From the Vice Chancellor

Professor David Lloyd, Vice Chancellor and President

INSIDE UNISA

In the 1930s the Shell Oil company used an advertising slogan – “that’s Shell – that was” – implying that a vehicle with Shell in its tank would soon disappear from sight. They couldn’t use Unstoppable; it would not have been a good look for a motor vehicle. But I digress.

“That’s Shell – that was” was believed to have spawned the television show That Was the Week That Was, a wrap-up of the week’s news. I’m going to do That Was the Year That Was since we’re closing in on Christmas and heading off to the beach to recover from 2019 and get ready for 2020.

It will come as no surprise that we were, once again, ranked amongst the world’s best young universities. Closer to home we were ranked number 1 in Australia for quality education and the best in South Australia for graduate careers and employer satisfaction. Our research was rated at world class or above, we were ranked number 1 in Australia for industry research income and that research was assessed as having some of the highest impact in the nation.

We have always sought to make a difference in the world and this is proof that we do.

All of this is what you want to see in a University of Enterprise which is focused on producing employable graduates and contributing to the state and national economies.

We had some big wins as well, safely landing the SmartSAT CRC which is a huge investment in space industry R&D, and building partnerships with Accenture and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and transforming our Mawson Lakes campus into a world-leading Industry Connections Hub with a strong emphasis on Industry 4.0 technologies.

And while all this was happening we were reviewing, refining and re-shaping our programs to give our students a head start on their new careers. Now, with Enterprise25 – the plan for our future, we’re building new structures to support those programs and to use them in new multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary ways.

With digital technology making so many changes in the way we live and learn and work, we need to educate students to become critical learners, to give them the intellectual capacity to make an immediate impact in their chosen careers, and to prepare them to adapt to constant and rapid changes in their workplace circumstances.

As you know, the three pillars of Enterprise25 call for excellence in our programs, people and precincts. Next year, once you’ve brushed the sand off your feet, we’ll launch our new program-focused academic structure – the seven new academic units that are working to make our programs among the best in the world, informed by research and building new collaborations and innovations through the interdisciplinary mix within them.

The structure transitions in April. I’m pretty sure we’ll have kicked a few more goals before then, so make sure you rest up over the holiday break because if you think this year was successful, just wait until you see what 2020 brings.

While we gear up for that, let me thank each and every one of you for your contributions to UniSA and for doing a great job this year and wish all of you – and those you hold dear – a safe and happy Christmas.

Professor David Lloyd
Vice Chancellor and President

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