2023 offers significant opportunities for Australian higher education. With universities continuing to recover from the disruption of the pandemic and the government embarking on a major policy reform process, this symposium examined changing purposes of higher education. Discussion focussed on what this means for individuals, organisations, national and international communities, and policy and practice.
The symposium commenced with a keynote by Professor Simon Marginson on the intrinsic and extrinsic purposes of higher education. Sessions featuring leading thinkers explored the different purposes of higher education within the Australian context and examined individual and social collective outcomes. Presenters discussed how we know what works best for different purposes, what evidence base we have and what continues to be unresolved.
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Friday 24 March, 2023 - Program
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 8.30am | Registration |
| 8.45am | Welcome Professor Sophie Arkoudis (University of Melbourne) |
| 9.00am | Keynote Professor Simon Marginson (Oxford University) The intrinsic and extrinsic purposes of higher education This keynote examines the intrinsic functions of higher education, that relates to person-formation and knowledge and are arguably the core activities of higher education for which universities are wholly accountable, as well as the extrinsic functions, activities which universities carry out in partnership with other social sectors. The extrinsic functions include the preparation of students for work and occupations. In the case of the extrinsic functions, where accountability should be joint, the imperative is to strengthen the relationship with partner sectors. Response by Professor Michael Wesley (University of Melbourne) |
| 10.15am | Morning tea |
| 10.45am | Diverse student cohorts Professor Jill Blackmore (Deakin University) Marina Gabra (Student at the University of Melbourne) Professor Sarah O’Shea (Curtin University) One of the purposes of Australian higher education has been to widen participation for diverse groups. Australia has been successful at increasing access but to what extent do universities need to change their practices to meet diverse students’ expectations and experiences, particularly for regional students?Chaired by Professor Chi Baik (University of Melbourne) |
| 11.45am | Australian international higher education Jon Chew (Navitas) Professor Ly Tran (Deakin University) Professor Chris Ziguras (RMIT University) Up until recently Australia has been successful in building its international higher education sector. The challenge now is to revisit the purposes of international education and ask what has changed over recent years and what should universities do differently?Chaired by Professor Sophie Arkoudis (University of Melbourne) |
| 12.45pm | Lunch |
| 1.45pm | Australian domestic higher education Associate Professor Gwilym Croucher (University of Melbourne) Professor Andrew Norton (Australian National University) In recent years the key purpose of higher education for many students has been graduate outcomes and preparation for work and occupation. Has this been succesful, to what extent has public policy shaped this and what should Australia do differently in the future?Dr Tracey West (Griffith University) |
| 2.45pm - 3pm | Summary |
Keynote speaker
Professor Simon Marginson
Oxford University
Simon Marginson is Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford, Director of the ESRC/RE Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE), Joint Editor-in-Chief of Higher Education, and a Professorial Associate of the Melbourne Centre for Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in UK and of the Society for Research into Higher Education, and a member of Academia Europaea. Simon’s research is focused primarily on global and international higher education, higher education in East Asia, global science, and higher education and the common good. He is widely published (Google Scholar h-index 80). Recent books include Changing higher education in East Asia, edited with Xin Xu (Bloomsbury, 2022). Forthcoming is Assessing the contributions of higher education, edited with Brendan Cantwell, Daria Platonova and Anna Smolentseva (Edward Elgar, 2023).
With sessions featuring (in alphabetical order):
Prof Sophie Arkoudis
Sophie Arkoudis is Professor in Higher Education and Director of the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education. She is a national and international researcher in higher education.
Prof Chi Baik
Professor in Higher Education and Deputy Director of the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
Prof Jill Blackmore
Alfred Deakin Professor in Education, Faculty of Arts and Education. a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and Vice-President of the Australian Association of University Professors.
Jon Chew
Jon Chew is Global Head of Insights and Analytics at Navitas, and one of Australia's foremost experts in international education market trends.
A/Prof Gwilym Croucher
Associate Professor in higher education policy and management at the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
Prof Andrew Norton
Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy at the Centre for Social Research and Methods at the Australian National University. He is also an honorary fellow at the Melbourne CSHE.
Prof Sarah O'Shea
An award-winning professor educator and internationally recognised researcher, who applies sociological perspectives to the study of higher education equity.
Prof Ly Tran
Professor in the School of Education, Deakin University and an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow.
Prof Michael Wesley
Deputy Vice-Chancellor International at the University of Melbourne. Also, Professor of Politics at the University of Melbourne. His research and writing focuses on Australian foreign policy and the international affairs of Asia and the Pacific.
Prof Tracey West
Dr Tracey West is known for her research expertise in financial literacy and gender issues facing retirement savings policy and financial education.
Prof Chris Ziguras
Professor of Global Studies and leads the University's global studies, languages, and translating and interpreting disciplines.
Welcome by Professor Sophie Arkoudis (Universty of Melbourne)
Keynote: The intrinsic and extrinsic purposes of higher education
Professor Simon Marginson (Oxford University)
This keynote examines the intrinsic functions of higher education, that relates to person-formation and knowledge and are arguably the core activities of higher education for which universities are wholly accountable, as well as the extrinsic functions, activities which universities carry out in partnership with other social sectors. The extrinsic functions include the preparation of students for work and occupations. In the case of the extrinsic functions, where accountability should be joint, the imperative is to strengthen the relationship with partner sectors.
Response by Professor Michael Wesley (University of Melbourne)
Diverse student cohorts
Professor Jill Blackmore (Deakin University)
Marina Gabra (Student at the University of Melbourne)
Professor Sarah O’Shea (Curtin University)
One of the purposes of Australian higher education has been to widen participation for diverse groups. Australia has been successful at increasing access but to what extent do universities need to change their practices to meet diverse students’ expectations and experiences, particularly for regional students?
Chaired by Professor Chi Baik (University of Melbourne)
Australian international higher education
Jon Chew (Navitas)
Professor Ly Tran (Deakin University)
Professor Chris Ziguras (RMIT University)
Up until recently Australia has been successful in building its international higher education sector. The challenge now is to revisit the purposes of international education and ask what has changed over recent years and what should universities do differently?
Chaired by Professor Sophie Arkoudis (University of Melbourne)
Australian domestic higher education
Associate Professor Gwilym Croucher (University of Melbourne)
Professor Andrew Norton (Australian National University)
Dr Tracey West (Griffith University)
In recent years the key purpose of higher education for many students has been graduate outcomes and preparation for work and occupation. Has this been succesful, to what extent has public policy shaped this and what should Australia do differently in the future?
Summary and Closing Remarks by Simon Marginson