HEDx

Deborah L. Wince-Smith the President and CEO of the US Council on Competitiveness draws on historical analogy to illustrate the compelling need for technological innovation in all economies. In leading the Universities Research Leadership Forum of the Global Forum for Competitiveness Councils she is spearheading global efforts towards technological transformation in global universities if we are to serve future skills needs of productive and competitive economies. One of many great analogies is to say we have moved from the Little House on the Prairie to the Cyber House on the Prairie and she should know. Details at https://www.thegfcc.org/universities-innovation

Live from the foyer of the UA Solutions Summit in Canberra, this special episode shares immediate reactions from the nation's leaders about what is in the final report of the Accord. Hear reactions from Vice Chancellors Deb Terry, Renee Leon, Chris Moran, Clare Pollock, Simon Biggs, Theo Farrell, and Alex Zelinsky from UQ, CSU, UNE, WSU, JCU, La Trobe and Newcastle. And hear views from other sector leaders including Luke Sheehy CEO of UA, its former chair John Dewar, commentator Andrew Norton, and sector experts Nicola Kresp, Ben Hallett, Nadine Zacharias, and Ant Bagshaw from OES, Vygo, Equity by Design and L.E.K. Consulting in a comprehensive download of instand reactions within two days of the report's release live from Canberra. There will be many reactions shared over the days and weeks ahead but this is the first and most comprehensive overview of what the sector thinks of the Accord.

Professor Ghassan Aouad is a Lebanese man from a mountain village who has established an academic career rising to PVC Research and Professional Institution President as a muslim leader of a family finding its way in universities of technology in northern English cities. He is now the Chancellor of one of the fastest developing universities in one of the most complex, multi-cultural and diverse environments in UAE in the middle east. This is his story of leadership of innovation and growth in a complex multi-cultural setting addressing issues of social change using multiple forms of intelligence.

Will Stubley as CEO of Year 13 and Nora Koslowski of the MBS join Martin Betts in the HEDx studio to discuss how automatic progress from year 12 to a university course may not be either the only or the best option for many young Australians or for the future of Australia. Borne out of personal experience that has seen them feel pushed and compelled to "not waste their ATAR" and do uni because everyone does, Will shares his and his co-founders story and that of their friend who took her life when uni turned out to be not what she wanted to do.

Professor David Maguire VC of University of East Anglia in the UK joins Andrea Burrows of OES and I on the podcast to give an overview of the current crisis in UK university finances.  As someone who has been VC at 5 different universities since the income per student from government was frozen in 2017, he is uniquely placed to comment on the financial health of the sector.

Cate Gilpin Coordinator of Welcoming Universities and Mohamed Omer formerly the University of Melbourne People of Colour Department Officer, share their experiences of what it feels like to be a person of colour on campuses of Australian universities. As O Week is underway across all universities, and we celebrate how welcoming we think and promote that they are, does this hold true for all the diverse students we need and who need us? And what can leaders, institutions and groups like Welcoming Universities do to improve how we do?

Professor Nick Jennings VC at Loughborough University joins Andrea Burrows UK MD of OES and I. We argue that we need more leaders that can practice the art of Kiki. It would be easy at the start of 2024 for leaders to be overcome by the sense of danger and to be blinded from seeing opportunity.  Is the all-staff email to start the year in your university a trigger from leadership that will spiral a fragile culture and mood downwards? What is most needed is a response that stirs an ethical and rational approach to seeking opportunities.

Martin Betts as co-founder of HEDx is the guest interviewed by Dr Ant Bagshaw on the 100th episode. The conversation covers the rationale of HEDx and its purpose of changing higher education for good as a response to the challenges of inequities in race, gender and class that pervade the sector. And it explores the new opportunities for transformation created by technological advances, demand changes, and new partnership opportunities that offer the potential for the HEDx purpose to be realised with an expansion of activities, partnerships and events to a global stage.

Professor Eric Knight, Executive Dean of the Macquarie Business School, shares why and how they worked with Mandala partners to measure how they and other universities perform in helping equity groups gain employment from business education. Applying research expertise and new data, it demonstrates an appropriate alternative to university rankings in informing student choice, benchmarking performance and learning how to improve in measures at the heart of forthcoming policy change.

Professor Adrian Barnett of QUT and Dr Elizabeth Gadd of Loughborough University join the podcast to share their expertise in research assessment and university rankings in arguing for universities to differentiate and promote themselves as more than a meaningless rank. Listen for an unambiguous and authoritative despatching of the worthlessness of university rankings and how they are a barrier to changing higher education for good.