Oceania

Trauma-informed practice

What trauma-informed practice can learn from EDI in higher education

Equity, diversity and inclusion work reminds us that trauma doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Here are insights from EDI that can enrich trauma-informed practice

Maree Martinussen, Sarah O’Shea

Charles Sturt University

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Campus webinar: How to embed sustainability into the curriculum

Hear experts discuss how they engage students in climate-conscious learning, build sustainability into course design and connect it to employability and wider social responsibility

Ethan Chong Yih Tng , Edson Kieu , Jo-Anne Ferreira, Daniel Yonto

Singapore Institute of Technology , Nanyang Technological University , The University of Southern Queensland , Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

A toilet cubicle

Equality on campus starts in the toilets

With diversity, equity and inclusion policies under threat, there’s a simple and cost-effective change universities can make for a trans-inclusionary, accessible campus

Deanna Grant-Smith , Anne Hewitt , Loki Maelorin, Chisom Ihekwaba

The University of Adelaide, University of the Sunshine Coast

A robot hand types at a laptop

What happens when AI writes the appeal

As students increasingly use generative AI to craft assessment appeals, university staff face new challenges in maintaining the integrity of academic feedback. Here’s how we can adapt to preserve meaningful learning relationships in the face of optimisation

Jonathan Boymal

RMIT University

Team of engineers working on an engine

How partnerships with business are evolving to support student employability

‘Intrapreneurship’, interdisciplinary degree pathways, student-led projects and early engagement are all ways universities can move industry collaboration from partnership to co-building

Saurabh Sinha

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

Different languages in speech bubbles on a laptop

International students don’t need ‘fixing’

To internationalise education, and not just enrolments, educators need to move feedback on academic language from correction to collaboration. Here Nashid Nigar offers a framework for rethinking inclusion through literacy diversity

Nashid Nigar

University of Melbourne

Scholar as superhero

Find the hero energy in the story of your research

Want to connect with funders, the media, the public or policymakers? Start by thinking like a storyteller

Erin O’Dwyer

Good Prose Studios, University of Sydney

Multiracial group of young people

Creating a visual story to demystify the university experience

Visual stories can help make universities’ complex array of services and experiences more accessible and less mysterious to staff, students and community members

Brooke Szücs, Ben Roden-Cohen

The University of Queensland

Peer review and career developing in university teaching

Peer review as a collegial approach to educator development

Expert support, structured reflection and near-peer dialogue can replace compliance and evaluation as a way to improve teaching practice. This practical framework aims to turn conversation into action

Hasti Abbasi

Deakin University

Bulldozers at sunset

It’s time to break the extraction mindset of higher education

A logic of scarcity and competition leads academia to see hoarding economic, human and social resources as the only way to survive – as a university or a higher education employee, writes Lucas Lixinski

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

A phone screen with several different GenAI apps displayed

Can we use GenAI to subvert the neoliberal university?

Generative AI can be a tool of resistance against the corporatisation of higher education – or it can be just another distraction to make us ‘zombies in the loop’ of the system. Here is how we can choose the former

Richard McInnes

The University of Adelaide

Nurse entering information into computer

Supporting pathways for nurses into clinical research

Organisational support for clinician researchers is an effective way to ensure that healthcare research is translated into clinical practice. Here’s how a partnership between an Australian university and a local health service aims to amplify impact

Natasha Roberts

The University of Queensland

Three people looking at a page in a meeting

‘Explain your research as if you were speaking to a smart teenager’

For researchers to give their work a chance to have real-world impact, they need skills and tools to communicate effectively with politicians. Here, Kylie Ahern offers ways to make every engagement count

Kylie Ahern

STEM Matters

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THE podcast: how to look after yourself in higher education

Personal insights from a range of higher education voices on how they preserve their own well-being

Multiple authors

Campus

Should we kill the essay?

Should we kill the essay?

Long-form writing seems to have become a battleground for the showdown between AI and academic integrity. With technology exposing the essay’s flaws, Luke Zaphir offers ways to reinforce this storied assessment task

Luke Zaphir

The University of Queensland

Illustration of head jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing

What trauma-informed practice is not

Before trauma-informed care can be the norm across all areas of the university, academic and professional staff need to understand what it is. Here, three academics debunk myths and demystify best practice

Kate Cantrell, India Bryce, Jessica Gildersleeve

The University of Southern Queensland

A young woman takes a deep breath at a laptop

Is authentic assessment leaving some students behind?

Does a more authentic assessment for some students mean an inauthentic experience for others? Here’s how to address this by adopting a student-focused lens

Sue Sharpe, Jennifer Z Sun

Australian National University, University of Sydney

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THE podcast: why we need interdisciplinarity in teaching and research

Interdisciplinary thinking is crucial to addressing complex questions but how should it work in practice? Two leading academic proponents of cross-disciplinary working draw on their own groundbreaking scholarship to explain

Gabriele Bammer, Kate Crawford

Australian National University, USC Annenberg, Microsoft Research Lab (MSR) New York

AI proficiency

Are you a jack of all GenAI?

Effective use of generative AI draws on a suite of skills that go beyond well-crafted prompts. Getting the best out of tech’s ubiquitous tool requires informed choices, field expertise, flexibility, diligence and a willingness to play

Einat Grimberg, Claire Mason, Andrew Reeson, Cécile Paris

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Woman working at laptop with coffee

Online should not mean offline for business lecturers

When online courses are delivered more or less to a prescribed script, this leaves little space for an educator’s personalised contribution and autonomy, writes Anita Wheeldon. Here, she makes the case against ‘teacherless pedagogy’

Anita Wheeldon

The University of Southern Queensland

A cheerful student waves hello on a Zoom call

What’s the crucial element for interdisciplinary teamwork? Psychological safety

Foster a sense of radical openness in your interdisciplinary online learning environment by establishing psychological safety – here’s how

Helena Robinson, Fabian Held

University of Technology Sydney, University of Sydney

An illustration of tiny figures putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle

Universities need to move interdisciplinary professional associations to the next step

Inter- and transdisciplinary teaching is going beyond communities of practice – but it’s still too small to compete with discipline-based professional associations. Here are the questions we should be asking to move forward

Gabriele Bammer

Australian National University

A phone screen with several different GenAI apps displayed

DeepSeek and shallow moats: what does it mean for higher education?

DeepSeek’s arrival may have spooked the markets, but what does it mean for the research and development of LLMs? Higher education should avoid putting all its eggs in one GenAI basket, writes Ben Swift

Ben Swift

Australian National University

Female university student walking to class

‘Why do we still timetable classes as if students don’t have lives outside university?’

As the block model has evolved from educational outlier to established practice, the questions it raises about how higher education is delivered are increasingly difficult to ignore, writes John Weldon

John Weldon

Victoria University

Empathetic teaching

Teaching with empathy: a practical guide for university educators

By making consistent efforts to understand and support students, university teachers create a learning environment where they feel capable and appreciated, writes Dianne Stratton-Maher

Dianne Stratton-Maher

The University of Southern Queensland

Hands pointing to pie chart

Authentic assessment in postgraduate statistics courses

Using anonymous student data for assessment tasks enhances engagement with learning, fosters practical skill development and makes business and economics concepts more memorable

Temesgen Kifle

The University of Queensland

Young man trekking in Tasmania, Australia

From island to screen: marketing the campus experience to future students

When competition to attract students comes from other institutions, not just in your region but around the world, universities need effective marketing tools and a targeted message to stand out

Courtney Geritz

University of Tasmania

Student writing in library

Enhancing the thesis experience: insights from master’s students

Early preparation is essential for students’ successful thesis journey – so postgraduate course coordinators and programme leaders should put supports in place from the beginning

Shino Takayama, Ransi Jayawardena

The University of Queensland

Female mature age student at graduation

Imagine an age-inclusive university sector

Age inclusion should be part of universities’ mission, as well as their day-to-day operations. To not support staff and students at all stages of their academic life is an opportunity missed

Paul Harpur, Brooke Szücs, Nancy A. Pachana

The University of Queensland

Male online student

As students become more ‘distant’, can feedback still hit the mark?

Whether they are behind a computer screen or behind bars, all students need support with making effective use of feedback – whether or not the process is a two-way street

Robert Nash, Kieran Balloo

National Institute of Teaching, The University of Southern Queensland

Woman sleeping at desk

Why academics are losing sleep

Struggling to balance academic life with healthy sleep habits? Whether it’s a well-placed nap or giving grant writing a rest, this science-backed guide will help scholars, teachers and administrators get their full eight hours

Chin Moi Chow

University of Sydney

A human and robot hand typing on a laptop

Reduce admin burden with AI

How teachers can use AI to respond to student enquiries, provide feedback and create engaging learning content

Shahper Richter, Inna Piven, Patrick Dodd

The University of Auckland

Creative writing concept

‘Creativity is a practice, not an astonishing stroke of good luck’

Screenwriter and playwright Stephen Sewell shares practical insights into fostering students’ mental flexibility and resilience from research into unlocking creativity

Stephen Sewell

Australian National University

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THE podcast: what Indigenous knowledge brings to higher education

Two Indigenous university leaders explain how their institutions support First Nations’ participation in higher education, create space for community and build trust in postcolonial environments

Angie Bruce, Te Kawehau Hoskins

University of Manitoba, The University of Auckland

Students work round a laptop together

Create an online learning environment international students feel comfortable in

For international students, navigating online learning is just another challenge among the many they’re already facing. Rajeev Kamineni offers advice based on his own learning journey

Rajeev Kamineni

The University of Adelaide

Older woman mentoring young Asian female university student

Intercultural communication between PhD supervisors and candidates

Culture goes beyond language and national origins, so doctoral supervisors need curiosity and an open mindset in their interactions to maximise performance and timely completion

Thuy Dinh

Western Sydney University

subconscious mind concept

‘What artists do is say the quiet bits out loud’

As teachers, we know our students will face the harsh demands of creativity and problem-solving in their daily professional lives – and we need to help them tap into deeper places that lead to novel solutions to intractable problems

Stephen Sewell

Australian National University

A group of people put their hands together

Five steps to decolonise your university curriculum and pave the way for a better future

How can universities reset their curricula and embrace a range of experiences? Here are five ways to start down the path of decolonisation

Steve Larkin

The University of Adelaide

Close-up portrait of Tui - Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae - a famous New Zealand endemic honeyeater with yellow pollen on the forehead, in a blurred green background, in New Zealand

Dreaming of tuī returning to campus

Collaboration between community groups, local government and university students has improved bird nest survival rates exponentially as part of a broader biodiversity plan. Here is how one university is bringing native fauna back to campus

Seamus Moran

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

Male and female figures scale a very different set of stairs to the top

We need to dismantle the promotion patriarchy in academia from the inside

Women in academia are promoted at far lower rates than their male peers and are under-represented in senior positions. To fix this, universities will need to embrace systemic change

Rachael Jefferson

Charles Sturt University

Academics work together around a table

Start the journey of anti-colonial work with these first steps

Many non-Indigenous staff are worried about doing anti-colonial work for fear of getting it wrong. Sue Sharpe shares four tips for getting started

Sue Sharpe

Australian National University

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THE podcast: two vice-chancellors on maintaining quality and financial stability within a university

Hear Anton Muscatelli of the University of Glasgow and Alex Zelinsky of the University of Newcastle, Australia, discuss the complexities of successfully running a university

Anton Muscatelli, Alex Zelinsky

University of Glasgow, The University of Newcastle, Australia

The evolution of a paper plane from crumpled to flying form

Ways to enhance your institution’s change agility

How to involve and empower staff to make changes that can have a big impact on their roles and the institution as a whole

Kristy-Jai Chantrey

The University of Newcastle, Australia

Creative writing concept

A space where ideas can take shape in the creative arts

Out of writer’s block and research into the artistic process have grown a tool and a community to foster new work. Novelist Sue Woolfe describes how an international creativity bar works

Sue Woolfe

University of Sydney

Three vintage-style robots

The Goldilocks effect: finding ‘just right’ in the AI era

When artificial intelligence is embedded into almost every tool students use, how can university educators find the line between misconduct and ethical use? A new approach to assessment is required, writes Kathryn MacCallum

Kathryn MacCallum

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

Middle-aged man smiling at laptop

What are students paying for when they learn online?

Understanding the time investment, industry input and subject matter expertise that go into creating quality online content should give learners a sense of confidence, write Mick Grimley and Lisa Burdes

Mick Grimley, Lisa Burdes

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

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THE podcast: how can universities ensure students are safe and supported?

A discussion of universities’ duty of care towards students, from tackling sexual misconduct to ensuring they feel supported in their studies

Rachel Fenton, Catherine Moran

The University of Exeter, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

Clock drawn on blackboard, time management

Around or against the clock: time management tips for higher education teachers

Careful lesson planning, understanding your universities’ support services and accepting mistakes will all save you time as a university educator. Here, John Weldon offers five time-management tips

John Weldon

Victoria University

A health professional checks a patient's lymph glands

Taking trust to the next level in healthcare assessment

When educating health professionals, the role of trust is paramount. Here’s how we can link entrustment with student consensus grading and programmatic assessment

James Thompson, Amanda Maddern

The University of Adelaide

Female lecturer at her laptop smiling to camera

Enhance inclusivity by switching to a more equitable work allocation model

A new approach to academic work allocation at the University of Newcastle promotes an inclusive working environment

Nicole Bagnall

The University of Newcastle, Australia