Satellite EventsPlease see below for a list of satellite events to be held at the National Convention Centre Canberra. |
Murray Room
- Dr Paul Harpur, Associate Professor, University of Queensland, chair of Universities Enable
- Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Strategy and Services, The University of Sydney
- Professor Katie Ellis, Curtin University
- Professor Elizabeth Kendall, Griffith University
- Dr Scott Avery, Western Sydney University
- Dr Lisa Stafford, University of Tasmania
- Dr Ben Gauntlett, the Disability Human Rights Commissioner
Civic universities: a new accord between universities and their communities.
Joint Innovative Research Universities/Engagement Australia event
Time: 8.30am to 12:30pm
In 2023, the Australian Government has committed to a new Australian Universities Accord, starting with the first broad review of the higher education system since 2008.
Across Australia, universities deliver major social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits for their communities. But we lack a systematic way of capturing these important societal impacts.
This event – a joint initiative of the Innovative Research Universities and Engagement Australia – focuses attention on this civic role of universities and opportunities for lasting reform to maximise the public value of our public universities.
A panel of international and Australian speakers will address questions such as:
- How do universities understand the needs of their communities and reflect these in their strategies?
- What is the right balance between focusing on local needs and broader national and global issues?
- How do we go beyond a focus on research commercialisation and industry to include university partnerships with all sectors in society?
- What kind of system should we have to evaluate engagement and impact, and to encourage and support university staff to engage with their communities?
- What specific changes to policy and funding do we need in the Universities Accord to support the civic role of universities and to maximise public good impacts?
Join us for a lively discussion that will develop ideas and policy recommendations for the Accord process.
Book launch of The New Leadership Agenda
Tuesday 21st February 2023 5:00pm – 5:30pm
Universities Australia, Martin Betts and HEDx are pleased to invite you to the launch of The New Leadership Agenda at the 2023 UA Conference. The book emerges at a critical time following the announcement of the terms of reference and panel for the Universities Accord as the biggest review of higher education in Australia since the Bradley Review. At a time like this, having a sense of the agenda facing the sector, arising from the views of most of its leaders, set in a global context, could not be more timely.
The book is based on interviews with 50 global sector leaders including current or former leaders, staff, partners and students of 30 Australian universities. It develops an agenda for university leadership and change arising from the systemic developments that had been building in the sector, amplified by the events of the last three years.
The book launch will feature a panel session of prominent contributors to the book including Professor John Dewar, of La Trobe and President of UA and Professor Carolyn Evans of Griffith University and and Sue Kokonis, Chief Academic Officer from OES in the EdTech sector. The book launch is open to:
• All delegates to the UA conference that opens after the launch
• All attendees at the leadership master classes preceding the launch
• Any other registrant able to attend at Canberra
Register now to secure your place at the launch
Pre-order your copy of the book here in advance of the formal launch
The Association of Commonwealth Universities
Thursday 23 February, 3.30pm-5.30pm
The Association of Commonwealth Universities is the world’s first and oldest international university network, established in 1913 to provide a forum for universities to share information, knowledge, and ideas. Our membership today comprises over 500 universities in 50+ countries, with members based in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean & Americas, Europe, and the Pacific.
By bringing universities together from around the world – and crucially the people who study and work within them ‒ we help to advance knowledge, promote understanding, broaden minds, and improve lives across the Commonwealth.
Our network enables the sharing of knowledge, capacity, and resources, while building powerful connections between universities across the Global South and North. More than 130 members from over 20 universities participate in our Communities of Practise within the Pacific. With practical activities such as events, awards grants and programmes as part of our offer, ACU also uses our position to influence relevant political discussions that have a direct impact on university practice and the wider world.
We invite you to come to our satellite event to network, learn more about our membership and hear about our strategic priorities in the region, our work and impact. Chaired by Professor Barney Glover AO FTSE FRSN, Vice-Chancellor and President, Western Sydney University, the session speakers will include Professor Sally Wheeler, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International & Corporate) at ANU and Co-Chair of ACU’s Supporting Research Community, Dr. Joanna Newman, Secretary General, ACU, Mr Aditya Malkani, Regional Director, Membership, ACU.
Metrics, merit & maximising impact: where next for responsible research assessment?
Thursday 23 February, 3.30pm-4.30pm
With a question mark hanging over the future of ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia), and a wider review of the Australian Research Council ongoing, what inspiration can Australia draw from developments in research assessment elsewhere?
In many countries, the possibilities and pitfalls of using metrics as proxies for qualities and impacts remain a topic of intense debate, accompanied by growing interest in applications of machine learning, which could be used to further automate assessment processes.
Such design options need to be tensioned against potential increases in burden and bureaucracy, and heightened concerns about the misapplication of narrow criteria and indicators, in ways that distort incentives, create unsustainable pressures on researchers, and exacerbate problems in research culture.
Over the past decade, there have been a series of high profile initiatives to tackle these challenges, including the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), the Leiden Manifesto, and most recently the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment announced in July 2022.
Across these initiatives, we see a move beyond questions of metrics and measurement to encompass questions about how to create a healthy work culture, how to promote research integrity, how to move from closed to open scholarship, and how to embed principles of equality, diversity and inclusion across the research community.
For the past decade, James Wilsdon has been centrally involved in research assessment reforms in the UK and Europe, including as chair of the 2015 UK government review The Metric Tide; co-chair of its recent follow-up Harnessing the Metric Tide; and chair of the European Commission’s expert group on Next Generation Metrics.
As Australia prepares to overhaul its assessment framework, James Wilsdon will consider what lessons it might draw from ongoing debates in the UK and Europe, and what insights Australia might offer in return. How can the burden of any assessment framework be minimised without sacrificing positive benefits in terms of strategic data, intelligence and influence? What would responsible research assessment look like in an Australian context?
GET IN TOUCH
1 Geils Court
Deakin ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
T: +61 2 6285 8100
FOLLOW US