The Australian Research Council advises updates for Linkage Grant applications, with the ban on references to pre-prints deleted. It confirms the end of a short, but very sharp passage in the agency’s relations with research communities, (although people appealing their applications being excluded over the pre-print rule may not think so).

In Features this morning

James Guthrie looks at ANU’s books – another uni big in property.

plus, Universities will open but that does not mean students want to be on campus. Samantha Hall (from Campus Intuition) has ideas on encouraging them. Hers is a new contribution to Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s celebrated series, Needed now in teaching and learning.

There will be more from Dr Hall at CMM’s Reimaging the lives of the lectured conference next week. Sign-up here.

and, Merlin Crossley (UNSW) on the power of youth in life, and university administration.

It’s a key appointment for VC Adam Shoemaker

Just weeks after the appointment of Renée Leon as VC, Professor Germov is leaving CSU to become DVC – Higher Education at dual sector Victoria University.

This is a crucial appointment for VU, critical for both embedding its transformative block teaching model on campus and expanding its digital application.

Professor Germov had been provost, acting and interim VC during hard times at CSU – a restructure excited staff controversy and criticism from state MPs and former federal minister for regional education Andrew Gee was unhappy with aspects of uni admin.  But CSU was in relatively good financial shape when Germov left the chair for Professor Leon.

Scroll down to appointments and achievements for another VU appointment

As of January, commencing HE domestic students will need a unique identifier

This already has required a bunch of work but at least institutions benefit from VET having gone first.  The VET system’s unique student ID, “provides a viable model of a more robust identifier that could be allocated,” the feds said when work started (CMM January 25 2018). Since then there have been a bunch of updates.

Which is good – but given students will have to create their own USI, it may take time. The USI team suggests institutions tell students creating their USI “is super easy.”

Then again, there is a list of problems on the USI briefing page, which are anything but. For example, when student IDs differ from the USI Registry – “sometimes it is the identity documents that have recorded the name incorrectly and the student should resolve this with the relevant agency.” CMM suspects that will not strike students who are told their names are not what they think they are as easy at all.

Commonwealth education officials remind HE providers they can’t issue undergraduate certificates after December 31

Unless, that is state, territory and commonwealth ministers, in ponderment assembled, agree to their continuing.

Former education minister Dan Tehan established, and funded, UG Certs in 2020. They were originally intended for people with COVID-19 caused time on their hands to learn new job-skills.

Universities and other HE providers piled into providing them and in February they were legislated into the Provider Category Standards – but without national approval they will be no more at year end.

This, critics say, will be no bad thing, that they were an emergency response not a careful creation to meet an education/training market need. “The extent to which there is a serious policy agenda underlying short course funding is unclear,” Mark Warburton from the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education says (CMM September 13). Ministers may decide otherwise if the Commonwealth can demonstrate they help jobseekers (CMM September 20).

It used to be the beating heart of education, but now, not so much

So what’s next? Adam Shoemaker (VU) asks experts on Tuesday at CMM and partners’ Reimaging the lives of the lectured ZOOM conference. Book here

Of the day

2021 Fellows of the American Physical Society include, Geoff Pryde (Griffith U) and Michelle Simmons (UNSW)

 Muireann Irish (Uni Sydney) is the International Science Council’s  2021 early career scientist for Asia and Oceania.

 Patrick Keyzer adds Associate Dean R in the law and business faculty at Australian Catholic U to his portfolio. He is also dean of the law school.

Danny Liew will become the University of Adelaide’s dean and head of medical school in January. Professor Liew moves from Monash U.

Science and Technology Australia announces three board appointments, Rachel Przeslawsk (Australian Marine Science Association) will join next month. Kathy Nicholson (representing general sciences) and Karen Gregory (medical and cognitive sciences) are re-elected unopposed.

Dianne Semmens is confirmed as DVC Vocational Education at Victoria U. She is charged with aligning VU’s Polytechnique and HE courses “in the same space and time.” It’s an internal appointment.

Of the week

Trade Minister Dan Tehan appoints former RMIT VC Martin Bean a “business champion” for Australia and Vietnam.

Tara Brabazon is leaving Flinders U where she is dean of Graduate Research. She is moving to Massey U in New Zealand.

Alex Brown is appointed professor of Indigenous genomics by ANU and partner Telethon Kids Institute.

Tony Driese is Uni Southern Queensland’s inaugural PVC First Nations Education and Research. He moves from ANU.

Flinders U announces new professorial fellows. Harald Janovjak (now at Monash U) and Krasimir Vasilev (Uni SA) will join its Health and Medical Research institute. Melanie MacGregor, moves to the College of Science and Engineering from Uni SA.

International Education Association of Australia announces board elections, Bronwyn Bartsch (CQU), Tim Field (Uni Sydney), Tanveer Shaheed (Macquarie U) and Kelly Smith (Murdoch U).

Susan Le Mire is appointed interim PVC Student Learning at Uni Adelaide. She steps up form Deputy Dean, Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Professions.

Peter Leggat (James Cook U) becomes a knight of the Order of St John (as in Ambulance). He was its national director of training 2013-19. Professor Leggat is also the new president of the International Society of Travel Medicine (CMM May 28).

National Computational Infrastructure announces three new board members, Melodie McGeoch (La Trobe U), Clare McLaughlin (National Health and Medical Research Council) and Rosemarie Sadsad (Uni Sydney).

The National Library of Australia announces its 2022 fellowships. Sue Green (Charles Sturt U), Susan Herner (Uni Adelaide), Alison Holland (Macquarie U), Ryan Johnson (Uni Sydney), Annie McCarthy (Uni Canberra), Gwyn McClelland (Uni New England), Julian Meyrick (Uni Adelaide), Madelyn Shaw (US independent scholar), Paul Turnbull (Uni Tas), Kate Warren (ANU), Annie McCarthy (Uni Canberra).

KPMG partner Warwick Shanks is elected a deputy chancellor of Uni Wollongong. He will replace Elizabeth Magassy who will step down at year end.

 Rodney Smith becomes interim head of Uni Sydney’s School of Social and Political Sciences. He replaces Lisa Adkins who is now interim dean of FASS.

Willy Susilo (Uni Wollongong) is elected a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association.

Andrew Timing becomes deputy dean Research and Innovation in RMIT’s management school.

The Victorian Endowment for Science Knowledge and Innovation announces its 2021 career recovery grants (up to $50 000), awarded, in part, in recognition of the “profound disruption to their work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” * Robyn Brown (Uni Melbourne) * Kirsten Ellis (Monash U) * Samantha Grover (RMIT) * Jessica Holien (RMIT) * Sarah Jones (Monash U) * Lisa Mielke (Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute) * Louise Olsen-Kettle (Swinburne U).

Paul Wappett is the new CEO at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He was previously CEO of the Australian Institute of Business.

Ted Whitten starts as dean of James Cook U’s College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences. He moves from Uni Melbourne.

Naomi Wray (Uni Queensland) wins the Ming Tsuang lifetime achievement award from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics.

Mark Young is leaving La Trobe U for Uni Tasmania, where he will start next month as Director, Future Student Journey.