Professor Mary O’Kane AC, Chair of the Australian Universities Accord Panel, addresses the HEDx 2023 Mid Year Conference.

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A day after the release of the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report, metropolitan and regional university leaders came together to examine the findings and consider the ‘gaps to be filled’ in preparation for the final report.

Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton was joined by his Executive Group colleagues and other senior leaders from Macquarie at the HEDx 2023 Mid Year Conference in Sydney on 20 July. The conference examined Australian universities at a critical point of change, with educational leaders and industry commentators voicing their expectations and hopes for the future of the sector and the Australian economy more broadly.

Leaders from the University of New South Wales, the University of Technology Sydney and Western Sydney University joined Professor Dowton in the opening panel discussion on the current Australian higher education landscape and priorities for the period ahead.

There was consensus that the Accord represented the most visionary opportunity for change in a generation. The interim report was praised by panellists for its intelligent and nuanced recommendations while still providing space for further collaborative discussion.

“[The interim report] gives us a real invitation to dive in and try to fill in the spaces that need more filling out before a final report is crafted,” said Professor Dowton.

Highlighting his experience as a first-in-family rural student, Professor Dowton joined delegates in praising the report’s focus on improving access to higher education.

“I am very heartened by the attention paid in the Accord to equity groups – low socioeconomic, rural, regional and remote, and Indigenous students. I think it is desperately needed, and the report recognises that the gap in the development of the workforce in Australia is principally going to be filled by these groups,” he said.

Also pleasing, said Professor Dowton, was the report’s emphasis on the value universities bring to society and their communities – a view endorsed by Minister for Education Jason Clare MP when he delivered the interim report at the National Press Club on 19 July.

“The report rightly asserts that the powering of the economic future of Australia is going be significantly influenced by the contributions universities make to developing our workforce and contributing ideas on the research side,” said Professor Dowton.

Following panel discussions on the impact of technology on higher education and the key role of regional universities, Professor Debbie Haski-Leventhal from the Macquarie Business School inspired delegates with her moving personal story of finding purpose in life and work, before joining a panel discussion on how to build a culture of purpose, joy and engagement.

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Listen to highlights from the HEDx 2023 Mid Year Conference on Spotify or Apple.

You can hear more from the Vice-Chancellor about the opportunities emerging from the Australian Universities Accord at his All Staff Town Hall – being held today, Tuesday 1 August, from 3pm to 4pm. A summary and recording of the Town Hall will be published in next week’s issue.