Education Minister Alan Tudge calls the SA proposal to quarantine international students at Adelaide’s Parafield airport “promising.” Not to the local council it isn’t. Scroll down for that story and Mr Tudge’s no-punches-pulled speech to Universities Australia.

In Features this morning

There are lessons in pandemic drug-development for higher education innovation. Dawn Gilmore (RMIT) and Chin Nguyen (Curio) look at the different ways Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Uni Queensland worked and how their approaches apply in teaching and learning development.

Plus

James Guthrie (Macquarie U) and Brendan O’Connell report searching Victorian universities documents for the number of people, people, not accounting abstractions, who lost their jobs last year. They found changes in accounting practises and calculating headcounts make final figures hard to find. They set out their data here.

And on Friday

Angel Calderon’s (RMIT) analysis of last night’s CWTS Leiden research ranking. Merlin Crossley (UNSW) considers quality, quantity (and Antiques Roadshow).

Provost Romy Lawson is named interim VC, “until a newly-appointed VC commences”

“Professor Lawson has enthusiastically agreed to guide the university as we transition to new leadership (she) has both my confidence and that of the university senate to take us through this transition period,” Chancellor Gary Smith tells staff.

Mr Smith also announces the VC selection committee, which includes staff elected member Gerd Schröeder-Turk.

The panel also includes former Curtin U and present Uni Queensland VC Deborah Terry.

Labor’s education spokesperson says universities were key to reconstruction after WWII and must be post pandemic

Tanya Plibersek’s speech to the Universities Australia conference today will point to the “central role that universities played” in Labor prime minster Ben Chifley’s national reconstruction programme and call for them to be able to do the same post CoVID-19.

“What we’ve learned in this pandemic isn’t that different to what we learned in World War II. At every stage of the crisis, we’ve relied on universities and their graduates – on experts and their research,” her speech text states.

Ms Plibersek also will claim applied research as a Labor issue.

“When universities succeed, their success touches everyone. From graduating classes of highly trained citizens, to greater productivity, to research and invention, to new products and techniques, to new companies and new exports. That’s the pipeline.  And when it works, it creates good local jobs.”

And she also presents Labor as the party of the higher education community.

“I promise you that a Labor Government will restore universities to their rightful place. You will be respected again. You will have a partner in government once more. And you will be given the support you need to do what you do best: world class teaching and world class research.”

As much Gough as Ben, thinks CMM.

The university has struggled to work out how much it has underpaid casual staff

Its 2019 annual report mentioned provisions for $23.7m in 2018 and $25.6 for ’19, which include “an estimated potential liability to the casual academic workforce,” (CMM February 22).

But it seemed back then there might be more to come, with the university telling CMM, “the review of potential underpayments to casual academics covering the whole university continues … Remediation payments will be made to affected staff as soon as possible and will continue as the review progresses.” (CMM February 22).

As to how much in remediation, the university’s 2020 annual report includes $39m in provisions, expected to be settled within 12 months, “which includes an estimated potential liability to the casual academic workforce.”

Education Minister Alan Tudge will commission advice on uni-industry collaboration in teaching and learning to “further ensure future graduates are work-ready”

Former Victoria U vice chancellor Peter Dawkins and imminently-ex RMIT head Martin Bean will have charge of the project, expected to be announced by Mr Tudge at the Universities Australia conference today.

Their brief will include ways undergraduates who acquire industry-experience can earn course credits.

The review will “build on” the NSW VET review by Peter Shergold and David Gonski which included a proposal for employers to have “a more influential role” in planning and designing courses. (They also proposed an income contingent loan for Certificates III and IV study “in priority skills areas” but this may not be the bit Mr Tudge has in mind, CMM March 9).

But isn’t this part of what the National Priorities and Industry Linkage Fund is supposed to do? One of its three tasks is to, “increase the number of internships, practicums, and other innovative approaches to work-integrated learning.”

The proposal to quarantine international students at Adelaide’s Parafield airport (CMM May 31) is opposed by the local council

City of Salisbury mayor Gillian Aldrige says council was not consulted on the proposal, wants a briefing and is unhappy with what it says is the state government prioritising international students “over the rights of Australian students and permanent residents returning home.”

Council calls on the state and federal governments to construct “purpose-built quarantine facilities …. outside of residential areas and suburbs.”

However, the City of Salisbury did not complain about noise from the facility or traffic problems.

Education and skills is on in Senate Estimates

Sparkling wits from the HE, Research and International and Skills groups of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment are on this afternoon.

And brace for a big Friday, when agencies appear – ASQA and the ARC, TEQSA and the estimable NCVER. Want to know what the National Skills Commission actually does? Perhaps senators will ask its officers, who appear at 3pm.

Jacqueline Huggins joins ANU as an honorary professor in history. The university describes Dr Huggins ia Bidjara/ Birri Gubba Juru woman who the university describes as “among the first First Nations historians in Australia.”

 Roberto Sabatini (leadership) and Nicolle Connelly (outstanding contribution), both from RMIT receive awards from industry association Aviation/Aerospace Australia.