annual report/2006 - University of Melbourne

Growing Esteem/
In December 2005 Council approved a new strategic direction for the University
– Growing Esteem. While affirming the aspiration to be one of the finest
universities in the world, the new strategic direction sets three priorities for
the University – research and research training, learning and teaching and
knowledge transfer. The University adopted the metaphor of a triple helix, an
image intended to capture the three strands of the Growing Esteem strategy
intertwined, each reinforcing the others.
Introducing the Melbourne Model
Central to the Growing Esteem strategy is the introduction
of the `Melbourne Model’, a pioneering model in Australia
and the most significant change to the University’s
curriculum in its 154-year history. Over time, professional
education will move to the postgraduate level, adopting
a familiar international approach. Graduate professional
study or research Masters and PhD degrees will follow
three-year undergraduate degrees which stress both depth
and breadth – equipping students for lives and careers
in which knowledge boundaries are more permeable,
professional practice requires multidisciplinary
understanding and knowledge is rapidly renewed.
As the decade-long transfer to this Melbourne Model
begins in 2008, there will be changes to the student
profile. Undergraduate numbers will decline modestly,
allowing a shift to more graduate education, better
student and staff ratios over time, and an eventual easing
of overcrowding on campus.
As a research institution, Melbourne will open new paths
to scientific understanding, support critical and creative
endeavour and provide an outstanding research training
experience for future leaders in academia, government
and industry.
Melbourne will continue to support a comprehensive
array of disciplines, while also directing additional funding
towards disciplines of strategic importance in which the
University is currently or potentially a world-leader.
The third strand of the helix, knowledge transfer,
articulates the goal of dynamic exchange and partnerships
with the broader community. As a public institution,
the University must ensure that core research and
teaching activities contribute to, and absorb lessons
from communities beyond campus boundaries.
Provision of higher education is now an international
enterprise. The University of Melbourne has been
fortunate in finding an early audience for Australian
higher education, but must assume the global race
will get tougher. New competitors are opening in its
traditional markets.