Lumen Spring Summer 2023 - Flipbook - Page 18
Creating a University
for the future
By Professor Peter Høj AC,
Vice-Chancellor and President,
The University of Adelaide.
The University of Adelaide provided
my first introduction to South Australia.
I arrived in 1994 to take up a new
opportunity as a Professor in viticulture,
based at the Waite campus. My experiences
over the next 10 years were critical to my
understanding of the higher education and
industry landscape of this State and the
nation. Needless to say, this University has
played a very important role in my life
and career.
Comprehensive universities like ours have
a common academic purpose focused on
education and research. At the University of
Adelaide, we believe our academic purpose
also needs to have positive impact – not just
for our students and staff, but for our wider
community and society.
Our defined purpose then, is to be a catalyst
for innovation and knowledge creation; an
engine of social advancement; and an active
participant in the local, national, and global
economies. How we can best deliver on this
purpose should inform how we continuously
improve and evolve our education offerings,
research activities, partnerships, engagement,
and operations.
Prior to the 2022 State election, the current
South Australian Government committed to
investigate how South Australia could best
be served by its university sector. Higher
education reform is also a priority of the
Australian Government through its current
Universities Accord process.
Earlier this year, the Councils of the
University of Adelaide and the University
of South Australia resolved to support the
State Government’s policy intent leading to
the creation of a combined new university,
which will be called Adelaide University.
For almost 150 years, the University of
Adelaide has been innovating to create
positive change and this is the next planned
step in our evolution, building on our
University’s outstanding legacy. It is almost
unheard of to have the opportunity to design
an ideal university – but that’s exactly the
opportunity we are planning for.
A shared Vision Statement, developed in
collaboration with UniSA, was released
in March:
Australia’s new forpurpose university is a
leading contemporary
comprehensive university
of global standing.
We are dedicated to
ensuring the prosperity,
wellbeing and cohesion
of society by addressing
educational inequality
through our actions and
through the success and
impact of our students,
staff and alumni.
Partnered with the
communities we serve,
we conduct outstanding
future-making research
of scale and focus.
Equity of access and placing a university
education within reach of all will be one of
the founding principles of the proposed
new Adelaide University. We have also
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
