Oceania

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Campus talks: the real-world power of soft skills

How do universities ensure their curricula meet the demands from industry, government and students for career-ready graduates equipped with vital transferable skills? Three experts explain how institutions are working to align higher education and skills development

David Bell, Dawn Bennett, Derek Harding

University of Sunderland, Independent consultant, Swinburne University of Technology

A Native American dance stick

Place Indigenous knowledge at the heart of academic inquiry

Decolonise the curriculum by engaging students with historically marginalised knowledge from a range of sources. Here’s how

Kam Kaur

University of Adelaide

Woman asleep on a snail

What happened to creativity in the classroom?

When generative AI leads 150 students to submit the same ‘creative’ work, something is afoot in arts and humanities education. Here, Leah Henrickson and Luke Zaphir turn insights from cognitive science into ways to use AI to boost students’ creativity

Leah Henrickson, Luke Zaphir

The University of Queensland

Guest speaker addressing college class

Be my guest speaker

Incorporating guest speaker presentations as part of work-integrated learning helps university educators as well as students, writes Temesgen Kifle. It can enhance teaching practice, build stronger connections with industry, and keep courses up to date with evolving workforce needs

Temesgen Kifle

The University of Queensland

Young female research scientist

How can universities show the impact of research and boost connections with the public?

The need for higher education institutions to show economic, social and environmental impact of their research and how it benefits communities is urgent. Here, a panel from Australia and New Zealand share ways to take discoveries from the lecture theatre to the front line

Lucy Johnston, Gill Jolly, Paul Harris

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Innovative Research Universities

Head made of cogs and jigsaw puzzle piece

Assessment tasks that support human skills

Assignments that focus on exploration, analysis and authenticity offer a road map for university assessment that incorporates AI while retaining its rigour and human elements

Amir Ghapanchi, Afrooz Purarjomandlangrudi

Victoria University

Blocks with heads and lightbulbs in an arc

What can the university sector learn from block teaching?

Once seen as a pedagogical experiment, the block plan is ready for its researchers and practitioners to move beyond self-examination and share their innovations with the wider higher education community, writes John Weldon

John Weldon

Victoria University

A young woman puts a hand to her head while working at an office

Do your students know the consequences of AI use on an internship programme?

Students are using GenAI tools in their university work, but what about in the workplace? Are they unknowingly putting their employers at risk? Here’s how to prevent a potential data breach

Bonnie Dean, Kelli Nicola-Richmond, Joanna Tai, Jack Walton

University of Wollongong, Deakin University

Building blocks for AI policy

Why AI literacy must come before policy

When developing rules and guidelines around the uses of artificial intelligence, the first question to ask is whether the university policymakers and staff responsible for implementing them truly understand how learners can meet the expectations they set

Kathryn MacCallum, David Parsons

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Illustration of groups of students

What comes next for the block model in university teaching?

Six critical challenges face higher education institutions that have adopted block planning for their teaching schedules as the approach matures and expands globally, writes John Weldon

John Weldon

Victoria University

Bicultural competence

How to prepare graduates for a bicultural and global future

Embedding Indigenous perspectives into curriculum requires more than symbolic gestures. Here’s how universities can move from compliance to transformation – and the practical steps we’ve learned from our journey

Joce Nuttall, Liz Brown

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Young male student looking thoughtfully at a laptop

Solving the soft skills crisis using artificial intelligence

Employers seek transferable skills such as communication and cultural awareness, but how can universities translate these aspirations into meaningful, scalable learning experiences for students? AI personas offer possibilities

Kieran Williamson

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

A student speaking to a teacher in a bright office decorated wiht plants

How interactive orals transform assessment – and how to implement them

Interactive orals shift testing from memorisation to meaningful dialogue, reducing anxiety and building confidence in diverse learners. Read how they increase inclusivity and how to implement them across disciplines

Popi Sotiriadou , Dani Logan-Fleming

Griffith University, Torrens University

Female intern with laptop working on mecatronics project

Industry engagement matters for doctoral candidates, too

Doctoral candidates have not generally prioritised engagement with industry, but its opportunities to enhance research impact and career prospects now make it essential. Here, Adnan Syed Muhammad offers tips for PhD students

Adnan Syed Muhammad

Western Sydney University

UC Earth Science Garden at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand

How a campus garden is tackling declining 3D spatial skills in geoscience students

Making geology more tangible can spark curiosity in the field and help students learn the skills needed to address global issues such as climate change, resource management and natural hazards. Kate Pedley walks through an interactive garden

Katherine Pedley

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

A student and an assessor roleplaying a client meeting

Interactive orals offer a solution to AI over-reliance in higher education

A scenario-based assessment method that promotes authentic learning can curb over-reliance on AI and build students’ professional communication skills. Here is a guide to interactive orals

Popi Sotiriadou , Dani Logan-Fleming

Griffith University, Torrens University

A robot hand presses a key on a laptop keyboard

‘Don’t be sorry, just declare it’: safeguarding the integrity of the essay

With the advent of GenAI, higher education has pronounced the essay dead. Benito Cao argues there are signs of life – and explains how to protect its integrity

Benito Cao

University of Adelaide

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EDI is meritocracy – why is that hard to understand?

Equity, diversity and inclusion is misunderstood when it is seen as valuing identity instead of skill within the systems that determine academic career progression. But it is in the sector’s interest to recognise and support talent, no matter what it looks like, writes Brooke Szücs

Brooke Szücs

The University of Queensland

Detail of aerospace design

Build workforce capability through smarter university-industry partnerships

Universities are expected to produce job-ready graduates, but many partnerships with industry remain ad hoc. Building deeper, more deliberate relationships with employers is key to developing stronger regional talent pipelines

Grant Ritchie

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Brightly-coloured speech bubbles and avatars

Discussion forums: the key to AI-proof assessment?

Providing a supportive learning culture for students will make them less likely to cheat – and discussion forums, with a few tweaks, may be the way to do it

Edward Palmer

University of Adelaide

intersection speech bubbles, inclusive language

For EDI efforts to be sustainable, universities must evolve their language and practice

A transactional model can position higher education institutions as performing equity, diversity and inclusion rather than living it, writes Bruce Watson. But that version of EDI will not serve us in the future

Bruce Watson

UNSW Sydney

University students starting college

The evolution of student onboarding

On-demand, just-in-time digital onboarding can help students filter the vast array of information they receive when they start university, and set them up for success

Cory Elfrink

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Robot human hands in high five

Beyond the buzz: how AI can be a coach, not a competitor, in the university classroom

Placing teaching tasks along a spectrum between AI and human strengths can help university educators make use of the best of both worlds

Meena Jha, Michael Cowling, Josiah Koh, Kwong Nui Sim

Central Queensland University, RMIT University, Western Sydney University

Two Maori women in a meeting

Easing students into higher education at the shallow end

The culture shock of starting university can be acute for those who left school early or who are returning to study after years in the workforce. Here, Gareth Morgan explains a programme that sets students up for success

Gareth Morgan

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Diverse group of students on social media

Engaging and influencing learners in the digital age of higher education

Educators and influencers share a common goal: engagement. So, what strategies can university teachers take from social media platforms that have mastered the art of audience capture?

Riley A. Scott, Jaimee Stuart

The University of Southern Queensland , United Nations University Institute in Macau

Young female student at laptop

Empowering academics for greater student success

Student success initiatives traditionally focus just on the students. Empowering academics with effective engagement tools opens another pathway for scaling up success

Kaylene Sampson

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Trauma-informed practice

What trauma-informed practice can learn from EDI in higher education

Equity, diversity and inclusion work reminds us that trauma doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Here are insights from EDI that can enrich trauma-informed practice

Maree Martinussen, Sarah O’Shea

Charles Sturt University

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Campus webinar: How to embed sustainability into the curriculum

Hear experts discuss how they engage students in climate-conscious learning, build sustainability into course design and connect it to employability and wider social responsibility

Ethan Chong Yih Tng , Edson Kieu , Jo-Anne Ferreira, Daniel Yonto

Singapore Institute of Technology , Nanyang Technological University , The University of Southern Queensland , Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

A toilet cubicle

Equality on campus starts in the toilets

With diversity, equity and inclusion policies under threat, there’s a simple and cost-effective change universities can make for a trans-inclusionary, accessible campus

Deanna Grant-Smith , Anne Hewitt , Loki Maelorin, Chisom Ihekwaba

University of Adelaide, University of the Sunshine Coast

A robot hand types at a laptop

What happens when AI writes the appeal

As students increasingly use generative AI to craft assessment appeals, university staff face new challenges in maintaining the integrity of academic feedback. Here’s how we can adapt to preserve meaningful learning relationships in the face of optimisation

Jonathan Boymal

RMIT University

Team of engineers working on an engine

How partnerships with business are evolving to support student employability

‘Intrapreneurship’, interdisciplinary degree pathways, student-led projects and early engagement are all ways universities can move industry collaboration from partnership to co-building

Saurabh Sinha

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Different languages in speech bubbles on a laptop

International students don’t need ‘fixing’

To internationalise education, and not just enrolments, educators need to move feedback on academic language from correction to collaboration. Here Nashid Nigar offers a framework for rethinking inclusion through literacy diversity

Nashid Nigar

University of Melbourne

Scholar as superhero

Find the hero energy in the story of your research

Want to connect with funders, the media, the public or policymakers? Start by thinking like a storyteller

Erin O’Dwyer

Good Prose Studios, University of Sydney

Multiracial group of young people

Creating a visual story to demystify the university experience

Visual stories can help make universities’ complex array of services and experiences more accessible and less mysterious to staff, students and community members

Brooke Szücs, Ben Roden-Cohen

The University of Queensland

Peer review and career developing in university teaching

Peer review as a collegial approach to educator development

Expert support, structured reflection and near-peer dialogue can replace compliance and evaluation as a way to improve teaching practice. This practical framework aims to turn conversation into action

Hasti Abbasi

Deakin University

Bulldozers at sunset

It’s time to break the extraction mindset of higher education

A logic of scarcity and competition leads academia to see hoarding economic, human and social resources as the only way to survive – as a university or a higher education employee, writes Lucas Lixinski

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

A phone screen with several different GenAI apps displayed

Can we use GenAI to subvert the neoliberal university?

Generative AI can be a tool of resistance against the corporatisation of higher education – or it can be just another distraction to make us ‘zombies in the loop’ of the system. Here is how we can choose the former

Richard McInnes

University of Adelaide

Nurse entering information into computer

Supporting pathways for nurses into clinical research

Organisational support for clinician researchers is an effective way to ensure that healthcare research is translated into clinical practice. Here’s how a partnership between an Australian university and a local health service aims to amplify impact

Natasha Roberts

The University of Queensland

Three people looking at a page in a meeting

‘Explain your research as if you were speaking to a smart teenager’

For researchers to give their work a chance to have real-world impact, they need skills and tools to communicate effectively with politicians. Here, Kylie Ahern offers ways to make every engagement count

Kylie Ahern

STEM Matters

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Campus talks: how to look after yourself in higher education

Personal insights from a range of higher education voices on how they preserve their own well-being

Multiple authors

Campus

Should we kill the essay?

Should we kill the essay?

Long-form writing seems to have become a battleground for the showdown between AI and academic integrity. With technology exposing the essay’s flaws, Luke Zaphir offers ways to reinforce this storied assessment task

Luke Zaphir

The University of Queensland

Illustration of head jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing

What trauma-informed practice is not

Before trauma-informed care can be the norm across all areas of the university, academic and professional staff need to understand what it is. Here, three academics debunk myths and demystify best practice

Kate Cantrell, India Bryce, Jessica Gildersleeve

The University of Southern Queensland

A young woman takes a deep breath at a laptop

Is authentic assessment leaving some students behind?

Does a more authentic assessment for some students mean an inauthentic experience for others? Here’s how to address this by adopting a student-focused lens

Sue Sharpe, Jennifer Z Sun

Australian National University, University of Sydney

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Campus talks: why we need interdisciplinarity in teaching and research

Interdisciplinary thinking is crucial to addressing complex questions but how should it work in practice? Two leading academic proponents of cross-disciplinary working draw on their own groundbreaking scholarship to explain

Gabriele Bammer, Kate Crawford

Australian National University, USC Annenberg, Microsoft Research Lab (MSR) New York

AI proficiency

Are you a jack of all GenAI?

Effective use of generative AI draws on a suite of skills that go beyond well-crafted prompts. Getting the best out of tech’s ubiquitous tool requires informed choices, field expertise, flexibility, diligence and a willingness to play

Einat Grimberg, Claire Mason, Andrew Reeson, Cécile Paris

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Woman working at laptop with coffee

Online should not mean offline for business lecturers

When online courses are delivered more or less to a prescribed script, this leaves little space for an educator’s personalised contribution and autonomy, writes Anita Wheeldon. Here, she makes the case against ‘teacherless pedagogy’

Anita Wheeldon

The University of Southern Queensland

A cheerful student waves hello on a Zoom call

What’s the crucial element for interdisciplinary teamwork? Psychological safety

Foster a sense of radical openness in your interdisciplinary online learning environment by establishing psychological safety – here’s how

Helena Robinson, Fabian Held

University of Technology Sydney, University of Sydney

An illustration of tiny figures putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle

Universities need to move interdisciplinary professional associations to the next step

Inter- and transdisciplinary teaching is going beyond communities of practice – but it’s still too small to compete with discipline-based professional associations. Here are the questions we should be asking to move forward

Gabriele Bammer

Australian National University

A phone screen with several different GenAI apps displayed

DeepSeek and shallow moats: what does it mean for higher education?

DeepSeek’s arrival may have spooked the markets, but what does it mean for the research and development of LLMs? Higher education should avoid putting all its eggs in one GenAI basket, writes Ben Swift

Ben Swift

Australian National University

Female university student walking to class

‘Why do we still timetable classes as if students don’t have lives outside university?’

As the block model has evolved from educational outlier to established practice, the questions it raises about how higher education is delivered are increasingly difficult to ignore, writes John Weldon

John Weldon

Victoria University

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