Vice-Chancellor’s end-of-year message

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I would like to begin by saying thank you.

Thank you for your continued commitment, hard work and dedication to Swinburne.

Thank you for continuing to engage and enthuse our students.  

Thank you for your passion for outstanding research that inspires and matters.

Thank you for continuing to enhance Swinburne’s reputation as a world-class university.

2018 marks another successful year along an ambitious ascent towards our 2025 Vision and Strategy.

We have extended our research-led innovation ecosystem from Silicon Valley to Weihai, China and Hong Kong.

We are partnering globally with the world’s leading companies – including Tesla, Amazon, Wipro and Siemens. We are creating spaces where our researchers and students collaborate with industry to solve real-world problems.

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The Factory of the Future houses the new MindSphere centre, developed by global technology giant Siemens.

We are transforming the learning experience to support our students to achieve their goals. A special thank you to those who have been working to replace our existing learning management system, Blackboard, with a new cloud-based system, Canvas. I know that this is a huge undertaking and appreciate your coordinated work to achieve this mammoth task.

I look forward to our students enjoying an enhanced learning experience from Semester 1 next year. 

We have undertaken many new initiatives with collaboration and good energy. For example, we recently launched the Centre for the New Workforce, our first research centre based in PAVE. The centre will provide unique insights on the impact of workforce transformation arising from digital disruption. 

Many of you have shared with me your pride in our social equality and diversity achievements. I was so pleased that our action plan to improve gender equity at Swinburne was recognised recently with a Science in Gender Equity Australia Athena SWAN Bronze Award. We hold a deep commitment to being a leading university for diversity and inclusion, and it is affirming to be acknowledged for our work to enhance gender equity in STEM.

This year also marked the second year of our ‘elevate’ Reconciliation Action Plan. As part of this plan we were delighted to co-host the national Reconciliation Action Plan Conference with Reconciliation Australia and the Korin Gamadji Institute at the Richmond Football Club. It was wonderful to see so many businesses and organisations come together for rich discussions about how we can drive forward Australia’s reconciliation journey.

Angela Burt of Swinburne's Moondani Toombadool Centre with Professor Tom Calma AO, co-chair of Reconciliation Australia. 

A highlight for me was the Swinburne Reconciliation Lecture, where Stan Grant delivered a powerful message, calling for forgiveness and love as we continue the path towards reconciliation.

Thank you to everyone who made these achievements possible.

As we look ahead, the university sector faces challenging times.

The competitive environment and continuing policy uncertainties in which we operate require us to work together to manage resources responsibly.  

We must be strategic in all that we do, investing in projects and activities that create the greatest value and impact.

We have become very good at working together. And so, I am extremely confident that together we will continue to navigate our future with energy and focus.  

At the heart of our shared commitment is a drive to serve. We do this by enriching the lives of our students, and creating social and economic impact for our communities, industries and professions.

I thank you once again for your efforts throughout 2018. You have all played a vital role in Swinburne’s achievements this year.

Be well, and enjoy the festive season and holiday break with family and friends.

I look forward to welcoming you back in 2019 and working together towards another successful year.

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