The 7th Annual Higher Education Summit (2009)

Times of change bring forth interesting conversations and opportunities for constructive dialogue.  The reviews of higher education (Bradley) and innovation (Cutler) have presented the higher education sector with much to digest.
The 7th Annual Higher Education Summit provided the platform for a range of presentations and panels covering issues of present concern and options for the future development of the sector.  The two day conference shadowed by the backdrop of the global financial crisis.  As such the nexus between education, skills shortage and employment was a core theme of the conference.
Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC, chair of the Higher Education Review Panel brought a focus to the issues of diminishing participation and the need to address equity, socio-economic impediments and accessibility; the stock of academics and the growing imbalance of supply and demand; the relationship between adequate funding, quality of research, service provision and mission compatibility; as well as garnering the benefits of increasing the number of PhD students.
The Hon Jacinta Allan MP, Minister for Skills & Workforce Participation (Vic) announced a new plan for higher education.  The minister indicated the plan was one of expansion for the sector and aligning it to the Australian Governments proposed higher education reforms.  The plan provided for more university places, better access to those places, and more support for research and development initiatives.  Underpinning the plan were the priorities of innovation, knowledge, skills and creativity.
As the conference progressed the broadness of matters at hand became evermore apparent.  Such matters encompassing:

• What is the sectors point of difference to its international competitors; what weighting should be placed on rankings; is there a congruence between institutional performance and the sectors attractiveness to overseas markets?
• Is the sector equipped to cope with changing mission imperatives and hence adaptive funding models, structures, operations, systems and performance criteria?
• Universities are enterprises in themselves, funding levels and resourcing needs to reflect this.
• Does a world class higher education system necessarily imply all institutions must be comprehensive?
• The macro issues of student entitlements, sectoral competition, equity and staffing were identified as areas requiring timely attention.
• The critical role of the internationalisation of the higher education sector requires vigilance, the cultural, economic and knowledge infusion benefits it brings must be articulated regularly beyond the sector.
• What does full funding constitute - regional capacity building, research or other?

An international flavour was brought to proceedings by Professor Steven Beaumont OBE , Vice-Principal, University of Glasgow, UK; Professor Brian Cantor, Vice-Chancellor, University of York, UK; and Martin Williams, Director for Higher Education Strategy, Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, UK.  Their input illustrated that:

• World class research and innovation requires appropriate resourcing, sustainable funding, flexible structures, collegiality, and that an economic return is not necessarily the only imperative.
• Relevancy of a university is in-part premised on its relationships beyond the front gate, integrating its mission with the needs of its wider environs, contributing and engaging in a collaborative manner, and displaying a commitment that establishes a sense of ownership and partnership between the institution, its students, its region and society at large.
• How does one translate the concept of a knowledge-based economy into tangible and practical outcomes?  Does being a knowledge-based economy define a countrys competitive advantage?
• Building a knowledge capability does involve investing in intangibles such as training, software, organisational capital, brand equity, new design, and R&D.

Upon reflection, the conference illustrated the pace of change for the higher education sector shows no sign of slowing.  Indeed the explicit overtones of institutional relevancy, funding, mission contrast, capacity to change, internationalisation and interdependence, knowledge diffusion and application, cross-sectoral engagement and collaboration, and progressive equity policies, means the watching brief for those in leadership positions within the sector will involve acute complexity, transparency, flexibility and accountability.

Christopher Goldsworthy
Assistant Executive Director
Business/Higher Education Round Table