A range of consultations to inform a refreshed strategic framework and new operating plan for Macquarie was announced by the Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton at an all-staff Town Hall on 1 August.

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Opportunities to engage:

• Book to attend a workshop with the Vice-Chancellor this month, to consider new futures for the University and our strategies for those futures
• Provide input to the Macquarie University response to the interim report of the Australian Universities Accord by email to vc@mq.edu.au by 18 August

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OUR UNIVERSITY: A FRAMING OF FUTURES

Professor Dowton said Our University: A Framing of Futures had provided a broad strategic frame for the University over the last 10 years.

“The external environment has changed significantly over that time, due most recently to the COVID-19 epidemic and the rapid evolution of many aspects of how organisations work in a post-pandemic environment.”

Professor Dowton said the changes expected through the Australian Universities Accord also made it timely to begin a process over the next few months to define a starting place for some key elements that might frame the University’s future and, from that, derive a new operating plan for the University.

He will be engaging widely across the University in meetings and workshops, on campus and digitally, to draw ideas to guide a framing of ‘new futures’ for the University.  Once that consultation is completed, the process will be paused pending the outcome of the Universities Accord and finalised in early 2024.

Register to attend a workshop >

Professor Dowton said Macquarie’s submission to the Universities Accord process is in development following the mid-July release of the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report. Colleagues are encouraged to contribute to the submission via email to vc@mq.edu.au before 18 August. The Accord panel also welcomes submissions from individuals and groups within universities and the wider community.

EDUCATION STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

The Vice-Chancellor was joined in the Town Hall by Professor Rorden Wilkinson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), to introduce a consultation program on the next stage of the University’s education strategy – the Macquarie Advantage.

Professor Wilkinson reflected that, almost a year after joining Macquarie, he had learned a great deal about the institution and he had been humbled by the welcome he had received.  “The collegial and collaborative culture at Macquarie is very special and I have been impressed by the engagement of students and staff alike.”

In setting out the development of the education strategy, Professor Wilkinson said that much of the work would centre on the benefit that students take from their university education through the rest of their lives and how we might articulate and ensure we continue to deliver on the benefits of a Macquarie University education.

Exploring the concept of Macquarie as a ‘university for everyone’, particularly in the context of the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report, he said “the sector is now challenged to ensure not only equity of access to higher education across a diverse student population, but also equity of success. This would require new thinking on teaching, assessment, feedback and student support services”.

The work on Macquarie Advantage strategy is gathering momentum in five key areas:

• Wellbeing and belonging
• Employability
• Academic excellence
• Digital technology
• Assessment and feedback

A series of consultation and engagement opportunities for staff and students will inform the next phase of strategy development. Opportunities to participate and contribute will be shared with the University community in the coming weeks.