15 August 2013
UniSA’s five year strategic action plan released
Just seven months after his appointment as University of South Australia Vice Chancellor, Professor David Lloyd has released an action plan for the next five years that will see more opportunities for regional students, greater engagement with the community and a goal to make UniSA the university of choice for Indigenous students and researchers.
Launching the action plan, Crossing the Horizon, Prof Lloyd says UniSA has at its core, a commitment to equity.
“Education is the greatest leveller in society and has to operate as a true meritocracy,” Prof Lloyd says.
“Ensuring all people have access to the best possible education is a value that is at the heart of UniSA.
“During our consultation in the lead up to developing the new plan, ideas around how we can best serve the community, reaching out into the regions, developing opportunities for people with disabilities and supporting staff and students in their efforts to further social entrepreneurship were all very strong threads."
The strategic action plan outlines an intention to deliver three new learning hubs across South Australia, evolving the existing Centre for Regional Engagement model which currently delivers education in Whyalla and Mt Gambier.
It will also see the immediate implementation of recommendations from the University’s Disability Action Plan Review and the roll out of a number of mentoring and buddying programs across all levels of the university – for all new incoming students, for Indigenous students, peer to peer mentoring and industry mentors for staff and students.
Prof Lloyd says Crossing the Horizon is a blueprint for the future of the University, positioning UniSA as Australia’s university of enterprise.
The plan includes seven separate action sets and a range of priorities for immediate and progressive action.
They focus on the student experience of university; research and curriculum; improved efficiencies and investment in staff; infrastructure; engagement with society both locally and internationally; and administrative and cultural changes that will support the plan.
“Our planning process started with one of the widest open consultations ever held by a university in Australia when we ran the online forum unijam – the world’s first crowd sourced strategic planning process in a university context. We had 18000 inputs from nearly 8000 participants and those ideas have informed and shaped our plan,” Prof Lloyd says.
“We have a shared blueprint for what we can achieve together in the next five years.
“My goal through this plan is to build our reputation as an institution that is innovative, engaged and enterprising.
“This is an exciting vision for the University and one in which all of our students will be given the best opportunities to succeed and flourish.”
You can read the full strategic action plan, Crossing the Horizon, online.
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli office: 08 8302 0966 mobile: 0418 823 673 email: Michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
