Brian Schmidt is scheduled to speak at the National Press Club next week, on sovereign research capability. So how will he respond to any questions from the floor couched in the context of the campaign to discredit his successor as ANU VC, Genevieve Bell?
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National Skills Commissioner Barney Glover posts a happy-snap of continuing education minister Jason Clare with the Australian Tertiary Education Commission team, that’s him, interim chair Mary O’Kane and Larissa Behrendt (UTS). Apparently, they discussed, “the critical importance of getting the Commission established for early 2026.”
Should not be a problem – the Government has the numbers the Reps and it is hard to see the Greens in the Senate voting against a new regulatory agency. As to the Coalition, before the election, Education Shadow Sarah Henderson said ATEC would be off if she was Minister, “another layer of education bureaucracy at a significant cost.” What will she say now it matters even less.
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The NSW Government is working on an international education action plan. It will, “foster a competitive and sustainable sector that delivers quality student experiences and greater social and economic prosperity for the people of NSW.” And programs now in place do not?
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Professional association Engineers Australia warns we will need 60,000 more engineers in a decade. Part of the problem in recruiting them is the occupation does not appeal to much of humanity. A survey for the Association found 8% of 13-18 year old girls and young women want to be engineers, “with many citing a lack of female role models and understanding of what engineering is as key barriers.” Not surprising; just 19% of engineering graduates in Australia are women. And a big majority are in biomedical, environmental or chemical, with just 20% in mechanical, electrical and civil. Or they were, when Campus Morning Mail reported the shortage in 2018. And back then, women engineers did not hang around; one in six aged between 20 and 39 left–compared to one in 100 men. The most likely reason then was the industry was by blokes for blokes, with “’limited work flexibility, a large pay gap and difficulties in career progression.”
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Luke Sheehy was preaching to the choir the other day when he condemned political scapegoating of international students over immigration and housing, in the election. He explained why this was wrong, adding building student accommodation, “takes planning, money and time.” His audience at the Student Accommodation Association Conference could have AMENed! In agreement.
But with the two partiers formerly known as the Coalition now out of office, Mr Sheehy was optimistic that Labor was the better party for the industry. He pointed out that, “under Labor, enrolment limits are higher, student visa fees are lower, and the settings to control numbers are fairer across the sector.” And he urged the government to deliver, given, “Australians have rejected hard cuts to our international education sector” – which wins this week’s Sherwood Award for the drawing of a long political bows.
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The National Tertiary Education Union announces, “it is time to bargain” at the University of Newcastle. So a new round begins less than two years after the last (long and bitter) negotiations for the present agreements concluded.
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The Productivity Commission is asking for “input” to its three inquiries into national productivity. HE and VET are relevant to all, especially number two, “building a skilled workforce.” In the great condition of not holding an out of control inquiry, the Commission invites ideas by questionnaire (closes June 6) and to save time sets out “two promising avenues of reform.”
One is RPL and credit transfer, which could, “drive competition between course providers and support the growth of innovative education offerings such as micro-credentials.” The other is, “increasing the rates of structured, non-formal work-related training by developing targeted measure.”
If it wasn’t for the long bipartisan tradition of governments welcoming, then ignoring PC inquiries, this would scare silly universities teaching everything the way they have since Dawkins.
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SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has long argued a big state university will attract more international students and now it is about to happen, the smart real estate money is banking on him being right. There is a new development proposal for a 35-story student accommodation tower, on Hindmarsh square close to Uni Adelaide, sorry an Adelaide U campus, It is the fourth development in planning.
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With ATEC imminent, it looks like Jason Clare hopes he has more time for schools, announcing the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review is accepting submissions. School policy is low risk, high reward for national ministers, what with their not having to bother with employing teachers and running schools,
