Category: News
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In the media: Vice-chancellors blast ‘dumb’ decision to axe research funding if uni fee laws don’t pass
Brisbane Times, 11 March 2015 By Matthew Knott The vice-chancellors of Australia’s most prestigious universities have taken out advertisements blasting the Abbott government’s “dumb” decision to axe funding for world-renowned research facilities if the Senate does not pass fee deregulation. The advertisements are the first time the Group of Eight…
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Go8 Media Release: Shutting down research a dumb thing for a clever country to do – Group of Eight
The Vice Chancellors of Australia’s eight leading Universities have, for the first time ever, co-signed paid advertising as a plea to the Senate. Appearing in News Ltd and Fairfax publications today, Wednesday 11 March, the advertising describes as “dumb” the potential decision to cut vital research funding for the ‘clever…
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In the media: Top unis refuse to back Christopher Pyne’s plan to stop fee rises
The Australian Financial Review, 9 March 2015 By Tim Dodd The powerful Group of Eight universities have refused to back a compromise plan from federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne to financially penalise universities which chose to increase student fees under his deregulation scheme. Mr Pyne is floating the plan, designed…
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In the media: Political expediency is the only winner from Christopher Pyne’s latest plan for universities
The Australian Financial Review, 9 March 2015 By Vicki Thomson A compromise which is a solution for only one party, is, by definition, no compromise at all. The only “winner”, if one of the new so-called compromise positions on the de-regulation of higher education fees just happens to luck its…
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Go8 Media Release: Open letter to the Prime Minister: Australia’s national public research infrastructure preparing for shutdown
Please click the link below to download or view the open letter to the Prime Minister of Australia.
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In the media: Scientists warn lack of funding will ruin research facilities
Michael Edwards reported this story on Thursday, March 5, 2015 666 ABC Canberra, Canberra (Early AM) MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: A group of leading scientists has written to the Prime Minister warning that Australia’s research facilities are on the verge of shutting down due to uncertainty over funding. Commonwealth Government money needed…
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In the media: Higher education reforms to help fund research must pass Senate
The Australian March 04, 2015 By Ian Young WITHIN the next few weeks the Senate will consider the government’s revised higher education legislation, which has the support of most vice-chancellors. We see no other way to ensure our universities remain some of the best in the world, providing outstanding education…
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In the media: Eight’s only option
Campus Morning Mail, 2 March 2015 By Stephen Matchett The Group of Eight’s submission to the Opposition initiated Senate committee inquiry into the Pyne Package MkII is concise but brevity does not compromise clarity. The Eight’s irritation with all who ignore, obfuscate or don’t understand what it sees as the…
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Go8 Media Release: European Fellows 2015
Eight early career researchers from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Russia and the Slovak Republic have been named as the successful Group of Eight European Fellows for 2015. Each fellow will receive benefits worth up to AUD 20,000 to travel to Australia and work at a Go8 university…
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In the media: Tax beats caps in uni fees market
The Australian, 19 February 2015 By Andrew Trounson LEVYING a tax on university fees is a better way to limit the risk of excessive price increases in a deregulated market compared with capping prices or loans, according to sector expert David Phillips. Education Minister Christopher Pyne is understood to be…
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In the media: Why I support the deregulation of higher education
The Conversation, 28 January 2015 By Glyn Davis Over recent weeks, some staff have written to vice-chancellors, urging them to reject the university deregulation measures advocated by federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne. Public universities, they argue, should not be left to the “vagaries of the market”. I disagree and would like to…
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In the media: Free education never existed
The Australian, 29 January 2015 By Vicki Thomson FREE higher education is elitist and it was never “free”. It is past time that was understood. The supposed wonders of that period of “free” education in our universities from 1974 to 1989 keep popping up to pollute the debate on fee…
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In the media: No to Nick
Campus Morning Mail, 22 January 2015 by Stephen Matchett Senator Nick Xenophon’s proposal for yet another review of higher education turned out to be a circuit breaker, sort of. While nobody much liked it, his call for another committee started people talking about ways to break the Senate stalemate over the deregulation…
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In the media: Christopher Pyne’s offer to reverse university cuts fails to win support for deregulation
The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 Jan 2015 by Matthew Knott Key Senate crossbenchers say they remain opposed to the deregulation of university fees even if the Abbott government reduces, or scraps entirely, a planned 20 per cent cut to university funding. Independent senator Nick Xenophon said the government’s higher…
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In the media: Universities ramp up offers to lowest tier
The Australian, 19 January 2015 by Julie Hare TWO out of every five students with a tertiary admission rank of 50 or lower who applied for university last year were offered a place, a figure that has quadrupled since 2009, when the figure was one in 10. The trend…
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In the media: Go8’s policy platform
Campus Morning Mail, 16 January 2015 by Stephen Matchett Just days in the job executive director of the Group of Eight, Vicki Thomson begins as she means to go on, setting out a comms strategy designed to put the Eight at the centre of policy debate. “Universities should introduce and…
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In the media: Expect change as reformer Vicki Thomson lands at Go8
The Australian, 14 January 2015 By Julie Hare WHEN Vicki Thomson arrived at the Group of Eight’s Canberra HQ on Monday morning, she already had her first three weeks mapped out. First stop was a staff meeting to say hello and spell out some basic expectations. The new executive director…
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合肥宣言2013
四个研究型大学联盟组织首次在中国合肥联合签署了一份‘合肥宣言’,主题为关于当代研究型大学的十项特质。这四所大学联盟包括:美国大学联盟(Association of American Universities (AAU))、中国九校联盟 (the Consortium of China 9 Research Universities (C9))、澳大利亚八校联盟(Group of Eight Australia (Go8)),和欧洲研究型大学联盟(League of European Research Universities (LERU))。 合肥宣言(翻译版) 关于当代研究型大学的十项特质 由美国大学联盟、中国九校联盟、澳大利亚八校联盟和欧洲研究型大学联盟联合发布 目的 本宣言的目的是明确能够使研究型大学更加有效的核心特质;促进一个可以更好保护、鼓励、培育和发展这些重要特质的价值、标准和行为的良好政策环境。倘若缺少一个具有支持性的大环境,研究型大学将很难获得国家所期望的核心竞争优势和国际认可度。 通过共同签署本宣言,四个大学组织机构在以下方面内做出积极承诺: 携手加强合作,推进和维护这些研究型大学特质; 与自身组织内的成员大学合作,以确保这些特质的实现和履行; 在高等教育政策的发展过程中,积极推进和发挥这些特质的核心价值 在最近几十年里,大多数国家的高等教育系统都经历了巨大变革。尤其是经济结构转型,第三产业呈现前所未有的发展,知识经济持续推动生产力增长,这些变化在一定程度上导致了大学数量和规模的上升。在许多国家,大学变得更加多样化,他们提供符合成本效益的服务,以满足国家的当前需要。明确那些数量较少,但占国家高等教育科研很高比重的研究型大学就成为了这种多样化发展的一个重要的表征方式。 最初,大学是只培养少数、筛选出来的人才的精英学校,之后逐步向不断增长的、多样化的群体提供教育,再到后来几乎发展成为为全民大众服务的机构。在这个转化过程中,大学运行的政策环境也随之改变了,尤其是许多国家把大学的角色和目的,与培养现代经济运作所需的知识和技能,开展能够支持国家发展的科研活动紧紧地捆绑在了一起。 尽管这些都是让人期许的目标,但是对这些目标的不断强调会导致忽略大学其他重要的使命和角色,导致国家科研和高等教育政策不断向着短期性的、高度具体化的成果目标倾斜和靠拢。事实上,大学对于社会和全民幸福所做出的贡献及其方式远远超越了这些只涉及局部的具体短期成果目标。国家发展重点的改变,已经导致国家出台的政策与项目内容正在把研究型大学导向满足国家发展目标的方向上。但是,这样做使大学面临失去其作为国家创新体系的特殊参与者,以及国家发展的主要贡献者的能力和角色。上述工具主义方法贬低了、甚至放弃了大学的深层能量和无形产出,而政府和社会大众从大学寻求的利益,大部分正是来自于他们的深层能量和无形产出。 倘若国内和国际政策环境持续强调短期临时性利益,忽视长期性发展;强调现存已知性,忽视探索求知性;侧重狭窄性,而忽略广博性,那么,各国的大学都将面临着丧失影响力的风险。 序 研究型大学以其科研质量、科研投入的广度和深度而区别于其他类型大学。全球各国都越来越依赖于研究型大学来推动本国的良性发展和健康稳定。这些大学的毕业生离校后在政府、商业领域,或者非盈利机构从事工作,把他们有用的知识、技能、理解认识融入到工作岗位,促进这些部门和行业的效率运作,对不断变化的情况做出迅速反应,并且展开改革创新活动。在工作和社会交流中,这些毕业生凭借自己的大学经历和从中培养出的价值观创造一个更加丰富、有活力、多样而人性化的社会。研究型大学是产生新思想和新发现的中心。通过检验和挑战现存知识,他们不断扩展着我们的理解和认知。他们也是开创新技术和新方法的中心。研究型大学通过教育和学术活动为当地、本国,乃至国际艺术和文化作出巨大贡献。大学科研活动推动创新,帮助回应主要的国家和全球问题,并阐释以便于更好地理解迅速变化的世界。研究型大学是国际合作的汇聚焦点,提供了多国专家和本地可能缺乏的设备。他们为本国增加国际声望,吸引世界各地的人才。重要的是,大学也是知识和各种能力的储库,这些都是潜在的准备——信息、能力保障以及更广泛的预警,而商业、政府和社会能够利用这些去处理和应对那些预料不到和未知的情况。它这种快速而有创造性的反应能力有赖于跨学科领域的广博才能,而这种能力在这个变化莫测的世界里变得越来越重要。 我们对研究型大学的界定 研究型大学由以下因素来界定:他们对科研的认真和广泛投入;他们科研成果的优秀、广度,和数量;科研文化渗透到大学中的所有活动:从教、学到与企业、政府和社会的互动。研究型大学通过教学课堂活动,以及与处于科研前沿的实验室的老师和研究生交流,为学生提供各种进行探索和学习的机会,这使得研究型大学的本科教育显现出巨大优势。研究生对科研活动的直接集中的参与丰富了研究型大学的研究生教育,同时,研究生的创造力和活力对学校的科研质量和科研生产力有着重要的积极影响。一般来说,研究型大学仅只占据一个国家高校总数量的很小比例,但是却在国家的高等教育科研力量上占有重要比例。 通过提供科研和研究生教育的批量、以业绩为基础的、竞争性分配的经费,以及通过提供合理的政策管理环境来认可他们的地位,政府为研究型大学提供至关重要的支持。但是,单靠政府不能够创造出一个研究型大学。这样的大学需要从内部构筑,这包括需要大学管理者的战略眼光和卓越运营,从而得以争取和利用多种资金来源,来保证大学的各类设施建设和招聘各专业领域的科研人才,继而吸引优秀研究生生源,从而再吸引新的优秀科研人才。赢得竞争性科研经费的能力、国际认可的科研学术的水平和产出,以及培养的本科生、研究生的质量水平,可以认定和确认一个研究型大学的身份。这些成就创造了来自其他学校的科研合作、员工互换,以及长期战略伙伴关系的需求。一个研究型大学是同类大学国际合作网络的组成部分,为国际科研努力做出重要而有价值的贡献,并且与国际社会融为一体,以其公认的卓越吸引了广泛关注、合作伙伴与认可支持。 尽管研究型大学发挥着广泛而重要的影响,然而,有迹象表明高等教育政策环境和公众开始把这些大学和他们的大量贡献看作是理所当然。大学科研的重点是扩展知识,带来新的理解、新产品和新进展,从而增强国家经济、改善人民生活、丰富文化。知识进步带来的利益是巨大的,但探求这些新知识的道路却往往是漫长的。目前的研究型大学正不断承受着压力,把重心从基础型研究转向应用型研究以追求短期效益,并且缩窄课程体系以追求更加实用型的教学目标。一个至关重要的问题是:所有相关高教政策必须能够认可大学科研与教学带来的广泛、长期、深远的益处,并且提供支持和环境来保证这些高校持续繁荣活跃发展,作为国家基础建设中一个重要组成部分,研究型大学的核心特质也需要维护和保持。 研究型大学的特质 在运作管理方面全面追求卓越和优秀,由大学外部具有同等地位的同类组织和专家个人进行独立公正的评估来衡量水平标准;用透明的、择优录取的制度来选择教职员工和学生,以创造出一个鼓励学习、创造力和发现的内部环境,释放和激发包括本科生和研究生在内的师生员工的潜能。 开展具有深度和广度的重大科研工作,创造国际认可的科研成果,并通过文章发表、教学、社会活动广泛传播。 开展科研训练,尤其是通过博士研究生项目,源源不断地输出高水平的优秀毕业生(经过具有国际水平的研究学者的评估)。这些学生能够推动知识的前沿发展,并对国内国际的各行业领域的创新进步做出积极贡献。 对本科和研究生教育的专注与投入,培养具有广博知识技能的、能在广泛的各项活动事务中为国家利益做出贡献的毕业生。 坚持科研诚信和相关道德准则的最高标准,保证数据收集、评估、分析的公正性,不受经费来源或个人和学校利益等因素的干扰和影响;设立明确有效的程序环节和支撑体系,对违背学术道德的行为的质疑进行回应和调查。 在没有受到过度约束和障碍的科研文化氛围中,大学员工有责任地行使学术自由,通过科研、教学、社会服务来生产和传播知识。这种科研文化氛围是以开放式探究和不断检验当前的理解和认识为基础,超越职业和手段,超越眼前需求,追求能够改变未来、诠释我们不断变化的世界的认识、技能和专业知识。 接纳、认可和欢迎有助于进步的不同观点、视角、体系和立场,并且积极参与社会讨论,推进理解并创造新知识和新技术。 根据自身使命、战略发展规划,以及对社会当前和未来需要的评估,在学术发展的基础上,有权自行设定教学和研究的优先发展重点;有权决定聘任和接收人员(包括从国际上吸引和聘请最佳人才来推进达成优先发展目标)。…
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Go8 与 C9 合作伙伴
Several new initiatives were agreed upon at the successful meeting between the Group of Eight Vice-Chancellors and delegation of Presidents and Vice-Presidents from the China 9 research-intensive universities in Sydney on 2 August. The meeting reviewed the 5 year relationship and the several programs underway, and looked to strengthen the…
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Go8 Statement: Government’s review of the demand driven system
11 MARCH 2014 Responding to the Government’s review of the demand driven system, the Group of Eight has made a series of suggestions about options to secure the long-term future of university education in Australia, to provide access to students from lower socioeconomic, rural and regional backgrounds, and better fund…
