Fundamentally, there are two big motives for research.
On the on hand there is intellectual ambition: the desire to know and understand the word, to appreciate the best that has been said and thought…
The University of Western Sydney has a proud history. Now it must compete on the market.
Colt Group
Can anyone recall why Monday 12 December 1983 was such a crucial date in Australian history?
It was – of course – the day everything changed for the Australian economy. On that December morning the Australian…
The collaborative spirit once embraced by universities in the pursuit of community service is giving way to confidentiality and secrecy as top-down managerialism takes hold, a conference on higher education…
What does it mean to be truly open?
D Sharon Pruitt
The word “open” has grown educational wings over the past decade. From the British Open University, which enrolled its first students in 1971, the concept has expanded to mean various ways of relaxing…
When jobs are disappearing, why are we training more journalists?
flickr
By Diana Bossio, Swinburne University of Technology
It usually begins mid-way through their university career.
My office begins to fill with panicked journalism students who have seen the dismal job vacancies in their field and are starting to think their…
The mining boom has protected Australia from ill economic winds but will not continue forever.
AAP/Le May
2012 will be a critical time in our development as a nation with huge uncertainties in many areas both in Australia and globally.
Over more than ten years we have lived through a remarkable mining boom…
Central Queensland University should reconsider its plans to offer a chiropractic degree.
Aidan Jones
It’s difficult enough to counter the massive amount of misleading information provided to consumers through the media and online. But the task becomes much harder when tertiary institutes give an undeserved…
Shane Warne is just one unlikely member of the PhD club.
AAP
What do Shane Warne, Kylie Minogue, Muammar Gaddafi, Mike Tyson and Kermit the Frog have in common?
Believe it or not, all have been awarded university doctorates.
Yep, that’s right, Dr Warney. Southampton…
China's government has made a massive investment in research, and student funding. Australia can learn a lot.
AFP/Information Services Department
In recent weeks two commentary strands have intertwined and are extremely important to Australia’s future, and with special resonance for the higher education sector.
Beginning with the announcement of…
Chinese students may have a different take on the media, but universities in Australia can learn from them.
Flickr/badbrother
There is a vast difference between how China is reported inside and outside the country. And that extends to how media and communication is taught in China and Australia.
One of my new PhD students, who…
An Indonesian stamp marking a 1959 Colombo Plan conference.
flickr/karen horton
AUSTRALIA IN ASIA: In the sixth part of our series, David Lowe of Deakin University examines an education project which brought us closer to our Asian neighbours.
The Colombo Plan for aid to South and…
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser is 'uneasy' about Liberal leader Tony Abbott because he is unpredictable.
AAP
Welcome to our “In Conversation” between former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and Melbourne University political scientist Professor Robyn Eckersley.
First elected to Federal parliament in 1955, Fraser…
Students conquering a threshold concept open up a world of new possibilities.
Flickr/Cayusa
That “Eureka” moment when a student thunders over an educational hurdle opening up a new realm of learning, is the holy grail for educators.
The technical term is a “threshold concept”, and they’re being…
Universities need to remember why they research: to advance knowledge.
Flickr/Gates Foundation
Steven Schwartz, vice-chancellor of Macquarie University, recently claimed that universities should break from being treated as businesses and recapture their moral purpose.
He used the example of Jonas…
More maths teachers means better outcomes for students
Flickr
By Jan Thomas, Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute
There is a crisis in the education system, and it’s affecting the life chances of many young Australians. The number of secondary teaching graduates with adequate qualifications to teach mathematics is…
International education might not be as healthy as it seems Tim Ellis/Flickr
International education has become a vital industry for the Australian economy, in recent years rivalling coal and iron ore as one of our largest export industries. But the way we’re calculating international…
Academics should talk more openly about their research and help influence public policy AAP
Raymond Da Silva Rosa’s article, also published on The Conversation, kindly refers to my recent piece in the Australian Literary Review, which examined why generally academics exert so little impact on…
Are these the sorts of speakers you go to a university to hear? AAP
The most important issue raised by Lord Monckton’s controversial appearance on two Western Australian campuses is not the limit of free speech or Monckton’s scientific competence. Rather it is whether…
Exams aren't the only way to turn out graduates ready for the world of work.
Flickr/Reality-check
The time has come to abolish university examinations. Just because something has been around a long time there’s no reason to assume it’s outdated. But in the case of exams that assumption would be right…
Higher education and research largely escaped the budget cuts.
AAP
With its electoral support eroding, the federal government has been careful not to trigger frustration or disappointment in higher education and research.
These have been largely Labor constituencies…
