Monday, 4 February 2008

Dear Colleagues,


Thanks for kicking off the blog in a useful way. It has been good to see others' posts.


It's a busy time getting ready for the new semester and we have some new systems in place, Student One being one of the most important, to become used to as the semester gets underway. I'm aware that a number of staff have been working very hard on this. Thanks to those staff and to others for your collegial support of them as they work to ensure the new system is operating smoothly.


Interesting for the University now to be working with two Ministers in the Federal Government. As many of you will be aware, research and science were split from the old DEST, so that two different Departments now deal with the business of universities - one focussed on education and the other on research and innovation. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, is our education Minister and Senator Kim Carr is our research and innovation Minister.


The senior executive of JCU had a chance to meet and interact with both Ministers last week at the senior staff conference of the Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRUA). For those that are not aware, JCU is a member of IRUA, an alliance of seven Australian universities: Macquarie, Latrobe, Flinders, Newcastle, Murdoch, Griffith and James Cook. All are similar in history, in age and profile. All are research universities, set up on the traditional model in the 60s and 70s, but operating in a contemporary way. Six of the seven (including JCU) are listed in the top 500 in the world according to the reputable Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranking.


Both Ministers confirmed the importance of the group and that there was an significant and on-going role for our universities. Indeed, they believe we have a very important role to play and a persuasive voice in Australian higher education. Minister Gillard chose the occasion to make some positive announcements, particularly about the need to ensure that the relationship between the Government and universities is characterised by trust and that universities will enjoy greater autonomy to direct their own paths. A diverse, world class higher education system is one of Minister's Gillard's ambitions.


Senator Carr also provided very useful commentary about the importance of IRUA universities and the importance of ensuring that research and innovation in Australia is strengthed. Minister Carr is also keen to ensure that universities, other publicly funded research agencies (eg CSIRO, AIMS) and industry are working well together. He also spoke about the Innovation review he has initiated. Both Ministers' formal addresses would be available on their websites.


Thanks for the comments on Western Courts. I'll ask Peter Hill, Director of Facilities Management Office, to provide some more information on this for you.

Regards,
Sandra Harding
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