UNSW announced new branding on Sunday: “UNSWe, “we start with U and end with We” (via Twitter). Learned readers noted the date.

Expanding the joke, the university also issued a long mock-statement about the change, quoting a fictitious “DVC Corporate Culture” dismissing critics saying the university should address “grand challenges” in research; “if we waited for the grand challenges to be solved we would never get anything done. And besides, branding is a global challenge. Isn’t it the major issue facing most large international companies today and isn’t it what they are spending their resources on? Surely universities should do the same.”

Droll indeed but learned readers warn that given the enormous effort the university puts into corporate identity, not everybody will realise it is a joke.