Deborah Terry will continue as Curtin U VC for a second term, taking her through to 2023. It will be a challenge to continue the pace of her first four years, in which Curtin created a medical school, opened campuses in Dubai and Mauritius plus building a MOOC list (via edX), notably in the career-study micromasters market. And because every Perth university is also a don’t-miss-this-development opportunity, Curtin is now working on a $500m project at the Bentley campus.

And the Curtin community appears relatively quiet and content. To an extent this is due to the university’s enterprise bargaining philosophy (settle fast, settle generous) but Curtin U also runs IR reforms, just without brawling.

Then there is research. In 2013 Curtin U was in the 400-500 bracket of the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Last year it cracked the top 200, ranking ninth in Australia.  Back in 2016 Professor Terry set-out Curtin’s three-point research development strategy; support early and mid-career researchers to nurture stars, broaden research capacities and encourage knowledge transfer, (CMM August 1 2016). It’s working.