annual report/2006 - University of Melbourne

Melbourne has set itself the difficult task
of providing the best undergraduate and
graduate education in Australia.
“
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In this setting, Melbourne has set itself the difficult task
of providing the best undergraduate and graduate
education in Australia, underpinned by brilliant research
and a sustained exchange of knowledge.
2006 – The Year of Detail
Key processes to implement Growing Esteem began
early in 2006, with fundamental reviews of learning
and teaching, research and research training and
knowledge transfer.
Asked to think from first principles about the curricula to
be offered by the University, the Curriculum Commission
delivered a 10-year Transition Plan adopted unanimously
by Academic Board in September. The Plan details the
actions required to produce undergraduate education
equivalent to the best anywhere in the world. It
recommends that the Melbourne Model comprise six
new generation undergraduate degrees, and proposes
prerequisites, core principles and pathways to professional
graduate programs and research.
Meanwhile, a Research and Research Training Quality
Taskforce was busy testing research performance against
aspiration. Growing Esteem calls for the University to
invest more in areas of strong performance and potential,
where there is scope for significant contribution and
the greatest impact. Data from the 2005 AUQA audit,
competitive grant outcomes, world rankings and an
independent review commissioned from the Melbourne
Institute, revealed an overwhelmingly positive picture
of research at Melbourne. Over 90 percent of the
University’s departments were found to be in the top
three in Australia and, of those, more than half were
first in the nation. Important recommendations from
the Taskforce will help to strengthen further Melbourne’s
research profile as the University prepares to face
the Commonwealth’s Research Quality Framework
assessment in 2007.
Throughout 2006 the Knowledge Transfer Taskforce
worked to develop a uniquely University of Melbourne
definition and framework for knowledge transfer. Taskforce
recommendations, endorsed by Council in December,
emphasise the need to develop intellectual capital through
a ‘two-way mutually beneficial interaction between the
University and the community sectors, with direct links
to teaching and research, informed by social and global
issues’. Knowledge transfer is not just a future aspiration
but a current practice: the Taskforce collected some 366
examples of existing projects across the campus, detailing
interaction with more than 1,200 community, industry
and government partners.
To support the Growing Esteem changes, a Policy and
Advocacy Taskforce identified key public policy changes
required to ensure the widest possible access and
support for students under the new Melbourne Model.
The University has won government support for the
transfer of some of its Commonwealth Supported
Places to graduate study and continues to advocate
the extension of Austudy and Youth Allowance to
postgraduate degree students.
In each of the three stands of the Growing Esteem triple
helix, international engagement continues to be a driving
force. In 2006 the University took a more systematic
approach to governance of its international agenda, with
overall responsibility for strategic and policy direction
for international activities now residing with the newly
created position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC)
(International). An International Plan was adopted by
Council in December.
Towards 2007 – The Year of Transition
If 2006 was the year of detail, the months ahead offer the
crucial process of transition – of finalising new generation
curricula, developing graduate programs and schools,
expanding the range of scholarships and entry pathways
to enable wider access to these programs, building
new support services and facilities, and showcasing the
Melbourne Model for the wider community.
The goal is unprecedented in Australia – significant
restructuring to anticipate the future while already one
of Australia’s leading universities. It will take quite some
time to see the results, as a ‘new’ University of Melbourne
emerges, familiar in goals but fresh in approach. This
is an important moment in the long journey of the
University, a period of change to pursue an enduring
goal – to build a University which grows in the esteem
of future generations.
Professor Glyn Davis AC
Vice-Chancellor