From the Vice Chancellor: Grab your towel and don't panic

INSIDE UNISA

Back in the August edition of UniSA News I spoke of how, following what seemed like forever talking about the new Adelaide University, it was finally real. A real entity with a name, a brand identity, products (aka degree programs) and, of course, the much anticipated first pieces of merch.

While getting to the launch date was certainly a huge milestone – with a lot of work from a lot of people – it’s safe to say that things have got even more real since then.

You’re likely familiar with the quote, widely attributed to the Russian revolutionary and politician Vladimir Lenin, which says: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

This couldn’t be truer of the past year, and especially so of the last few months which have seen the appointment of senior leaders, transfer of all our professional staff (and soon academic staff, too) to Adelaide University, our first joint alumni events, the one-year anniversary of the establishment of the Transition Council, and the launch of our audacious national brand awareness campaign.

Hopefully you’ve seen the inspiring TV advertisement, one of the many Adelaide University wrapped trams or buses about the city and surrounds, the digital homepage takeovers, major newspaper advertisements or the billboards across Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth … we’ve definitely been making ourselves known!

Simultaneously we’ve been preparing to farewell UniSA, and recently launched the UniSA Time Capsule to preserve our past. The Time Capsule celebrates our 34 unstoppable years of achievements, history and culture through a variety of artifacts and imagery (yes, including that infamous shot of me on the space toilet!).

While we’ve been busy looking back and to the future, life is continuing to happen around us, and at a pace unlike ever before. As if to prove Lenin’s point, it can feel as though we’ve lived an entire year’s worth of global events, yet it’s only April.

From major ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, to environmental events such as the California wildfires and Cyclone Alfred, to the inauguration of Trump’s second term as President and the recently called Australian federal election, to say there is a lot happening globally is an understatement.

In between what can look like a lot of tumultuous times, it’s worth taking a moment to look for the glimmers, the slivers, which promise better days ahead. While there is plenty to debate about the recent federal budget announcement, there is also plenty to be hopeful about within a higher education context. The outlined additional $2.5 billion to be invested in a new higher education system which will provide more Commonwealth Supported Places with extra support for disadvantaged students while they study, is just one of these things.  

Though despite the glimmers, the changes and uncertainties on a local, national and global scale, can feel relentless. Drawing on Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy philosophy of “don’t panic” and to always know where your towel is, can be a useful strategy to navigate such uncertainty.

The first part of this philosophy speaks for itself, but as for the towel – an item considered to be an essential piece of equipment for a hitchhiker since it has such a variety of uses – it’s a symbolic representation of adaptability.

Just like a hitchhiker’s trusty towel, the ability to adapt will get you through a range of circumstances. Of course, it’s not always easy to be adaptable. Just like a muscle, your ability to adapt needs to be stretched, flexed and practised.

So, grab your towel. Hold on. And don’t panic!

Professor David Lloyd
Vice Chancellor and President

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