Dear colleagues
As we hurtle towards the end of the year, I’m delighted to present this newsletter brimming with awards and achievements that reflect the hard work, talent and generous pursuit of excellence within our University community. From the UNSW Sports Awards and the recognition of UNSW as number one for career impact, to prizes recognising the extraordinary accomplishments of our colleagues, each accolade is a testament to the dedication, passion and innovation that drive our collective mission of Progress for All.
At this stage it appears that the government’s proposed legislation regarding international student enrolments will not pass in the Senate during this last sitting week. I will provide a more fulsome update shortly as things firm.
UNSW Sports Awards Gala Dinner
The 2024 UNSW Sports Awards Gala Dinner is a fantastic way to celebrate UNSW’s sporting community and one of the hottest tickets on the UNSW calendar! This year was extra special because it’s an Olympic and Paralympic year – the pinnacle for many sports people. UNSW had 16 UNSW representatives – students, alumni and club members – compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as part of the most successful Olympic Games for Australia ever. On top of that, UNSW finished fourth overall in the UniSport Nationals in Canberra earlier this year, a tremendous finish out of the 42 member universities and more than 6000 athletes competing across 30 sports.
Congratulations to all the athletes and to the coaches, volunteers and clubs that make up UNSW’s incredible sporting community. I’m pictured at the top with members of the UNSW Fencing Club and above with UNSW Rowing Club leaders. See a wrap-up of the event on the UNSW Sport website.
Pictured top: L-R: Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Attila Brungs with Bennett Chan, Allan Goodman, Harsha Dwarakachala, Matthew Baker, Aedyn Pratley, Jonathan Shih Peam Palakawongse Na Ayutthaya (back) and Jocelyn Keung and Jacinay Zheng (front) from UNSW Fencing Club.
Learning from top business leaders
I had the pleasure of attending UNSW Business School’s recent Meet the CEO event with special guest speaker Scott Charlton, CEO of Sydney Airport. Scott shared insights gleaned through his 25-year career as an engineer and leader across infrastructure and finance to a large and rapt audience. UNSW Business School has been running Meet the CEO for two decades, offering UNSW alumni the opportunity to learn from some of Australia’s inspiring and influential leaders. This year, for the first time, the event was presented in collaboration with UNSW Science’s School of Aviation.
It was wonderful to hear from Bachelor of Commerce and Aviation Management student Jessie Huynh (pictured above), recipient of the SYD100 Trevor Gerber Scholarship. Jessie spoke about how the scholarship had provided valuable hands-on experience and mentorship from industry professionals and given her an understanding of the challenges faced by the aviation industry and the complexities involved in operating a major international hub. Jessie shared the ways the experience had inspired her to make meaningful contributions to the industry.
UNSW number one for career impact
For the second consecutive year, the Australian Financial Review’s Best University Ranking has placed UNSW at the top for producing the most employable graduates in the country. UNSW was ranked first for Career Impact, second for Research and fourth for Equity in the AFR’s 2024 rankings of Australian universities.
This recognition validates UNSW’s focus on empowering all students, regardless of their background, to succeed while at university and beyond, preparing them for the jobs of the future and successful, rewarding careers. The results also reflect UNSW’s longstanding history of world-class research that drives positive societal impact. I’m incredibly proud of our teaching, research and professional staff who bring passion, commitment and exceptional expertise to their work each day, striving to deliver the best outcomes for our students and the wider global community. Read more on the UNSW Newsroom.
Vale Professor Gemma Carey
I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the unexpected passing of our colleague Professor Gemma Carey of the Centre for Social Impact UNSW (CSI) and National Research Director (from 2020 to 2022) for the CSI Network.
Gemma’s life and work were dedicated to addressing inequality, reflecting her belief that communities and governments have a responsibility to create equitable living conditions and opportunities. Gemma’s recent research focused on implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). She worked extensively with government and non-government organisations to identify and change structures and processes that impact inequality.
I offer my sympathy to Gemma’s family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. She will be deeply missed among the UNSW community for her leadership, mentoring and passion, and by all who were fortunate to benefit from her work.
Insight Pulse survey results
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their feedback in the Insight Pulse survey. We reached 30% participation, with 4558 fixed term, continuing and casual staff across all faculties and divisions completing the survey. Your comments – there were more than 9000 of them! – have given us valuable insights into what we are doing well and where we could do things differently to make UNSW an even better place to work.
Last week you received an email from Chief People Officer Gemma Martin about the results of the Pulse Survey. It is important to both enable course correction and to transparently hold ourselves to account for taking action on the feedback from the last survey. What’s really pleasing is your sense of pride and enthusiasm to advocate for UNSW – 86% of you agreed you are proud to work for UNSW, and 84% agreed you would recommend UNSW as a great place to work. Your feedback also told us that safety is a strength, with 79% agreeing that your manager/supervisor shows their commitment to health and safety by leading by example.
Based on your feedback in the 2023 Insight surveys, over the last year we chose two focus areas at a UNSW level as well as all the local area-specific priorities. These were improving on leadership and innovation. You told us you have seen improvements, with leadership rated 6% more favourably and innovation rated 8% more favourably than in the initial survey.
Your feedback also highlighted where we could be doing things differently, with our biggest opportunities to improve being in how we take action based on your feedback, how we recognise and value staff, and ensuring all staff feel safe and supported in raising concerns. Workload remains an area for improvement, with only 64% of you agreeing your workload is reasonable for your role.
As Gemma wrote in her email, I, along with the entire University Leadership Team, am wholeheartedly committed to continuing to act on your feedback and hold ourselves accountable for our progress. You can read more about the Insight Pulse Survey in this edition of Inside UNSW.
UNSW Strategy: Progress for All
UNSW Strategy: Progress for All has been drafted and will be presented to UNSW Council for endorsement when it meets in early December.
This Strategy is the culmination of comprehensive consultation with the UNSW community of students, staff, alumni, donors, Council, and industry and government partners. More than 7000 discreet pieces of feedback have been analysed, synthesised and incorporated into the draft.
The Strategy sets out our mission, values and vision for the next decade.
At its core are nine Strategic Pillars that will focus our work for the next decade and beyond. Each pillar contains several objectives and flagship initiatives that will draw on our unique areas of expertise, ensuring we continue to pursue our ultimate goal of Progress for All in areas where we can really ‘turn the dial’.
The Strategic Pillars are:
- Through accessible education, empower current and future generations.
- Through research, lead knowledge creation, innovation and translation.
- Convene across sectors and build networks locally and globally.
- Create a culture in which all people are united by purpose and can deliver their best work.
- Develop inspiring and cutting-edge environments and simple, effective, trust-based systems.
- Accelerate the transition to a sustainable society and planet.
- Advance economic and social prosperity.
- Enable healthy lives.
- Strengthen societal resilience, security and cohesion.
The Strategy will set UNSW apart as a University confident in our standing as one of the world’s leading research and education institutions. We will be fully focused on how, through our education, research and genuine engagement with people, communities and partners around the world, we can fulfil our ultimate objective of Progress for All.
The Strategy will be launched formally in the new year, with updates provided at key stages as it is finalised.
Awards and accolades
It has been another exceptional year for UNSW with members of our University community being recognised for their impactful achievements and contributions in research and education. Here is a selection of recent outstanding accomplishments:
- Professor David Thomas, Director of the Centre for Molecular Oncology at UNSW and Head of Genomic Cancer Medicine at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has received the major prize at the NSW Premier’s Awards for Outstanding Cancer Research. Professor Thomas won the 2024 Outstanding Cancer Researcher of the Year Award in recognition of his leadership in precision oncology and world-leading sarcoma research.
- Radiation oncologist and researcher at The George Institute for Global Health and the Ingham Institute, Associate Professor Mei Ling Yap, was also recognised at the NSW Premier’s Awards for Outstanding Cancer Research, winning the Improving Equitable Outcomes Award in recognition of her commitment to ensuring that every person diagnosed with cancer has equitable access to care.
- UNSW PhD candidate Maddison O’Gradey-Lee has been named 2025 NSW Young Australian of the Year for her contributions to mental health advocacy.
- Professor Matthew Kiernan, Chief Executive Officer and Institute Director at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and Scientia Professor of Neuroscience at UNSW, has been recognised for his groundbreaking research into neurodegenerative disease, receiving the 2024 GSK Award for Research Excellence.
- Head of UNSW’s School of Private & Commercial Law Professor Mimi Zou has received a Global Australian Award 2024, presented by Advance Global Australians, for her global leadership on AI governance.
- Oceanographer Emeritus Scientia Professor Trevor McDougall has been awarded the European Geosciences Union’s 2025 Alfred Wegener Medal for his contributions to the understanding of ocean dynamics and their key role in climate.
- Five academics from UNSW have been elected Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Scientia Professor Dennis Del Favero, Associate Professor Emma Christopher, Professor Melissa Crouch, Professor Brigitta Olubas and Professor Jackie Leach Scully were acknowledged for exemplifying why ethical, historical, creative and cultural knowledge and expertise are critical to Australia’s future.
- Clarivate’s 2024 list of Highly Cited Researchers has recognised 26 UNSW academics among the world's most influential researchers in their fields.
Congratulations to all of you on these remarkable achievements!
I’ll sign off today with some great news for our streamlining policies and procedures work. New Delegations have been approved by UNSW Council and take effect on 1 January 2025. These provide greater clarity for decision making across the University. Read more about the new Delegations and what they mean in this week’s Inside UNSW.
Best regards
Attila
Professor Attila Brungs
Vice-Chancellor and President
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