HEDx

Minerva Founder Ben Nelson outlines the work that builds on the measurable outcomes of improved learning being achieved in Minerva University to change what he sees as an outdated higher education model. He argues that  the current higher education approach has students cram, pass and forget the knowledge they have gained from what we all know to be failed educational processes and curricula. Minerva University seeks to teach diverse students to learn and Minerva Project seeks to scale that model in transforming a 1000 year old university model over a 50 year period of change. What do you think of this model and where progress is up to?

This episode has a panel co-hosted with Joel Di Trapani co-CEO of VYGO. We had a chance in front of 10,000 delegates at the ASU+GSV summit in San Diego recently to lead a discussion on how technology generally and AI in particular is being used to support students in both Australia and the US. With global experts in Linda Brown, David Linke and Candace Sue on our panel we dissected the different approaches to innovation in the two contexts in a live broadcast from the world's leading gathering of HigherEd tech experts.

Arthur Levine is a scholar of HigherEd with a pedigree that includes working with Clark Kerr and Ernest Boyer at the Carnegie Foundation. He also has experience as a US college president including at Columbia Teacher's College. In this episode he updates his 2021 book written with Scott van Pelt called The Great Upheaval. He uses analysis of history, forecasts of the future, and lessons from a sideways look at related industries to predict the widespread disruption of global higher education and calls for all global university leaders to heed the message and act to adapt or become irrelevant.

Anthony Finkelstein as VC and President of City University of London explores issues of disruption and transformation facing global universities due to technology ahead of his merger with St George's University of London on August 1st. He says"if we are able to fulfil the potential of technology we will deliver improved quality of hyper personalised education for lifelong learning and the opportunity is immense and for the good. We just need to do something about it."

Linda Brown CEO and Alwyn Louw tell the story of Torrens University Australia 1.0 on stage at the HEDx conference in Melbourne in March. They tell of its incredible growth as a private American-owned Corp to become Australia's fastest growing university. They are followed by Nora Koslowski, Will Stubley, Kat Page, Omar de Silva and David Yip. These innovators explorie how the nature of work and skills needs have changed. They call for new business models of lifelong learning provision to emerge alongside our public and private universities in global lifelong learning markets. What will the more diverse future world of lifelong learning look like?

Joshua Nester as MD of SEEK Investments gives a global overview of investments being made in private universities, EdTech companies, and in OPMs and content aggregators. He outlines how this is changing the competitive landscape of global higher Ed. He is then followed by Sue Kokonis as Chief Academic Officer of OES leading a panel at the recent HEDx conference that includes David Linke the CEO of Edugrowth, Manuela Franceschini Pedagogical Evangelist of Adobe, Sherman Young DVC of RMIT and Eric Knight, Dean of the Macquarie Business School. How will technology change higher education for good?

David Lloyd as Chair of UA and VC of UniSA gives this keynote presentation to the first session of the HEDx conference calling for action now from the sector ahead of finalisation of a government response to the Accord. A message echoed in a panel made up of VCs Andrew Parfitt and Helen Bartlett of UTS and UniSC and DVCs Jessica Vanderlelie and Kent Anderson of La Trobe and Newcastle. Hear the keynote and the leaders' panel at the March 21st HEDx conference as the most comprehensive considered reactions to our landmark policy report are aired at a sector-wide event in Melbourne.

Mike Ilczynski as Managing Director Education at SEEK Investment shares experiences of a global investor in EdTech and Higher Ed. He describes opportunities for lifelong learning to offer significant growth to providers willing to be techno optimists like him and his company.

Shamit Saggar Director of the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success and Professor Paul Harpur of UQ and Universities Enable were two of the most significant leaders of equity groups at the heart of the Accord and its Ministerial Reference Group.  Their reflections on the Accord final report and prospects for its funding and implementation in the months and years ahead is the most important conversation about equity in the Accord available at this point in time and available to all in the most equitable way here.

Deborah L. Wince-Smith the President and CEO of the US Council on Competitiveness draws on historical analogy to illustrate the compelling need for technological innovation in all economies. In leading the Universities Research Leadership Forum of the Global Forum for Competitiveness Councils she is spearheading global efforts towards technological transformation in global universities if we are to serve future skills needs of productive and competitive economies. One of many great analogies is to say we have moved from the Little House on the Prairie to the Cyber House on the Prairie and she should know. Details at https://www.thegfcc.org/universities-innovation

Live from the foyer of the UA Solutions Summit in Canberra, this special episode shares immediate reactions from the nation's leaders about what is in the final report of the Accord. Hear reactions from Vice Chancellors Deb Terry, Renee Leon, Chris Moran, Clare Pollock, Simon Biggs, Theo Farrell, and Alex Zelinsky from UQ, CSU, UNE, WSU, JCU, La Trobe and Newcastle.

And hear views from other sector leaders including Luke Sheehy CEO of UA, its former chair John Dewar, commentator Andrew Norton, and sector experts Nicola Kresp, Ben Hallett, Nadine Zacharias, and Ant Bagshaw from OES, Vygo, Equity by Design and L.E.K. Consulting in a comprehensive download of instand reactions within two days of the report's release live from Canberra.

There will be many reactions shared over the days and weeks ahead but this is the first and most comprehensive overview of what the sector thinks of the Accord.

Professor Ghassan Aouad is a Lebanese man from a mountain village who has established an academic career rising to PVC Research and Professional Institution President as a muslim leader of a family finding its way in universities of technology in northern English cities. He is now the Chancellor of one of the fastest developing universities in one of the most complex, multi-cultural and diverse environments in UAE in the middle east. This is his story of leadership of innovation and growth in a complex multi-cultural setting addressing issues of social change using multiple forms of intelligence.

Will Stubley as CEO of Year 13 and Nora Koslowski of the MBS join Martin Betts in the HEDx studio to discuss how automatic progress from year 12 to a university course may not be either the only or the best option for many young Australians or for the future of Australia. Borne out of personal experience that has seen them feel pushed and compelled to "not waste their ATAR" and do uni because everyone does, Will shares his and his co-founders story and that of their friend who took her life when uni turned out to be not what she wanted to do.

Professor David Maguire VC of University of East Anglia in the UK joins Andrea Burrows of OES and I on the podcast to give an overview of the current crisis in UK university finances.  As someone who has been VC at 5 different universities since the income per student from government was frozen in 2017, he is uniquely placed to comment on the financial health of the sector.

Cate Gilpin Coordinator of Welcoming Universities and Mohamed Omer formerly the University of Melbourne People of Colour Department Officer, share their experiences of what it feels like to be a person of colour on campuses of Australian universities. As O Week is underway across all universities, and we celebrate how welcoming we think and promote that they are, does this hold true for all the diverse students we need and who need us? And what can leaders, institutions and groups like Welcoming Universities do to improve how we do?

Professor Nick Jennings VC at Loughborough University joins Andrea Burrows UK MD of OES and I. We argue that we need more leaders that can practice the art of Kiki. It would be easy at the start of 2024 for leaders to be overcome by the sense of danger and to be blinded from seeing opportunity.  Is the all-staff email to start the year in your university a trigger from leadership that will spiral a fragile culture and mood downwards? What is most needed is a response that stirs an ethical and rational approach to seeking opportunities.

Martin Betts as co-founder of HEDx is the guest interviewed by Dr Ant Bagshaw on the 100th episode. The conversation covers the rationale of HEDx and its purpose of changing higher education for good as a response to the challenges of inequities in race, gender and class that pervade the sector. And it explores the new opportunities for transformation created by technological advances, demand changes, and new partnership opportunities that offer the potential for the HEDx purpose to be realised with an expansion of activities, partnerships and events to a global stage.

Professor Eric Knight, Executive Dean of the Macquarie Business School, shares why and how they worked with Mandala partners to measure how they and other universities perform in helping equity groups gain employment from business education. Applying research expertise and new data, it demonstrates an appropriate alternative to university rankings in informing student choice, benchmarking performance and learning how to improve in measures at the heart of forthcoming policy change.

Professor Adrian Barnett of QUT and Dr Elizabeth Gadd of Loughborough University join the podcast to share their expertise in research assessment and university rankings in arguing for universities to differentiate and promote themselves as more than a meaningless rank. Listen for an unambiguous and authoritative despatching of the worthlessness of university rankings and how they are a barrier to changing higher education for good.

Siobhan Savage as CEO of Reejig joins Dr Nora Koslowski of MBS and I in the HEDx studio to describe the changes in the world of work. Improving the matching of employers' skills needs with workers' skills profiles is creating a lifelong learning revolution. The new revenue opportunities for tertiary education providers are extraordinary. Will our existing universities take advantage or miss out to competition from others?

Professor Aleks Subic as Vice Chancellor of Aston University unveils the new "Aston 2030" strategy from the heartland of the first industrial revolution. Partnerships with tech companies that are driving Industry 4.0 are central to plans to bring Higher Education 4.0 to the inclusive and transformational benefit of all.

Professor Martin Bean of the Bean Centre joins the podcast with co-host Sue Kokonis Chief Academic Officer of OES to discuss his new book "Toolkit for Turbulence" with practical advice for leaders managing ambiguity in higher education.

Professor Ann Kirschner, Interim President of Hunter College at City University of New York shares thoughts of how far all universities are away from omni-channel delivery of learning as she considers responses being considered to the Great Upheaval in Higher Education.

Brandon Busteed Global Head of Partnerships for Kaplan joins the podcast to discuss the changing value proposition and sentiment towards higher education and how this is creating a growing focus on lifelong learning.  He outlines how universities, employers and those facilitating relationships between them, are ensuring higher education meets students where they are at, not where we ask them to be.

Professor Alwyn Louw, Vice Chancellor of Torrens University of Australia and Jodie Davis, Registrar of Griffith University, join the HEDx podcast co-hosted by Ben Hallett of Vygo to discuss what is required for universities to comply with last week's legislation mandating student support policies to allow equity goals to be achieved. Data and integrated systems are vital for immediate action. And renewed purpose, leadership and culture change are the opportunity to do more than stir the pot.

Overcoming the barriers to student equity in higher education has much to learn from research and best practice.  Professor Sarah O'Shea of Charles Sturt University and newly-promoted Professor Paul Harpur of UQ and Universities Enable share insights into five principles that inform how we seek greater equity and inclusion for all of our students. At their heart is the issue of changing our culture.

Alessandro di Lullo as Co-founder of global EdTech investor Supercharger Ventures joins Dr Nora Koslowski of MBS on the podcast.  They outline the mindset changes needed by higher education leaders to embrace technology such that it becomes mainstream in future education offerings.

Associate Professor Paul Harpur of UQ, leader of Universities Enable and member of the Accord Ministerial Reference Group, joins HEDx. He makes the case for role models with lived experience to lead the debate about achieving real inclusion in higher education. In common with this week's referendum on a Voice to Parliament, the importance of listening to those with lived experience who have a real stake in policy changes, as we seek to undo disadvantage, are the changes to governance we need if a higher education system is to become truly equitable.

Roger Smyth shares his experiences from the New Zealand Ministry of Education in joining an episode of the HEDx podcast with Professor Giselle Byrnes, Provost of Massey University as co-host.  As our Australian Universities Accord final report responds to debate among our providers over what form of Tertiary Education Commission to recommend, what can we learn from experience and lessons across the ditch about how such a commission should be set up and operate?

Professor Clare Pollock as Provost and Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor at Western Sydney University (WSU) outlines how a university at the centre of Australia's growth is pursuing a mission based on local partnerships. Her story and the WSU story are at the heart of the accord process and it's issues. They provide a great example of a university in serving a local community can make a world-leading contribution on a global stage.

Jason Tabarias of Mandala partners shares details of a new report for the Coalition for Digital Learners of what students of today and tomorrow are looking for in their learning experience through technology. Students clearly have an appetite for more effective technology support to personalise, augment and self-pace their learning and engagement. Is our ability to give equity students in particular, the experiences they need, in danger of being the baby we throw out with the bath water of compliance?

Dr Nadine Zacharias as Managing Director and Founder of Equity by Design, joins Co-CEO of Vygo Ben Hallett as my co-host in exploring the technical, operational and leadership issues associated with responding to the unfolding picture and details of the Support Amendment Bill.  With consultation open for a further week or so this is a critical conversation for the sector to ensure it is ready to support growing numbers of students we seek from equity groups, to succeed from as early as January 2024 or face significant penalties.

Caitlin Gleeson, Global Leadership Development Lead at Canva joins Dr Nora Koslowski of MBS as co-host to discuss the changes in lifelong learning for leaders and graduates entering innovative workplaces such as Canva. The increasing scope for horizontal discipline and knowledge needs to be augmented by vertical capabilities in managing ambiguity and change. The case is made for different approaches by employers and new roles for and partnerships for higher education facilitators in meeting these needs.

Professor Rose Luckin of  UCL and Educateventures, joins with Dr Ant Bagshaw of L.E.K. Consulting as HEDx co-host in this episode. It dissects responses to the recent breakthroughs  of AI technologies. It surfaces global best practice in being vulnerable, experimental and proportional in finding higher education problems as starting points to explore how AI will impact us all. It offers a roadmap for practitioners, leaders, institutions and policymakers for the sector in exploring a future for higher education. In doing so it addresses a significant gap in the Universities Accord interim report.

Dr Nora Koslowski as Chief Learning Innovation Officer of MBS joins the HEDx podcast to share insights into how the combination of emerging AI technologies, and the changing world of work and future skills needs of employers are providing fundamental demand-side changes to the supply of higher education. She makes a case for much stronger partnerships between higher education providers and employers and innovative tech companies and outlines ways in which technological innovation will reshape the world of higher education.

Manuela Franceschini of Adobe joins a discussion involving Theo Farrell of University of Wollongong, Tiffany Wright and Rachel Bondi of Microsoft, Matt Kuperholz of Deakin and Sherman Young of RMIT about the missing focus on technology and generative AI in the interim report. How do we best realise a vision of "growth for skills through greater equity" when we are experiencing the equivalence of an "industrial revolution at 10 times the speed". What is digital fluency and what is the place of ethics? And how will the sector's eco-system best share experiments and lessons from failing fast from global best practice in a digitally transforming world?

Teri Cannon as Founding President of Minerva University reflects on the journey to build a different type of university that is intentionally global.  After 10 years of helping students from 130 countries learn in a rotation through 7 global locations in North and South America, Europe and Asia, Minerva as a private university has been named the world's most innovative university for the second year running by the World Universities with Real Impact rankings.It does so with no campuses or owned buildings, no research and no facilities of any kind that do not focus on the student experience. And it teaches global students to become global leaders with cities as places of learning and technology as a key enabler.

VCs Bruce Dowton, Andrew Parfitt and Alex Zelinsky and DVCs and VPs Clare Pollock, Theo Farrell, Merlin Crossley and Michelle Bellingan, as panellists at the HEDx conference in Sydney share "pithy" reactions to the interim report the day after its launch in Canberra. Something for everyone in a shift from a market-led to a centrally-led combination of collaboration and competition. Dr Ant Bagshaw of L.E.K. Consulting and Martin Betts as co-hosts, share a sense that the supply side has been offered many ideas while the demand side of planned growth has some issues that remain to be explored. What do we all make of the interim report?

Professor Mary O'Kane Chair of the Accord Review Panel joins the HEDx podcast for a second time through an interview with research partner HERDSA at a keynote plenary panel session at their annual conference in Brisbane last week.  In an interview by co-hosts Martin Betts and Christy Collis from the HERDSA Executive, Mary outlines her thoughts about submissions received, where her report is up to, what the key issues were that it addresses and what the process will be for the sector to engage with it after its release.  Fascinating insights traversing equity, diversification, collaboration, lifelong learning and VET/HE integration at this critical point in time for the biggest review of the sector in a generation.

Professor Sherman Young DVC at RMIT joins pedagogical evangelist Manuela Franceschini from Adobe to discuss digital adeptness and fluency. As technology moves so fast, the big questions appear to be posed by students and staff becoming unsure of what the boundaries and rules are anymore as we all seek new paradigms with new technology. What will learning look like as we all become cyborgs?

Tiffany Wright as Director of Education for Microsoft ANZ outlines how tech companies offer opportunities for partnership in the global mission to make education available to all.  The future of work is being increasingly influenced by and disrupted by technology and digital skills are becoming more important. Partnerships like that Microsoft has with UTS, Macquarie and TAFE NSW illustrate how a multi-sector dialogue can allow rapid technology advances to be mastered by HE providers and made available to lifelong learners.

Ginny Barbour as VIce-Chair of the Declaration On Research Assessment has led global efforts to find new ways to assess research quality. The aim has been to moderate commercially motivated efforts of commercial publishers to exploit science and publishing for their own commercial purposes. She shares her insights into the limitations of journal impact factors for diverse disciplines and how the university rankings are equally inappropriate in assessing diverse missions of universities in their broader purposes for the same reason.  Lessons for emerging efforts to enhance rigour in research assessment and research integrity from a pioneer and leader of open science in the mission of changing higher education for good.

Michael Fung as Director of the Institute for the Future of Education at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico, is the architect of the Skills Future lifelong learning strategy in Singapore.  He shares thoughts on the global move towards lifelong learning and a competency based approach to the future of higher education and its relevance to the Australian Universities Accord. He shares lessons that are vital for us to hear in shaping the future of our HE system through once in a generation change.

Professor Vivek Goel as President of Waterloo University in Canada is leading an exercise to generate a vision for what Waterloo will look like at 100.  This 35 year future planning horizon is unheralded in global universities and generates a unique perspective on risk, culture, vision, mission and change. He outlines the opportunities this creates for differentiation and cultural change and the impacts this has on Waterloo and its partners and staff engaging with broader system-level change to allow the Waterloo culture to fit with the context in which the organisation works.

Professor KC Chua is President of Singapore Institute of Technology where he leads a differentiated institution of applied learning. In a system with two top 50 comprehensive research universities SIT pursues a different mission focused on skills, jobs and the needs of business and industry. And no one cares about its place in rankings. Does Australia need more places like SIT?

This episode has a report from the recent ASU+GSV summit where global innovators explored the brave new world of higher Ed technology. Hear from Michael Moe of GSV, Paul LeBlanc of SNHU, Ethan Mollick of U Penn and Laura Ipsen of Ellucian about how universities, tech companies and investors are collaborating to disrupt the future of higher Ed. And learn how you can get involved 

Professor Sanjay Sarma reflects on his experience as Vice President of Online Learning at MIT with empathy for students developed in his own time as an IIT student in India. He describes the background to and ideas in a landmark MIT white paper for a new kind of college where professors spend 80% of their time on teaching. What is it, what problem does it seek to solve, and where is this idea heading?

Scott Pulsipher President of the world’s largest fully online university in Western Governors University (WGU) shares the story of a unique purpose and business model. He outlines a relentless focus on outcomes for students as the big idea that emerged from WGU governors asking what if questions when it was formed. These questions were about the purpose, goal and design of education programs and its  pathways to opportunity to serve societal and economic need.