Dear colleagues
Our Paddington and Kensington campuses were abuzz with excitement and activity on Open Day. More than 40,000 people, including prospective students, their families, carers and friends visited to experience our vibrant campus life and to learn more about our cutting-edge expertise and world-class facilities. It was an incredible day, a huge thanks to all involved! The day started on a high, with a breakfast to celebrate and welcome UNSW’s Gateway Admission Pathway Early Offer recipients. A highlight was meeting some of UNSW’s future students and their families and our wonderful student ambassadors (pictured above).
Open Day is a massive undertaking and I’m very grateful to everyone who contributed their time, support, insights and energy to make it such a tremendous success. A huge thank you to all the awesome student ambassadors, staff and volunteers who provided our visitors with an authentic glimpse into what makes UNSW such a wonderful place to study and work. Your efforts truly embodied the spirit of generosity and excellence that defines our University.
That same passion and enthusiasm were on display during Term 3 O-week, when our University ambassadors and volunteers were out and about engaging with new students, offering guidance and insights about University life and discussing topics like the SpeakUp initiative (pictured above, in my defence it was a very sunny day!). SpeakUp is about nurturing a culture of respect and integrity, where students and staff know that we’re here to support them in speaking up if they encounter or witness something that doesn’t feel right.
Pictured top (L–R): UNSW Vice-Chancellor Attila Brungs, Mary Teague (Director Access, Equity and Inclusion), and student ambassadors Rocklin D'Cruz (Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)), Anna Lin (Bachelor of Commerce/Law), Daphne Ly (Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)) and Samuel North (Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours)).
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A culture of respect is one which we all play a part in creating through our day-to-day actions. We can learn a lot from Indigenous knowledges which offer profound insights into living harmoniously with each other and our environment. ‘Yindyamarra’, a word from the language of the Wiradjuri People is the concept of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in. It’s about respect and the impact of our actions on others. In these times, as always, it’s important to continue to build understanding and express compassion, respect and empathy to those around us and to be aware of how our interactions with others can impact them.
International conflicts and devastating human tragedies in spheres around the world continue to have a significant impact on people in our community. Thank you to all in the UNSW community who are supporting our students, colleagues and friends as the loss of life and human suffering are felt keenly by so many. It is the responsibility of each of us to ensure a respectful and safe UNSW.
If you need support for your health and wellbeing at this time, please consider making use of the services listed below.
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I also remind colleagues that UNSW is a member of Scholars at Risk. Please connect with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Global Professor Colin Grant if you would like to know more about this network and its work. Given the increasing need, UNSW is working hard with academics and external organisations on new ways to support refugees and those suffering forced displacement, particularly students. We have student refugee support programs that are not being fully utilised. If you would like to be involved or support this work, please contact Professor Bruce Watson, Pro Vice-Chancellor Inclusion in the first instance.
Celebrating the transformative power of philanthropy
On Monday, UNSW welcomed major donors, supporters and staff to our 360 Impact event to acknowledge and thank them for their extraordinary generosity. Our wonderful donors come from all walks of life: alumni, friends, staff, who all believe in the power of philanthropy to create a better future. Their generosity helps drive innovation and propel UNSW forward and I could not be more grateful. Every gift, no matter the size, contributes to our collective goal of transforming lives. Read more in this edition of Inside UNSW.
Arc Postgraduate Council Research Awards
It was fabulous to meet some of the many incredible people who make up our exceptional Higher Degree Research (HDR) community at the recent Arc PGC Research Awards. The awards, organised by the fantastic PGC committee (pictured) recognise the researchers, supervisors and professional staff who go above and beyond to ensure our HDR candidates have an outstanding experience at UNSW. HDRs play a crucial role in our University’s research effort. We have more than 4000 HDRs and more than 2500 HDR Supervisors at UNSW. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!
Co-creating Progress for All
The past week has been a milestone in the co-creation process for our next strategy.
The Faculty of Science Town Hall rounded out our staff roadshow, bringing our total engagement and consultation reach to more than 3700 students (1750+), staff (1850+) and alumni (~100).
Last Monday, at the biannual plenary sessions, the University Leadership Team (ULT) and senior staff workshopped the three to four objectives that will support achieving our nine strategic themes.
This is an exciting time. I’m certainly enjoying seeing the ambition of colleagues to make a strategy that will position UNSW to optimise the impact we have on society, locally and around the globe, for years to come.
Save the date! More opportunities to get involved are coming up. The UNSW Strategy Expo – Connecting you with Progress for All is on from Monday 21 to Thursday 24 October. During this week, the Strategy Team will take over the Michael Crouch Innovation Centre to test various components of the strategy with students and staff. You’ll be able to look at the latest work, provide your feedback and engage in events both in person and online. More information about the expo will be available soon – keep an eye on the strategy website and Viva.
Ever since I returned to UNSW as VC in 2022, the enthusiasm of colleagues in every corner of our University has continued to inspire, energise and impress me. This has once again been borne out as we work together to create UNSW Strategy: Progress for All. Thank you, everyone, for your contributions to date and to come.
Peter Farrell Cup
I had the honour of being one of the judges at the Peter Farrell Cup (PFC), UNSW’s student pitch competition, recently. The PFC aims to nurture and accelerate the next generation of entrepreneurs by providing them with the skills and support to bring their ideas to life. It’s an event I always look forward to and it did not disappoint. The pitches were fantastic, taking an innovative approach to an interesting range of challenges like teacher workload, beach safety, cyber security and emergency medical diagnoses. This year’s competition was the largest yet, with more than 100 applications and 97 student teams participating in a three-month program, all vying for a spot in the top 10. Congratulations to all the competitors and winners and thank you to the team at UNSW Founders and everyone who supported the PFC.
Inaugural PVC Education appointed
I’m pleased to share that Professor Christine (Tini) Mathies has been appointed our inaugural Pro Vice-Chancellor Education. Tini has been at UNSW for almost 18 years and has held a number of senior roles. She is currently the Senior Deputy Dean (Education and Student Experience) in the UNSW Business School. Tini begins her role as PVC Education on Tuesday, 8 October.
Insight Pulse survey coming soon
Last year, we conducted the Insight staff survey to gain your insights into the University’s strengths and areas of opportunity for improvement. At the time of the surveys for both continuing and fixed-term staff and staff employed on a casual basis, I expressed my commitment to working together to discuss, develop and implement cross-University and local actions that respond to your insights.
Based on the feedback received in the surveys, we are focusing on improving leadership and innovation at a University-wide level. We’ve tripled places available on our leadership programs to support leaders to be their best. We’ve also convened a working group of professional and academic staff to advise on how we can create an environment that supports innovation. Actions such as improving recognition, collaboration and balancing workload are taking place at a Faculty and Division level.
In October we’ll be launching an Insight Pulse survey to find out what you think of our progress to date in addressing the Insight survey actions. Keep an eye out for the Insight Pulse survey which will be emailed to staff next month.
Proposed government caps on international students
We continue to engage closely with the department on the rules and methodology relating to our cap as well as the government, the opposition and cross bench on the current very poor legislation regarding proposed international student caps. We are trying to ensure, along with our supporters in industry and the broader community, that everyone in Canberra actually understands the scale of the impact the proposed caps will have on the sector, future students, our innovation capability and our national prosperity. I will keep you updated.
There’s even more Inside UNSW…
I hope you are enjoying reading the staff profiles in Inside UNSW as much as I am. In this edition we meet microbiologist, poet and fencer: Scientia Associate Professor Matthew Baker in the School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences (BABS).
Professor David Keith and Professor Stuart Tangye have been awarded prizes at the prestigious 2024 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, dubbed Australia’s ‘Science Oscars’. David was recognised for his global conservation efforts and Stuart was honoured for his research on rare immune diseases. Congratulations David and Stuart on these well-deserved accolades!
Best regards
Attila
Professor Attila Brungs
Vice-Chancellor and President
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