC’s corner source of grant funding, as an investment in personal projects, or to produce PhD students and publications. Setting the initial parameters and expectations of any partnership is crucial if both parties are to engage in mutually beneficial business. They must also understand each other’s drivers and factor these into any deal so it can prove ultimately advantageous to both. It is also necessary to understand and articulate the difference between fee-forservice contract work and collaboration. The former can provide specific incremental benefit to the procurer, while the latter can advance innovation through the application of complementary skills to address a given challenge. The differential in time horizons for universities and industry should not stand as an impediment to collaboration. Rather, these disparate end points can provide useful references in planning joint projects together that feed into a road map for innovation on the corporate side. If longer-term research is required for innovation, the most accessible route is via well-defined collaboration. If near term incremental improvement or development is needed, that avenue is fee for service. The issue of perception is linked primarily to intellectual property (IP) and it’s perceived worth. Often, researchers believe that ideas carry a monetary value – and many technology transfer negotiations are founded on the fraught premise of not letting ‘valuable’ ideas escape without securing suitable up-front payment. However, it’s very difficult to put a meaningful valuation on an idea, and insufficient consideration is often given to the fact that commercialisation of intellectual property requires significant effort. Intellectual property is largely a valueless commodity unless it is successfully commercialised. In other words, the best placed party to proceed to commercialisation should be the one that is enabled and allowed to take the intellectual property to market. Academia needs to accept that industry is better at this than we are. Accordingly, we also need to accept that absolute ownership of intellectual property is something of a red herring. Rather, the focus should be on licensing and deal flow, thereby providing a flow of intellectual property to those with the means to advance it so that the IP’s genuine value can be effectively realised in the market. As and when that happens, the nature of good licensing will ensure benefits ensue for the source institution and the inventors. The up-front principle of rewarding www.campusreview.com.au
value-adding input within a collaboration and providing for return on successful completion of programs at market means that both the academic and industry partners can engage openly and meaningfully from day one. Without having to spend months haggling over the hypothetical value of as-yet nonexistent foreground intellectual property. On a macro scale, we need to reconsider commercialisation metrics in universities, particularly around patents and the creation of spin-out companies. A spin-out might make for a good key performance indicator on paper, but the value of the enterprise created is a far better national KPI. Unfortunately, this is not currently factored into the innovation equation. All too often, under-cooked intellectual property can be spun out too early into underfunded start-ups. For the benefit of all parties and for the broader community, we need to ensure that the machinery for successful innovation is also in place to realise the innovation potential arising from academic research. We also need to challenge the perception that the university sector alone can act as a white knight for the creation of new, high-value enterprises for our knowledge economy. That’s because the numbers don’t really stack up. The realistic percentage of academic innovators who can successfully migrate from the academy into the private sector to commercialise and scale new ventures is, from anecdotal evidence, single digit. Low-single digit, at that. For example, in an institution with 2,000 academic staff members, perhaps 800 might be working in science, technology, engineering and maths. Assume 10 per cent of those are competent entrepreneurs of which half have fabulous commercial ideas that can result in the production of iron-clad intellectual property. Then assume that half again actually step out of the academy, successfully raise finance, incorporate companies and go on to employ five to ten staff as start-ups. In total, that is 20 new companies with maybe 150 jobs, if everything goes exceptionally well. Perhaps two of these companies will ultimately scale up from small to medium enterprises. Now consider the time it takes to get to the point of creating a company and employing staff. It simply doesn’t add up to driving a new knowledge economy built on academic entrepreneurship. And these assumptions probably err on the side of generosity. I’m not suggesting we should not try. But it is our responsibility to ensure that this scenario is supported by more realistic metrics and appropriate structures.
We also have to load the odds better in society’s favour, starting with building a much larger working population imbued with entrepreneurship. We must embed creativity and innovation in the student cohort so that the balance actually starts to shift, and that the market is provided with enough competent, resilient risk takers who are also equipped with the necessary skills to generate and refine good ideas, and then carry them to fruition. So that we can progress collaborative ventures with industry and spin outs through the efforts and vision of our homegrown entrepreneurs. n Professor David Lloyd is vice-chancellor and president of the University of South Australia.
July 2013 | 33
VET
Employers
get serious about co-funded training Who wins when employers, not providers, access government funds for training? By John Mitchell
T
here is so much controversy surrounding VET policy that it is difficult to look with fresh eyes upon any policy initiative that previously has attracted debate in the last few years. Based on new evidence, one such initiative which deserves a second look is the National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF). The fund distributes around $130–$150 million per annum directly to businesses, not training providers, for training programs that enable those businesses to improve their productivity. This novel Australian government program aims to help business identify and address their current and future workforce development needs. Robin Shreeve, CEO, Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (AWPA), considers that the unique aspects of the fund are that it is “a co-funded scheme where the government makes a partial contribution to an enterprise for training and other workforce development activities. The enterprise picks the RTO [registered training provider]”.
34 | July 2013
For small business, the government contributes two-thirds of the cost of the training and business one-third, and when the scheme was announced in mid-2011 some commentators believed this one-third contribution was too steep and would be resisted by business. “Some think the contribution for small businesses is too high at 33 per cent, though we define a small business as 1-99 employees. However small business are the largest users of the scheme and the proportion of business with 1-19 employees using the scheme is the same as the national average of these businesses,” said Shreeve. Based on government’s quantitative measures, the program is clearly a success, believes Shreeve. “The fund is meeting its performance indicators in terms of enrolments and it’s very strongly subscribed. We’re certainly going to meet all expenditure targets in terms of getting the money out the door; in fact we’ve probably got more demand than we can cope with.”
Going beyond the quantitative measures, Shreeve finds equally pleasing the qualitative evidence about how the training enhances individual businesses. “We meet the performance indicators and they tell you one story, but some of the qualitative data about the impact it’s had on individual enterprises is powerful.” As an example, he points to one of a number of documented case studies on the Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council’s website, where a transport company used the funds to skill up their entire workforce. “That’s really quite interesting because in their workforce quite a lot are independent subcontractors,” says Shreeve.
Success factors
Two main reasons for the success of the scheme are that the businesses receiving the funds have to make a co-contribution and they can select their training providers, says Shreeve. “The fact that the enterprise has ‘skin in the game’ and picks the RTO are the reasons why we think completion rates are trending at over twice the national average for publicly funded VET.” Shreeve quickly adds that “these [completion] rates are certainly helped by the scheme being for existing employees rather than ‘youth at risk’ or some potentially less engaged students.” Another requirement of the program that some commentators believed would be difficult to meet has been satisfied. That is the requirement that the business applying for funding needs to prepare a workforce development plan, an uncommon practice for many small businesses. “To get the money they were encouraged to do a workforce development plan and they had to contribute funds, which meant they took it really seriously,” says Shreeve. Businesses are assisted in their preparation of their workforce development plans by industry associations and
VET by industry skills councils, and the latter group channel the applications through to AWPA. Shreeve’s colleague, Terry Bowditch, AWPA director of the fund, praises the work of the industry skills councils: “They’re quite involved in the program; they’re intimately involved with it. They’re quite often the first point of contact for enterprises about the program and they’re often in the position to provide advice and support around workforce planning as well. So their involvement in the program is really useful.” Bowditch adds that the completion of a workforce development plan “provides more assurance that the training delivered is part of an overall approach to improving skills and productivity. It’s had a positive influence in driving broader workforce development planning”. Shreeve finds that the quality of the workforce development plans has improved over the last two years because of the support from industry skills councils and associations. While Shreeve says he doesn’t want “an army of intermediaries out there” helping small businesses develop their plans, he believes that the other party that does have an opportunity to assist businesses with their plans are training providers.
TAFE missing out?
Another controversy in the early stages of the NWFD was that only a minority of the funding went to TAFE Institutes, but Shreeve challenges this view. “Some TAFE directors argue that TAFE does not get a fair go – but some TAFEs have done well. Durack Institute won an award for a highly successful RTO from Transport and Logistics as did the Hunter Institute who delivered the language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) component of one project. Other TAFEs involved include Holmesglen, Box Hill, Northern Sydney, Central in Perth and North Coast.” Shreeve finds that some providers, both TAFEs and privates, are better equipped than others to fit with the needs of the scheme: “Because it is mainly for existing workers, the training is often very specialist and needs to be delivered on-site, in often very remote locations. Some providers are better at this than others.” Shreeve suggests that the fund has revealed opportunities for TAFEs they could take up. He cites an example in the Transport and Logistics Case Studies of a Western Australian Railway contractor. “At a presentation I went to they spoke about their industry not being traditionally serviced by public universities or TAFEs, as prior to privatisation State Rail Authorities had their own training schools. These schools closed down on corporatisation or privatisation. They needed very specialist skills in signalling, safe working and fettling and they could not find a provider – public or private – who could deliver this. So they trained their supervisors as assessors and trainers through the certificate IV in training and assessment and became an RTO. This was not easy. “I think there is a huge opportunity for TAFEs to provide both certificate IVs in training and assessment and mentoring and in providing assessing and accreditation services to companies like this, so they do not have to become RTOs themselves. The TAFEs would also be better placed to provide the LLN training. “I do not think it would be ever economic for a TAFE or large private provider to appoint specialist railway teachers given the size of the market – and casual teachers are not an option given the salaries and [labour] shortages in the industry itself.”
Opportunities for providers
Shreeve believes that all training providers, TAFE and non-TAFE, need to decide whether they want to be involved in this field where the public funds go to the enterprise and the enterprise selects the provider. Providers need to make a choice, says Shreeve: “They have to decide if they want to be in this specialist market – it is very different to being a volume provider of institutional based training www.campusreview.com.au
for full-time students or individuals wanting a job or a new job. Both are very legitimate.” “I don’t think it’s a question of TAFE or private providers [winning training contracts from enterprises], I actually think it’s a question of whether the provider has a track record and a willingness to do on-the-job delivery for existing workers. Some large private providers haven’t been very successful in this program because, and I’m not knocking this one iota, their business model is classroom delivery, full-time. “There are both private providers and public providers who have been successful and not successful with the fund. It doesn’t matter whether you’re public or private, you’ve got to have thought about on-site delivery and have thought about how you’re going to do it. Both the private providers and the TAFEs who’ve never been in this field probably need to think about it.” Shreeve leaves providers with the challenge of presenting themselves to enterprises as willing to fit in with the need of the enterprise for on-site delivery. “The industry skills councils are telling us that enterprises are picking RTOs they think will deliver [what the enterprise wants]. Enterprises will pick RTOs even though they might be more expensive because they’re investing their money and the last thing they want is this a quick-fix provider.” Perhaps the only remaining controversy around this fund is that some high-quality training providers are not taking advantage of the opportunities open to them. n www.awpa.gov.au/our-work/national-workforce-developmentfund/Pages/default.aspx Dr John Mitchell’s company measures workforce capabilities. See www.jmaanalytics.com.au
2014 Fulbright ProFessional scholarshiP in Vocational education and training Sponsored by the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education
Package Valued uP to aud 32,000 This scholarship is for employees within the vocational education and training sector or training leaders in business and industry to undertake a 3-4 month program of research or professional development in the U.S. For further information and applications see www.fulbright.com.au
applications close 12 august 2013
fulbright.com.au July 2013 | 35
VET
Wenger’s theory:
moving
forward
Etienne Wenger suggested that the issue is not about learning, but about filtering the learning from multiple relationships and the over-choice of possibilities. By Llandis Barratt-Pugh
i
t is always a special moment when you get the chance to meet an author whose words you have read, and who has made a mark on your thinking. Etienne Wenger was a keynote speaker at the 16th AVETRA conference at Fremantle in Western Australia and for many delegates it was the first time to hear the person who had been so influential in shaping the exploration of workplace learning. ‘Communities of Practice’ (CoP) has become a catch phrase in the world of VET that it a Google search returns 137 million hits. At the best, it is a label that declares the instrumentality of relationships in workplace learning and lies at the heart of our learning philosophy. At worst, it lives alongside that other phrase organisational learning, and is used as an aspirational label for a range of practices that paper over a lack of learning interaction and development space in organisations Wenger walked us through the meaning of his theory and then took us forward to his recent development activity. Since the days of CoP conception, much has changed. We have shifted forward into a world of email, internet and mobile phones. Our communities of practice are no longer just colleagues we work and learn with. We now have a range of communities we move in and out of, and an even wider set of electronic communities that we are part of in a discontinuous fashion.
36 | July 2013
Wenger suggested that the issue now is not about learning from those around us, but about the complexity of filtering the learning from all these multiple relationships that give us an over-choice of possibilities. For him, the problem of the next decades will be decisions about identity – what learning relations to choose and how and where to develop them. For students and trainees, gone are the narrow options of the local apprenticeship and local work relations. Now young people are confronted with a far wider world. They interact more with those in other places than in their own local community. They can access knowledge when they wish and are aware of the options far afield. The confusion of ‘how to be’ is being replaced with a confusion of ‘what to be’. Life is no longer so simple. So what does this mean for us, the teachers, the managers, the researchers, the facilitators of learning? We do have a base we work from. A professional base, built through our formal education and training and educational experiences. Yet we are confronted by the same identity issues as our students. We used to be part of a local learning community, a department, a workplace or a professional development class. Now we too have over-choice. We are linked nationally and globally to networks, associations, and communities where we can read and converse with others who share
or challenge our learning perspectives. Sometimes it is exhilarating and sometimes it is a refuge to run to. Our organisations have increasingly embraced learning compliance, and we find ourselves locally more driven by systems, than by collegiate conversations. There is a continual conflict between the professional identity we have striven to create, and the regulatory environment where we operate. Perhaps Wenger has a specific message for us as educators as well as for our students. Our minds should not be limited, and indeed they can now wander the globe with ease every day. Perhaps we have to learn that it may be the broader network of learning communities we access where we will find stimulation and enlightenment, rekindling our motivation and providing a relief from local regulation. Some three decades ago Alvin Toffler told us in Future Shock that challenge of tomorrow would be over-choice. Perhaps as educators, the challenge that Etienne was setting for our students, is also for us. How do we extend our identities? How do we mix the tensions in our daily communities with the knowledge we are extracting from our wider virtual relationships? n Dr Llandis Barratt-Pugh is associate professor and fellow of the Graduate School at Edith Cowan University.
VET
Teaching numeracy inVET Numeracy is falling far behind literacy as a necessary skill. What’s the answer? A better skilled practitioner workforce is needed. By Tom Karmel
W
e know that mathematics is one of the cornerstones of our civilisation, and those with higher levels of numeracy tend to work in more highly paid jobs. However, we have a tendency to tread lightly on those who are bad with numbers, yet consider it unthinkable not to be able to read. Numeracy is lagging literacy. To illustrate how this impacts business, the Australian Industry Group’s National Workforce Literacy Project in 2010 found that 45 per cent of employers identified labourers and process workers as those most affected by low level literacy and numeracy and that the low skills were affecting their bottom line. The need for all to be both numerate and literate is the motivation behind the Australian government’s 2012-22 National Foundation Skills Strategy for Adults. Clearly, the delivery of this program depends on appropriately skilled practitioners. But I have a nagging suspicion that VET practitioners are not well equipped to deliver the numeracy aspect of foundation skills. To better understand this concern, Seeking the N in LLN, a report released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), examines the capacity within the VET workforce to address workplace numeracy skills needs. The authors, Tina Berghella and John Molenaar, focused on the process manufacturing industry, one that relies heavily on numeracy proficiency of its semi-skilled workers. Although limited in scope, the questions raised are likely to have broad relevance The VET practitioners’ level of experience, their teaching qualifications and to what extent they value the www.campusreview.com.au
importance of numeracy skills of workingaged Australians in the said industry, head the list of questions. The critical issue is the capacity of VET practitioners to address the numeracy skills needs of other workers. Using qualitative (self-assessments, focus groups and interviews) and quantitative (numeracy assessments) approaches, 44 VET practitioners from Melbourne and Sydney, who deliver workplace-based training, were involved. Of those, 20 self-identified as Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) specialists, with the remainder vocational specialists. Of the participants involved in this study, none had a specialist adult numeracy training qualification. This was unsurprising given the only qualification available is a Graduate Certificate in Adult Numeracy Training, which is offered by the University of Technology, Sydney; and the take-up of this course is low. Six participants, however, had an adult training specialisation that included a numeracy component. This bias toward literacy is consistent with earlier research; a 2006 study of WELL (Workplace English Language and Literacy Program) practitioners found they were recruited for their language and literacy specialisations, not numeracy, with few WELL practitioners being adult numeracy specialists. Berghella and Molenaar’s research found that in general, the participants had limited experience in delivering workplace numeracy training. Berghella and Molenaar argue there is a mismatch between what is required to address numeracy skills needs in the process manufacturing industry, and the current capacity of VET practitioners in terms of their understanding of numeracy requirements, and their qualifications, skills and experience. Without an appropriately skilled and experienced VET workforce – skilled in
the identification and delivery of numeracy skills – the VET sector cannot respond to workplace numeracy demands. With this in mind, the authors argue that if workplace numeracy skills continue to be underrepresented, there will not only be a shortage of workplace numeracy specialists, but VET practitioners currently delivering in the workplace will provide inadequate numeracy support. They add that until now, there has been limited attention focused on the workplace numeracy training capabilities of the VET workforce. Similarly, the assumption that LLN specialists are numeracy specialists has limited our understanding of VET capacity in this area. Berghella and Molenaar’s study was modest in scale and it is possible that it does not represent the skills of VET practitioners more generally. Nonetheless, the weakness of VET practitioners and LLN specialists in the area of numeracy is an issue which the Australian government’s National foundation Skills Strategy of Adults needs to address. n Dr Tom Karmel, managing director, National Centre for Vocational Education Research. A copy of the publication, Seeking the N in LLN is available at: www.ncver.edu.au/ publications/2627.html July 2013 | 37
VET
Vocation?
It’s all academic
We have for more than a century used the terms “academic” and “vocational” to distinguish levels of education – and “brightness”. But are those distinctions helpful or necessary? By Stuart Middleton
T
he use of both “academic” and “vocational” as terms that describe classes of education and training activity is one of those old hoary binary distinctions that might well be despatched to the rubbish bin (or probably more often to the recycle bin). If you were “academic”, you had refinement and intelligence and an innate ability to be a lawyer or a doctor or a philosopher, perhaps even a teacher (although I recall being told early in my time as a teacher that “gentlemen [sic] had MAs and teachers had MA DipEds”). Not many people were considered to be “academic” – perhaps 10 per cent of each cohort and that was about the number that therefore stayed in secondary school for five years and proceeded to enter the academy. I had the troubling experience as an imminent adolescent to have my identity as a learner called into question. At the end of school, I was enrolled in a course to be a carpenter at the local technical college. The school principal intervened and insisted to my bewildered parents that I should not do this because I was “academic”. This cast a huge pall over the household. We had coped with many things but being called “academic” was beyond our experience. It was not just that we knew our place but also that we had bought into the view of those who pursued an academic track as being “brighter”. If you were more “vocational”, rather than “academic”, you were perhaps not so bright, you were better with your hands that with your brain, you like practical things rather than theoretical things, you used secondary school to pass through quickly and get out into the world of work. Now, it must be abundantly clear by now, dear reader, that all of this was just nonsense. And yet I suspect the beliefs that kept these distinctions are still more alive than we would want to admit. The universities are clear about their right to inhabit the “world of academia” despite the fact that their publicity emphasises progression to employment 38 | July 2013
and earning power – both strong indicators of a vocational orientation. In fact the developments within the university sector have seen the introduction of many more quite demonstrably vocational qualifications over the last 20 years. So that leaves the “vocational” sectors looking as if they are left with only doing practical things. I don’t think that this true. “Vocational” is the new “academic” in as much as learning in such settings is both academic and vocational. It would be a brave assertion to try to say that this is not the case. Just because a sector has open access and is skilled in taking among the huge range of its students those who the education system has served poorly to that point points it seems to me to greater pedagogical skill than [providers who skim the cream. But oops, I am falling into just another trap of distinctions where there is not parity of esteem. So it matters what names we attach to activity. CTE, VET, TVET are each an acronym that is used to describe trades training and preparation for many careers and suchlike. CTE – Career and Technical Education – is the term gaining ground in the US, but I have a similar problem with that as I do with the academic/ vocational split. Most learning could be described as having a career and a technical flavour. VET – Vocational Education and Training – has been long favoured in Australia and other places as an accurate description and it does add “training” into the mix. This might please the University leader who assured a meeting I was at the other day that “we don’t train people.” But does it capture the broad range of areas that are covered? And as the university system has become increasingly vocation and about training, does it differentiate the sector sufficiently?
Then there is TVET that is used in different places – Technical Vocational Education and Training. Now, this has a ring about it. “Technical” does accurately capture what much of the VET/ CTE/ TVET sector does. It is concerned in large measure with the middle level qualification the technicians that keep organisations, industries and operations ticking over sweetly and productively. It is also note the close vocational orientation of the activity – it produces job-ready graduates who have industry-current qualifications. And it does both education and training. I think that TVET gets my vote. Perhaps there are other ways of differentiating the sectors – a colleague of mine likes to refer to the universities as doing the work that you do sitting down while the VET sectors attends to the jobs you do standing up. Sounds good but too many exceptions. “Pracademic” was suggested to me – nah! The key understanding is that all learning in this modern era is both academic and vocational and that this requires us to practice higher levels of parity of esteem than has been achieved to this point. To continue to have the great divide between what is thought to be “academic” and that considered to be “vocational” is just another of those silly little habits of the past. And to ascribe status to it is even sillier – have you had to pay a plumber lately? n
noticeboard NSW appoints new geotechnical mining chair
Dr Fidelis Suorineni has been appointed the chair of mine geotechnical engineering at UNSW. Suorineni, an international mining expert with research and consultancy experience across three continents, accepted the post in June. Suorineni has spent the last 14 years working as a researcher and adjunct professor at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario – a major hard rock mining hub in Canada. He was a senior research engineer at Laurentian’s Geomechanics Research Centre and its MIRARCO Mining Innovation research institute. He has also worked as a senior lecturer at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and has published more than 90 technical papers in both journals and various conference proceedings.
Medical school’s top role
strictlyspeaking
Charles Sturt University and La Trobe University have appointed Dr Kim Webber as executive director of the Murray Darling Medical School, after the Universities announced a partnership to serve communities. Webber will support the interim board to advance the proposal and establish the Murray Darling Medical School, and she will work with faculty across the two universities’ rural health campuses. She will travel extensively across the region consulting with rural doctors, regional health networks and communities to identify opportunities to expand clinical and medical training capacity to support rural students enrolled in the program. Webber is an internationally-recognised policy expert in rural health workforce issues.
La Trobe alumni and advancement director
Previous director of advancement at Melbourne business school, Dr Alan Watkinson, has been appointed as La Trobe University’s new director of alumni and advancement. Watkinson has experience in alumni and advancement sector, including executive leadership at Trinity College, University of Melbourne and Scotch College. He has served as president and chairman at ADAPE (now EducatePlus). In 2010, he received a Trevor Wigney award for his contribution to educational philanthropy in Australasia. “I am excited by the energy and focus I find at La Trobe at this important time. La Trobe has such a vibrant and unique character which has been shaped by its history and alumni who have gone on to make their mark in the world,” said Watkinson. He will lead the alumni and advancement program, which seeks to strengthen alumni engagement and increase alternative revenue streams, as La Trobe approaches its 50th anniversary.
Sydney conservatorium of music maestro
At the University of Sydney, MexicanSpanish conductor Maestro Eduardo Diazmuñoz has been named the new professor of conducting and music director of the conservatorium orchestra. Diazmuñoz is internationally recognised as one of the most versatile musicians of his generation. His el Tri Sinfónico recordings have led to gold and platinum awards. He was attracted to the conservatorium’s similarities with the institution where he trained as a young man, the national conservatory of music in Mexico City. He received the musician of the year award in 2003 from the international biographical centre in Cambridge, England. He will start full-time at the university in early 2014.
Newcastle uni’s new COO
The University of Newcastle has appointed Nat McGregor as its new chief operating officer (COO). He took up his post at the end of May. McGregor was chief executive officer of University of Newcastle Services Ltd since 2010. He began his career in commercial lending and finance with the Commonwealth Bank, followed by a financial planning role with Masterfoods Australia. He joined the University of Newcastle in 1999 as the financial services and business manager for the faculty of health. Moving to a university-wide role in the University’s financial services area in 2003, he led improvements across portfolios that delivered improvements to the procurement process. In 2006, he was promoted to the position of director, risk and commercial services. As CEO of University of Newcastle services, McGregor has overseen the integration of the university’s on-campus accommodation service, moving UoN Services into a sustainable financial position and overseeing its transition to a multi-campus service provider.
Hilmer appointed U21 chair
UNSW president and vice-chancellor professor Fred Hilmer has been appointed chair of Universitas 21, the leading global network of researchintensive universities, which collaborate to foster global citizenship and institutional innovation. Hilmer said he was delighted to have been appointed chair. “U21 has been highly successful in promoting research collaboration and a significant flow of students and faculty between members,” he said. Established in 1997, U21 has 27 members with over 1.3 million students and more than 220,000 staff and faculty. Their collective budgets amount to around US$25 billion and an annual research grant income of more than US$6.5 billion.
Astroturfing
The practice of astroturfing involves an interested party creating the illusion of public support, to push a particular agenda. For example, the alliance of Australian retailers was set up in 2010 as a front for tobacco companies to campaign against the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes. American senator Lloyd Benten is credited with inventing the term when he said, “A fellow from Texas can tell the difference between grass roots and Astro Turf” (Washington Post, 7.8.85). The usage may well be older, and the practice certainly is – probably as old as politics itself. Shakespeare’s Cassius is portrayed doing a spot of astroturfing as he seeks to convince Brutus that he is more popular than Caesar by faking letters from the public: “I will this night,/ In several hands, in at his windows throw,/As if they came from several citizens,/ Writings all tending to the great opinion/ That Rome holds of his name.” (Julius Caesar, 1.2). This ruse, while successful, looks rather primitive today when the anonymity of the internet allows you to adopt a persona to promote whatever you like. There’s a name for this too – sockpuppeting. It can be harder to discern the true hand beneath a “virtual sock” than to distinguish between real and fake grass. Written by Adam Smith, senior research assistant at the Centre for Language Sciences, Macquarie University.
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Issue 7 2013 | 39
South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
Director – Development and Communications EN - 1438K02 Murdoch is a Western Australian University striving to make a difference to the way we live, think and understand each other and the world around us. We are home to internationally innovative research in fields as diverse as Veterinary and Health Sciences, Asian Politics and Governance and Renewable Energy. With a leadership team led by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Higgott and three internationally respected Deputy Vice Chancellors (DVC’s), Murdoch has gone ‘back to the future’ to re-establish its heritage of research excellence and researchinformed teaching. We have embarked upon a bold restructure which will allow the University to achieve and surpass its ambitious aims across research, teaching and learning and engagement. The University is now seeking a new Director of Development and Communications. The Development and Communications Office is responsible for overall reputation and brand management, marketing strategy, public relations, media communications, alumni relations, fundraising strategy, donor relations, foundation management and corporate events. The role of this Office is to share the highest quality work of Murdoch’s academics, researchers, staff and students within Murdoch and the wider community and to enlist the community’s support for the University. This position is one of nine direct reports to the DVC (Professional Services) and works across all three of the Murdoch University campuses (South Street, Rockingham and Peel). The position of Director Development and Communications is a demanding role that requires an individual who can bring a new perspective to the development of Murdoch’s reputation as an innovative and enterprising university, with the capacity to build proactive relationships with relevant external stakeholders. From TV commercials to fundraising campaigns and graduation ceremonies, everything is directed by a strategic plan. This role would be ideal for someone with extensive experience in fundraising and communications management, strategic and people leadership skills in a large and complex organisation who is looking for an exciting new challenge and who can show initiative and leadership to technical and administrative colleagues whilst developing and maintaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders. For further information about this position please contact, the DVC (Professional Services) Jon Baldwin by email via J.Baldwin@murdoch.edu.au or by phone on +61 8 9360 6608. An attractive remuneration package including employer superannuation contributions and the opportunity to salary package will be offered to the successful applicant along with the opportunity to be part of a team which offers a great working environment. Application procedures and a position description with detailed selection criteria is available from the Murdoch University web site http://jobs.murdoch.edu.au/ All applicants are required to address the selection criteria within their application. Please send applications to recruitment@murdoch.edu.au Closing Date: Monday, 29th July 2013
www.murdoch.edu.au
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