A napster moment; the end of boring lectures; a tipping point. These are all common responses to the emergence of MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses. Now, simply using a laptop or iPad, hundreds of thousands…
What should students really expect after doing a PhD?
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When it comes to PhD graduates, it’s clear that supply now far outstrips demand. It used to be that doing a PhD almost guaranteed you an academic position but now, any guarantees are long gone.
My own…
University is no longer just a place for high achievers.
AAP/Julian Smith
Each December we celebrate students who achieved an ATAR Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 99.95. In January, we are awed by what you need to study subjects such as medicine, or horrified that…
The idea of a universities commission has been floated recently – but is it a good idea?
Universities image from www.shutterstock.com
There’s been a push recently in university circles for a new body to help govern the sector and act as a buffer between the universities and government.
Champions of the idea point to the Universities…
There are still many questions left about the Future of Higher Education, but here’s some thoughts from our symposium.
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Resisting technological change is futile, according to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans. So how should Australian universities respond to the technological change of online education…
Researchers who have sometimes been waiting years for funding have been left in the lurch by government.
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The Australian Research Council’s confirmation that all funding awards and rounds are currently frozen has caused major concern, if not panic, in academic circles.
The Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook…
The pressure on academics is becoming too much, there needs to be cultural change.
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The pressure is on. More and more universities and academics are working in a culture that is untenable and cracks in the ivory tower have already begun to appear.
The work environment is now characterised…
The global movement towards open access publishing has taken another step with the release of the Finch report.
Flickr/liikennevalo
A committee convened to examine how UK-funded research could be made more accessible released its report this week. The committee, chaired by Dame Janet Finch, was set up last year by Minister for Universities…
There were protests against cuts to the ANU’s school of music, but the changes were sorely needed.
Flickr/Orangedrummerboy
The current crisis at the ANU School of Music has widely been reported as being, fundamentally, about money. The Australian National University’s (ANU) Vice-Chancellor Ian Young has cut ten academic and…
How best to quantify the performance of Australian researchers?
Storyvillegirl
The Excellence in Research for Australia Initiative (ERA) is the federal government’s latest attempt to quantify the “excellence” (or otherwise) of Australian researchers.
And just a few short weeks ago…
The University of Western Sydney has a proud history. Now it must compete on the market.
Colt Group
Can anyone recall why Monday 12 December 1983 was such a crucial date in Australian history?
It was – of course – the day everything changed for the Australian economy. On that December morning the Australian…
Australian universities must raise their game to compete in the global education market.
Flickr/Reality-check
The world is in a state of transition.
The Indian and Chinese economies continue to grow at around 9 and 10 per cent respectively each year, while the North Atlantic economies – the 20th century epicentre…
China’s government has made a massive investment in research, and student funding. Australia can learn a lot.
AFP/Information Services Department
In recent weeks two commentary strands have intertwined and are extremely important to Australia’s future, and with special resonance for the higher education sector.
Beginning with the announcement of…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao.
AAP
AUSTRALIA IN ASIA: In the fifth part of our series, Kathe Kirby of the University of Melbourne examines whether our education system is preparing children for the future.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard…
A portrait of President Assad in Midan, Syria.
Brian Stoddard
Emeritus Professor Brian Stoddart, former Vice-Chancellor at La Trobe University, returned recently from an extended assignment working with universities in Syria.
Below is his account of his time in…
Universities need to remember why they research: to advance knowledge.
Flickr/Gates Foundation
Steven Schwartz, vice-chancellor of Macquarie University, recently claimed that universities should break from being treated as businesses and recapture their moral purpose.
He used the example of Jonas…
International education might not be as healthy as it seems Tim Ellis/Flickr.
International education has become a vital industry for the Australian economy, in recent years rivalling coal and iron ore as one of our largest export industries. But the way we’re calculating international…
Academics should talk more openly about their research and help influence public policy AAP.
Raymond Da Silva Rosa’s article, also published on The Conversation, kindly refers to my recent piece in the Australian Literary Review, which examined why generally academics exert so little impact on…
Are these the sorts of speakers you go to a university to hear? AAP.
The most important issue raised by Lord Monckton’s controversial appearance on two Western Australian campuses is not the limit of free speech or Monckton’s scientific competence. Rather it is whether…
The best and the brightest put themselves put themselves through an intellectual ordeal to end up here.
Flickr/Tejvan photos
The most feared exam in the world has been dropped. For over a century those hoping to study at All Souls College in Oxford opened an envelope with trepidation to discover just one word inside. They then…
