How to chart a course through crisis

By Miranda Prynne, 10 August, 2023
Faced with an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous – or VUCA – world, how can universities adapt and prepare themselves and their students to successfully navigate through turbulent times?
How to chart a course through crisis
Faced with an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous – or VUCA – world, how can universities adapt and prepare themselves and their students to successfully navigate through turbulent times?
A figure rowing a small boat through a storm

The world in which universities teach, support students and undertake research has become increasingly volatile and uncertain. Taken alone, the climate crisis, global pandemics, political instability and rapid technological advances pose huge challenges, but when combined as they are now, they can seem unsurmountable. And yet higher education is where our greatest minds are dedicated to seeking solutions to such wicked problems. At a time when uncertainty is perhaps the only thing educators and leaders can rely on, the resources in this spotlight offer advice on how to build resilience and adaptability in faculty, staff and students.

By Eliza.Compton, 3 August, 2023
In a complex, ever-evolving environment, faculty may need strategies to navigate their fluctuating comfort levels. Here are ways to lean into change – from reflection and curiosity to active participation
Reading time
4minutes
A toolbox for uncertainty
Resources
By Eliza.Compton, 17 February, 2023
When undergraduates build their own course plan, reading list and thesis project, the benefits extend beyond the individual student’s mindset to teaching faculty, write Ryan Derby-Talbot and Marjorie Wonham
Reading time
4minutes
Meeting the climate crisis head on
Resources
Harnessing students' potential
Resources
By Miranda Prynne, 1 November, 2022
The teaching of sustainability and the SDGs needs to equip graduates with the skills to bring about transformative change for a better future. Jen Dollin, Brittany Hardiman and Susan Germein explore what this means for universities
Reading time
4minutes
Future skills for a changing job market
Resources
By dene.mullen, 3 August, 2023
The rethinking of course materials and programmes to incorporate future trends is a key requirement for all forward-thinking providers, write Aaron Taylor and Victoria Rafferty
Reading time
4minutes
By Miranda Prynne, 31 July, 2023
Accountants of the future will need to respond to as yet unknown sustainability reporting standards. Freirean dialogic teaching where lecturers learn alongside students through discussion helps build the skills to respond to such change
Reading time
3minutes
By Eliza.Compton, 27 March, 2023
What will higher education be like by 2035? Four early-career academics at Australian universities, from different discipline areas, offer a vision of how universities might evolve and adapt to future technologies and workplace demands
By Miranda Prynne, 1 August, 2023
With ‘levelling up‘ and regional prosperity now central to the UK government’s thinking, universities need to transform the way they conduct research to respond to emerging needs and provide solutions to today’s social, economic and environmental issues
Reading time
4minutes
Leading higher education through change
Resources
By Eliza.Compton, 14 April, 2023
When Bill Flanagan took the helm, the University of Alberta was facing a $222 million funding cut – 20 per cent of the university’s operating budget. In this two-part article, he explains how the university undertook a historic overhaul
Reading time
5minutes
Safeguarding democracy
Resources
By Eliza.Compton, 6 April, 2022
No longer just guardians of knowledge, public universities are critical to the health of young democracies. To support civil society and democracy, flagship institutions must embrace their role as coordinators of open knowledge exchange
Reading time
4minutes
By Miranda Prynne, 19 January, 2023
A guide to help faculty manage and respond to threats to their academic freedom, from understanding the source of the challenges to finding allies and resources that can assist
Reading time
4minutes
Flexibility and security for a digital world
Resources
By Eliza.Compton, 26 July, 2023
Artificial intelligence can use data and algorithms in a way that prioritises rationality over values such as fairness and quality of education, writes Vern Glaser
Reading time
3minutes