Higher education’s collision of values
Written by Steven Schwartz on October 15th, 2008
“The outsiders want the students trained for their first job out of university, and the academics inside the system want the students educated for 50 years of self-fulfilment. The trouble is that the students want both. The ancient collision between each student’s short-term and long-term goals, between training and education, between vocational and general, between […]
Cost may hinder innovation recommendations
Written by Steven Schwartz on September 24th, 2008
To make Australia more innovative and prosperous, Dr Terry Cutler’s review of Australia’s “innovation system” calls for a vast array of new programs, boards and committees.
For example, Cutler recommends that the government establish a “Knowledge Connections” program within the “Enterprise Connect Program” to work with “Industry Innovation Councils”. The report also foresees the appointment […]
Universities need a research environment
Written by Steven Schwartz on September 23rd, 2008
Sir David King, former UK chief scientist and now director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University, is well known for his concern over the challenges posed by climate change. For example, he has said that while terrorism poses a serious threat “I don’t think it is even comparable to […]
Open Access: what do you think?
Written by Steven Schwartz on July 3rd, 2008
I am thinking about bringing a paper to the Macquarie University Senate on Open Access, the subject of an earlier blog.
A draft of this paper appears below. I would like your feedback. Have I missed anything? Can the paper be improved?
For more information on Open Access, you might like to consult this guide.
DRAFT - Open […]
Macquarie moves to be a top research university
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 18th, 2008
A front-page report in the Australian Higher Education section today says that university leaders have generally endorsed the Government’s Bradley Review “as practical and comprehensive”.
I see nothing wrong with the aims of the review, which is to develop a “diverse, globally focussed and competitive higher education sector with quality, responsive institutions following clear, distinctive missions”.
But […]
Macquarie: on the way to world-class
Written by Steven Schwartz on May 14th, 2008
In recent years Macquarie has carved out a reputation for itself as a strong local university. Now we are well on the way to becoming a leading world-class university by the time of our 50th birthday in 2014.
Many of you will have seen the wrap-around advertisement in today’s The Australian Higher Education section.
It’s a major […]
How far will Charters go?
Written by Steven Schwartz on January 29th, 2008
The Science Minister, Kim Carr has called for scientists to be “liberated” from any impediment to communicating their research results or expressing their opinions on contentious issues.
Carr plans to create Charters for Commonwealth research agencies - CSIRO, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. These Charters will be […]
Rewarding innovation
Written by Steven Schwartz on November 20th, 2007
Macquarie’s researchers and educators do some great work year after year and we like to ensure their efforts are recognised by the university.
One way we do this is through the annual Macquarie Innovation Awards.
Recently the university presented Innovation Awards to academics who have made outstanding efforts in their fields.
These included researchers who developed tools to […]
Implications of the RQF
Written by Steven Schwartz on November 14th, 2007
Assuming it wins the election, the Coalition Government says it will go ahead with an assessment of university research quality. The Labor Party says it will abort the current Government’s process and replace it with its own assessment regime. For the time being, only the Government’s assessment program is on the table.
For reasons that are […]
Macquarie: an industry-based research university
Written by Steven Schwartz on October 26th, 2007
There’s an interesting similarity between Macquarie and Stanford University in California’s high-tech Silicon Valley: many of the same companies that surround Stanford – Microsoft, Sony, Siemens, Dow Corning, Optus, ResMed, Fujitsu, Oracle, Nortel, Cisco and dozens of others - are also at Macquarie.
But the comparison ends there. Unfortunately, Macquarie’s relationship with these companies has never […]