Warden's bulletin
Convocation Connecting August 2024
Council News
Spring General Meeting
The Spring General Meeting will convene at 6pm for a 6:30pm start on Thursday, 12 September 2024, in person at The University Club of Western Australia. UWA Graduates and other members of Convocation are welcome to attend or to view it live-streamed online here.
Convocation’s Spring Meeting is a General Meeting of The University of Western Australia. You’ll be updated on the University’s operations, as well as current issues in higher education by the Vice-Chancellor, Guild President, and Warden of Convocation, and will have the opportunity to ask questions.
The keynote speech, advertised earlier, has had to be rescheduled until a later date. This will allow time to consider proposed changes to the UWA Statute, as required by the University of Western Australia Act.
Consideration of such changes is one of Convocation’s major functions and assists in the governance of the University by the Senate. Subject to procedural requirements in Clause 20 of the Statute, Convocation members may recommend that the Senate consider amendments to such changes. The Senate is not obliged to accept any of the recommendations for amendment.
The Amending Statutes 1 and 2 with explanatory notes are available for your perusal on the Convocation website.
Any further information concerning this meeting will also be added to this website. If you have any queries please contact the Convocation Officer, Ms Juanita Perez via the contact details below.
Most changes to the Amending Statute 1, which relates to Convocation, were proposed by Convocation Council. They emerged from our Strategic Plan 2022-26, which was approved by Council and is on the Convocation website for the information of members. A small number of other changes result from the recommendations of the Senate Review of Convocation which were accepted by Senate at its July meeting.
Amending Statute 2 relates to the Academic Board and these changes are supported by Academic Board.
Please confirm your attendance or apologies by Tuesday, 3 September 2024 via email with the subject line 'Spring General Meeting' to convocation@uwa.edu.au or by phone (08) 6488 3006.
Newly elected Councillors
I am delighted to announce that Simone Collins and Viknash VM have recently been elected to two casual positions on Council, joining Fiona Tremlett as new members of Council.
Local UWA News
UWA's Nedlands and Park Ave sites
Some will remember that the Education Department’s Nedlands Secondary Teachers’ College operated on UWA’s Nedlands site from 1969 until 1990, when the University purchased the site, including its large carpark. It is now home to the School of Design and the Graduate School of Education. The University is investigating the viability of establishing student accommodation facilities on the site. Further information about the planning process, including UWA’s community engagement, can be found on the UWA Masterplan website.
Linked with this, is discussion in local newspapers about the proposed boundaries of a greatly expanded medical precinct linking UWA and the QEII Medical Centre. This has caused considerable community concern. The State Government has now announced that it has transferred planning control of the proposal from the three Local Government Authorities – Perth, Nedlands, and Subiaco – to the WA Planning Commission to achieve a coordinated approach.
The second site under consideration for development by UWA is the Park Ave site. The University has applied for a zoning change to the site from ‘university purposes’ to enable further development. More information is available here.
The Park Ave site is home to two important University buildings — the Park Ave Building and Tuart House. The Park Ave Building is listed on the State Heritage Register and both buildings have been classified by the National Trust (WA).
The Park Ave Building was constructed in 1924 for Biology and Geology, and is now occupied by Podiatry. To commemorate its centenary, more than 150 graduates watched the Warden and Guild President plant a tree, enjoyed a play in the University’s first lecture theatre, and mingled at a sundowner on Convocation Day this year.
Tuart House was built as a gracious residence for Vice-Chancellors and their families in 1934. By 1960, it was considered unsuitable by Vice-Chancellor Sir Stanley Prescott, because of maintenance issues, possums in the roof and increasing traffic on Mounts Bay Road. He moved into what was then considered a more suitable residence in Wattle Ave, Dalkeith. The newly founded Music Department moved into Tuart House in 1960, remaining there until its new premises were built in 1974. In this period, temporary prefabricated additions were constructed on the western side of the house, and in 1976 the Perth Festival moved into Tuart House, joined by UWA Press until 2007. It remains the home of the Festival.
Engaging Our Students
Discover your Career: Gain real-work experience through Work Integrated Learning
“Don’t be afraid to reach out to companies that interest you for internship opportunities”, says Sydney Stokes, a final year Business student Majoring in Business Management & Marketing. Sydney recently completed her Work Integrated Learning (WIL) unit with Western Force, working within their Partnerships and Marketing team to put together events.
“One of my biggest highlights interning within the team was seeing how the work I was doing in the office came together on game days.” Through her WIL experience, Sydney was able to discover what areas of marketing she was most interested in and how she can widen her Marketing knowledge by travelling and advocacy involvement.
For more information on Work Integrated Learning, contact wil@uwa.edu.au or visit the Work Placements and Internships website.
News from our student award winners
Two winners of our Convocation Postgraduate Research Travel Award recently posted snapshots on LinkedIn, bookending their experiences from receiving their award to then completing their journey.
Thien (D. A.) Tran, PhD candidate at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, wrote just after receiving his award;
“Thrilled and deeply honoured to share my selection for the Ken and Julie Michael Convocation Postgraduate Research Travel Award 2023! Meeting The Honourable Dr. Kenneth C. Michael AC, the thirtieth Governor of Western Australia and former Chancellor of UWA, was a fantastic experience last night. I had the opportunity to share my research and how this award will support my journey in Europe next year. I'll be using this award to attend two prestigious conferences and take up an internship at LIMAGRAIN next year. Thanks to the Convocation of UWA Graduates, my dedicated supervisors, and everyone who's been part of my journey. Exciting times lie ahead, and I'm eager to share the discoveries and insights from these upcoming experiences!”
And later; “Today marks the end of my incredible journey at LIMAGRAIN Centre de Recherche de Chappes. Four weeks have flown by, and it is hard to believe I have already spent a month here. I am deeply grateful to my supervisors, Professor Ian Small (UWA) and Dr Joanna Melonek (ANU), for their inspiration and for planning this trip over three years ago. Special thanks to the current and former Heads of Traits Research at LIMAGRAIN, for turning this idea into reality. And to Convocation for helping to make this incredible trip possible.
"(Also, thanks to my colleague, Gilang Bintang Fajar Suhono, for reminding me of free coffee and lunches at LIMAGRAIN).”
On receiving his award, Gilang Bintang Fajar Suhono, a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology wrote;
“I am thrilled that, finally, this internship has become a reality. I have been prepared for it for two years, starting from writing the Convocation Postgraduate Research Travel Award application in 2022, to be submitted in June 2023. Thankfully, a few months later, it was granted! Next, I had to prepare the visa application in early 2024. After several emails (it was a nerve-racking moment, for real) and prayers, I was so relieved that the visa was finally granted just in time.”
And later; “I am also really grateful that the timing was just perfect. My long-planned experiment matched the wheat transformant growth phase for mitochondria extraction and further analysis. This internship would not have run smoothly without the help of so many supportive, kind and helpful people.”
Higher Education Issues
Have Universities been cut off from their communities?
In the late 1990s, there was fear that the ‘massification’ of higher education would result in the loss of a sense of community. Since then, student numbers have increased and corporate practices have been implemented in university governance. The result has been major changes in the management style and culture of universities.
Read all about it in Professor Ray da Silva Rosa’s recently published article in The Australian.
Ray is Professor of Finance and immediate past Chair of UWA’s Academic Board.
Australian Tertiary Education Commission: Back to the 1990s?
The federal government has released a consultation paper on the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC). Strong and independent leadership is to be provided by its four commissioners, a First Nations Commissioner, and a Chief Executive Officer. To be housed in the Department of Education in Canberra, it will report to Parliament through the Secretary of that Department, but the Minister for Education will have power to direct ATEC.
Its agenda includes:
- Establishing a pricing framework for estimating the cost of higher education
- Developing needs-based funding for underrepresented cohorts, and
- Fostering greater tertiary alignment between higher education and VET sectors.
Some see echoes of the 1990s when extensive reporting was ‘measured in metres rather than megabits’, according to Frank Larkins, ex-DVC and Ian Marshman, ex-Registrar and Senior Vice-Principal at the University of Melbourne, writing recently in Future Campus, the online daily Higher Education bulletin. They believe that it was only after that era, when regulation was decreased, that Australian universities were able to achieve outstanding global rankings, attract overseas students in record numbers and secure greater philanthropic support.
International students
A draft bill – the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 – has been introduced into the federal parliament. Details can be found here. Essentially, it has two main provisions.
Firstly, to ensure that providers meet registration requirements. This is in response to a review which identified education agents as being involved in visa exploitation and human trafficking of students.
Secondly, to give the Minister for Education the power to set limits on the maximum number of overseas students that may be enrolled. The Group of Eight universities gain more than 30% of their total revenue from international student fees and, as reported by the Guardian, this has given rise to concern about potential for job losses and course cancellations if overseas enrolments are capped.
It has also been reported that the Minister, Hon. Jason Clare MP, has said ‘what we want to incentivise here is the construction of more student housing as part of this’. This potentially places UWA in a good position, as it has plans to develop student accommodation on the Nedlands site.
Complicating the international student story is the announcement that the Federal Government has more than doubled the cost of student visa fees for international students, from $710 to $1600 from 1 July. Funds are to be reinvested into tertiary and vocational education sectors. The government says the price increase 'reflects the increasing value of education' as well as the 'commitment to restoring integrity in the international education sector'.
As we go to press, a joint media release from the relevant Ministers, Hon Jason Clare MP, Hon Tony Burke MP, and Senator Hon Murray Watt, entitled ‘Improving the Sustainability of international Education’, has been released. Subject to the passage of legislation before the Parliament, it will set a National Planning Level (NPL) for new international student commencements of 270,000 for calendar year 2025, bringing them back to pre-pandemic levels. This includes higher education and vocational education and training.
For publicly funded universities this will result in around 145,000 new international student commencements in 2025. Vocational institutions will receive around 95,000. The federal government will consult with universities about individual caps.
Sincerely,
Emeritus Professor Jenny Gregory AM
Warden of Convocation
Convocation • M362, Perth WA 6009 Australia
T +61 411 517 351 E Warden@convocation.uwa.edu.au