What now? What next? Insights into Australia's tertiary education sector

Available Episodes

5 of 127

Prof. George Williams - universities "are public sector bodies for the public good"
In this episode Claire is joined by the Vice Chancellor of Western Sydney University, Prof. George Williams.Prof. Williams' Meanjin article is available at: https://meanjin.com.au/essays/a-university-not-a-corporation/And you can email [email protected] if you're interested in a one month free trial of Claire's regular analysis and updates on the tertiary sector.Contact Claire: Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au Email me at: [email protected] The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au
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29:29
GenAI and tertiary education: The Kiwis have got it sorted - what can we learn from them?
In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by researcher and educational designer Dr Selena Chan from Ara Institute of Technology. She explains the incredible work being done in New Zealand to help their VET (and higher education) sectors grapple with GenAI.If you don't regularly attend the annual AVETRA Conference - then you're missing out on hearing from great researchers like Dr Chan. Details on this year's conference are at: https://avetra.org.au/conference2025The following resources are discussed during the episode:TEQSA's GenAI resources: https://www.teqsa.gov.au/guides-resources/higher-education-good-practice-hub/artificial-intelligenceProf. Mike Sharples: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/teaching-learning/case-studies/2023/aug/generative-ai-and-education-futuresProf. Ethan Mollick: https://www.oneusefulthing.orgUS research on GenAI helping improve completion rate in a short course: https://au.pcmag.com/ai/100574/harvards-new-computer-science-teacher-is-a-chatbotUK gardener using ChatGPT to improve literacy: https://zapier.com/blog/how-a-contractor-uses-ai-to-write-business-emails/CEDEFOP research on digital skills: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news/embracing-human-centred-ai-unlock-eu-competitivenessContact Claire: Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au Email me at: [email protected] The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au
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33:35
Rocco Guarnaccia: Understanding the private VET sector
In this episode of the podcast Dr Rocco Guarnaccia joins Claire to discuss his research on commercial, for-profit, providers. He shares his insights into which RTOs are likely to thrive and which will struggle as the sector continues to change.Rocco's thesis is available at: https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/items/5de8508e-cc37-49f3-ace6-dcd7e8512dd5The government media release on 'ghost colleges'/lapsed providers: https://ministers.dewr.gov.au/giles/over-150-ghost-colleges-axedClaire's analysis of the data on 'ghost colleges' (lapsed providers):https://clairefield.com.au/the-list-of-144-of-the-150-ghost-colleges-including-more-schools-the-nsw-taxi-council-ausgrid-and-more/ASQA's actions to revoke thousands of VET qualifications:https://www.asqa.gov.au/information-former-students-cancelled-providersContact Claire: Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au Email me at: [email protected] The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au
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28:42
"They just sort of 'institutionally ghost' you" - life as a casual academic in Australian universities
In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by two casual academics, Emily Foley and Tony Williams, who also hold positions at the National Tertiary Education Union. Emily and Tony share their personal experiences and those of others in the sector and what the highly casualised, precarious nature of their employment means.The articles and reports mentioned in the podcast are listed below - but before you get to them, here's another one that takes a very different approach: Prof. George Williams at Western Sydney University writes in Meanjin that universities are not corporations.NTEU: University wage theft on track to exceed $382 million nationallyFWO: University of Melbourne signs Enforceable UndertakingFWO: University of Sydney signs Enforceable UndertakingAFR: 'I'm not going to say no to a nice salary' outgoing Melbourne Uni bossThe Guardian: Revealed: University of Sydney spent millions more on consultants than repaying wages of casual staffUniversity Chancellors Council: Submission to the Universities Accord Panel's Interim Report Bluesky: Ben Eltham thread on the Monash University Federal Court wage theft case The Guardian: Australian Catholic University sparks anger over scrapping medieval history and philosophy departmentsTimes Higher Education: World University Rankings 2025Contact Claire: Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au Email me at: [email protected] The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au
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47:54
Prof. Himanshu Rai (IIM Indore) - lessons for Australia in how higher education institutes can work
In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by Prof Himashu Rai from the Indian Institute of Management Indore. What IIM Indore is doing to educate the next generation of Indian business leaders and engineers has to be heard to be believed.If you want to know more about IIM Indore - their website is: https://iimidr.ac.in/ and you can find Prof. Rai on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/askhimanshurai/Contact Claire: Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au Email me at: [email protected] The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au
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35:14