Half full.

I feel increasingly like William Shatner. In 1994.

Before you ask if my medication dosages need to be upped, don’t worry. As Han Solo once quipped on the intercom from the control room of the detention centre of the Death Star, ‘…everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine, we're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?’

See what I did there? Trek and Wars back to back. It doesn’t happen very often. You shouldn’t cross the streams. Savour it and try not to geek out too much.

The former is (of course) about a period of transition. Shatner, (as Captain Kirk) was invited aboard the USS Enterprise B on her maiden voyage in 2293. The new Enterprise was under the command of a new Captain, John Harriman. That maiden voyage turned out to be a little bit, well, bumpy. The ship and her crew were new. Their systems were not all fully installed or as operational as they may have wanted them to be. They faced uncertainty and challenge. Which they overcame, as a team. There was grit, determination, sacrifice, mourning and triumph. (More or less – I’m stretching the analogy pretty thin here). For me, the part of Star Trek:Generations which resonates most these days is where the crew are scrambling to react to an ever changing existentially threatening situation, and most of their go-to playbook is not available for them to use - and so they adapt. Innovation, determination, agility. Coping. We have a lot of that going on at the moment.

Our University of Enterprise has followed a course through uncharted space of late, with a lot asked of her crew. You’ve performed admirably and I’m incredibly proud of you all. We’re emerging from the nebula and we’re about to turn the corner into the final quarter of 2025, the final quarter which completes our first 34-year mission. It’s understandably an emotional time. There are endings – and new beginnings. There are unknowns and there are opportunities. There are new directions and as-yet unexplored destinations. I’d posit that this isn’t a time to be sad, or to rue losses - real or perceived. This is actually a time for optimism. For nearly 14 years I’ve used the same slide at corporate induction (not the one about the horse). The picture of the glass of water. Half full. Or half empty. The descriptor you apply is your choice. The perspective is your own.

No debt. Strong enrolments. The nation’s most contemporary curriculum. Astonishing depth and breadth of research and partnership. A magnificent crew. A snazzy purple colour. An impossible task almost complete.

When I get an occasional moment to take stock, as we hurtle at warp speed through a hideously complicated project landscape, I am amazed by our achievements to date and our future potential. Our students are already receiving a fantastic education, which will evolve further and faster than we ever could have done alone. Our research has always been impactful and end-user informed, it will now have greater focus and connectivity and range. Our teaching has been recognised nationally and internationally for its excellence and innovation – and it now forms the backbone of Australia’s newest comprehensive university, with significant investment available to further improve.

Our institution is synonymous with enterprise – and if Star Trek has taught me nothing else, it is that it's the enterprising who define the future.