DVCs report on strategic moves in key portfolios – Innovation and Development, and International
[ UniNews Vol. 15, No. 22
27 November - 11 December 2006 ]
Two new University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor portfolios -– Innovation and Development, and International – were created in 2005 to support and to further the University’s work in these strategic areas. At the beginning of this year, Professor Vijoleta Braach-Maksvytis joined the University as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Innovation and Development) and Professor Frank Larkins moved across from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) to take up the International portfolio. As these key players in the University’s strategic direction near completion of their first 12 months ‘in the job’, they talk about some of the year’s key achievements. Christina Buckridge reports.
Innovation and development
Just two weeks ago, Professor Vijoleta Braach-Maksvytis presented a comprehensive report on knowledge transfer to the University Council.
The substantial document was produced by the Knowledge Transfer Taskforce led by Professor Braach-Maksvytis which was set up under the Growing Esteem strategy. It is a first for the University of Melbourne, giving an eye-opening picture of knowledge transfer activities in the University and of the many opportunities for the future.
This new policy builds on the very strong foundations in knowledge transfer for the University that the Taskforce’s Scoping Study revealed, collecting more than 360 case studies.
Professor Braach-Maksvytis told the Council that she was very pleased with the Report and believed the 19-member Taskforce had done an excellent job. The Taskforce has worked to a grinding schedule, meeting on 18 occasions since March.
“The University is breaking new ground here, forging a path where not a lot of previous work had been done, not by the Department of Education, Science and Training, and not by other policy-makers or universities in Australia or overseas. Even the meaning of the term ‘knowledge transfer’ does not have a universal understanding in the literature.”
Professor Braach-Maksvytis pointed out to Council that the Taskforce’s terms of reference did not encompass everything associated with knowledge transfer in the University. “The Report therefore simply forms a framework to guide future University and Faculty decisions on knowledge transfer measures of performance,” she explained. “Its recommendations are the ‘what and how’of putting a guiding structure and measures in place, and importantly, what is knowledge transfer for the University of Melbourne.”
The Taskforce used a wide range of resources – including literature, global and local, and discussions – in its review of knowledge transfer.
Professor Braach-Maksvytis says knowledge transfer reflects the University’s distinctive qualities and reputation and forms the primary intellectual conduit between the University’s academia and the wider non-academic community. “The University’s research, education and technology connect into community and industry through many different paths – commercialisation, policy, public debate, partnership and exchange, and cultural leadership,” she said.
She describes the Taskforce’s recommendations as the ‘basic building blocks’ and framework to transform the knowledge transfer strand of the Growing Esteem ‘triple helix’ into a core capability of the University.
“These recommendations look to the next phase – in 2007– where the focus will shift to new initiatives, implementation, building and demonstrating our capability in knowledge transfer.”
The eventual outcomes, Professor Braach-Maksvytis believes, have the potential to build the University’s reputation for innovative leadership in the higher education sector – not only in Australia but also globally.
A key recommendation of the Taskforce is the setting up of a Knowledge Transfer Committee as a sub-committee of the University’s Planning and Budget Committee. This Committee will have oversight of knowledge transfer activities across the University, including scope and coordination, measurement, communication and promotion, and external linkages.
The University’s acknowledgement of the importance of ‘mutual benefit’ in knowledge transfer is reflected in the Taskforce’s definition –
The University of Melbourne’s knowledge transfer develops intellectual capital through a two-way mutually beneficial interaction between the University and the non-academic sectors, with direct links to teaching and research, and informed by social and global issues. It is anchored in its intellectual capital, history and tradition, and a reputation for independent world-class expertise.
Professor Braach-Maksvytis sees partnerships as essential to achieving ‘mutual benefit’ and the Taskforce Report identifies more than 1200 current University partners. “This includes commercialisation activities, and covers knowledge transfer in internships, first-year subjects, multi-disciplinary programs, for instance.
“Partnerships are crucial to moving forward in knowledge transfer and the Report points to a shift in principles where partnerships drive new initiatives to stimulate not only University research and teaching but also societal benefits on multiple levels.”
The Taskforce Report recommended that the quality of knowledge transfer be measured in terms of four indicators – innovation, significance, scholarship and impact.
These four indicators should also be the basis of explicit recognition of knowledge transfer strengths and achievement in staff appraisal, rewards, promotion and recruitment.
Professor Braach-Maksvytis points out that further development of the indicators will be necessary over the next 12 months, particularly in relation to their potential role in a Research Quality Framework (RQF) process.
The critical role of knowledge transfer in the curriculum was also carefully considered by the Taskforce.
Professor Braach-Maksvytis says that in the context of teaching and learning, knowledge transfer is understood to refer to the various means by which the curriculum and learning experiences are shaped by our social, cultural and economic context. “It is also the way students come to realize the value of their knowledge and skills in external settings,” she said.
The Report highlights the fact that knowledge transfer can be embedded in the curriculum at all levels – and in many ways. These include problem- and project-based approaches to learning and teaching, case studies and field trips, internships, on-location subject delivery, exchange and study abroad, applied research projects and involvement of community and industry participants in class activities to name but a few.
Commercialisation is a strong focus of knowledge transfer at the University and a key component of a knowledge transfer business model. It develops intellectual capital through a two-way mutually beneficial interaction between the University and the business sector, says Professor Braach-Maksvytis, and can link directly to the other strands of Growing Esteem, teaching and research.
The University Council has received a separate discussion paper on commericalisation which deals with the next level of details on this particular knowledge transfer area.
The Taskforce Report also asks faculties to reflect the knowledge transfer strand – according to the framework – in their structures. This would see faculties emphasise aspects of knowledge transfer which were most appropriate for their specific academic and student needs.
The Report of the Knowledge Transfer Taskforce is available at: www.unimelb.edu.au/Council/whac/appa1006.pdf
International
The University of Melbourne has long embraced an international agenda – with a vibrant international student community, international staff and linkages, and mainstreaming international content throughout the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum.
Now operating in an international education environment which is rapidly changing and aspiring to be one of the finest universities in the world, the University is taking a more systematic approach to internationalisation.
The Growing Esteem strategy describes the University as an ‘internationally engaged institution’ – working with overseas colleagues and students to meet global challenges, attuned to shifts in national policy settings and international standards, the emergence of rankings, new market conditions and new players in higher education and recognising the presence of a diverse international cohort of students to promote cross-cultural engagement among students.
When Professor Frank Larkins took on the new role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) at the beginning of 2006, he knew that an international perspective was integral to everything the University does.
“It is one of the key enablers, central to binding the teaching and learning, research and research training and knowledge transfer strands of Growing Esteem together. If we are to recruit the best students and staff, a benchmark of international excellence must be embedded right across the University.”
So why exactly after 150 years does the University need a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International)?
Frank Larkins sees four good reasons – international student recruitment, bi-lateral linkages with leading international institutions, international university rankings and international research linkages.
“We now have 10 000 students from 120 countries and they come because of our international positioning; whether as individuals or as government sponsored, they want an assurance that Melbourne is a good place to make an educational investment,” he said.
The University is also strategically building enduring international partnerships with other world-class institutions. Professor Larkins cites China as a good example where the University is aligned with top 10 Chinese universities and with the elite Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
International rankings now influence the decisions being made by prospective students and staff to come to Melbourne, and by international research granting bodies on whether they invest in the University. It is important for the University to position itself in an institutionally coordinated way.
With the increasing importance of international research income from the US National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health and overseas corporations, Professor Larkins supports a proposal which has come from the Research and Research Training Taskforce for international research collaboration advisers covering regions of the world.
The University now has an International Committee to directly advise the Planning and Budget Committee on international strategic and policy matters, and an International Plan will be presented to the December meeting.
This year Frank Larkins has been taking stock, shaping a more systematic agenda for the future, sharpening the University’s regional focus. He has visited Singapore, Malaysia, South America, India and the Middle East to gauge the international student market and connect with local universities, and research bodies and government departments.
He led a multi-faculty delegation to South America – visiting Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru and Columbia in just two weeks – profiling the University, gaining an understanding of the South American higher education system and assessing potential for strategic engagement in research collaboration and postgraduate training. “The postgraduate area is encouraging as the majority of postgraduate courses are in English.”
Professor Larkins notes that the No 1 ranked South American university - the University of Sao Paolo in Brazil – receives a generous $1 billion a year in local government funding., by virtue of a fixed proportion of the GST.
Meanwhile, in many of our traditional international student markets, the in-country capacity has increased enormously as they build their own universities. “However while the undergraduate market is flattening, we are seeing growth in the postgraduate area,” Professor Larkins said.
Melbourne is currently negotiating a collaborative agreement for capacity building in Malaysian higher education. The agreement for a ‘split PhD’ would see up to 375 Malaysian academics undertaking an innovative four-year PhD program – two years in Malaysia and two years in Australia.
The University is also moving to establish new offshore offices to communicate the Melbourne Model to local stakeholders, maintain and grow international student numbers, engage more effectively with alumni, and facilitate research and academic collaborations.
The first will be in Bangalore in India, where the University will co-locate with the Victorian Government’s Invest Victoria business office. This will be followed by offices in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur later in 2007 and other locations will be considered in 2008. The University has had offices in Jakarta and Bangkok for some years and the Bangkok office recently won a prestigious Thai-Australia Chamber of Commerce export award.
“These new offices will not just be shopfronts to recruit students,” Professor Larkins explains. “They will position the University and build our profile. Having someone on the ground makes a statement about long-term commitment.”
As 2006 draws to a close, Frank Larkins is pleased to see the embryonic Confucius Institute up and running, with Co-Director Corporate Engagement, Ms Barbara Hilder, in place. University of Melbourne Professor of Chinese David Holm is an Academic Co-Director. Nanjing University, the Institute’s Chinese patron, will appointment another Academic Co-Director.
With funding from both the Chinese and Victorian Governments, the Institute is co-located with the Australian China Business Council in Bouverie Street. As well as delivering language, cultural exchange and training programs, it will offer advanced programs to enhance the business and trade relations between the State of Victoria and China. Professor Larkins sees significant involvement of University staff with expertise in Chinese law, business, art and culture.
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