Kristjanson sets a course for dual sector university

We do not confuse quality with elitism, Swinburne’s new vice-chancellor tells Susan Woodward Professor Linda Kristjanson is more than aware of the challenges facing the Australian higher education sphere. There are domestic and international student cohorts to balance, future plans and founding principles to honour, monies to attract and also to invest. The difficulties are real. But the new vice-chancellor at Swinburne University of Technology, is more likely to perceive their power to advance the institution, not stunt it. “The course that’s been charted at Swinburne is a very clear vision, and I think it’s one I can seriously get behind and progress,” Kristjanson told Campus Review, a few days after she began her new job on May 16. “I think what will be important going forward will be to help the university position itself in the midst of some challenging external policy settings and changes. “So, how are we going to manage going forward with the pressures for increased enrolments; how do we manage declining international enrolments; how do we build research capacity? All of those create some competing tensions.” Kristjanson, a Canadian who was formerly deputy vice-chancellor (research and development) atCurtinUniversity, leads Swinburne after a career in palliative care research spanning 30 years. She began in the field of cancer, eventually specialising in ways to improve the end-of-life experience for patients and families and serving as the Cancer Council of Western Australia’s chair in palliative care. “It was a wonderful training ground for me to understand the importance of teamwork in building interdisciplinary research teams and collaboration,” she explained. Her collegial approach should help as Swinburne, where staff, like those across the sector, are grappling with ongoing sector changes and complexities, such as the contentious Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). Kristjanson described ERA as an exercise “yet to be fully bedded down”, but one that should echo the university’s ranking as a top 500 performer in the Shanghai Jiao Tong for the past two years. “I think that’s an area the university is going to continue to build and will need to strengthen, because competition in the area of research is only going to become stronger,” she said. “The university needs to make sure it’s really active and not complacent in that regard.” She acknowledges Swinburne’s quality outcomes in teaching and learning, too. For example, the university received the highest rating possible for teaching quality and graduate satisfaction in The Good Universities Guide 2011. On the topic of ambitious national targets for undergraduate participation, Kristjanson thinks Swinburne’s dual-sector nature gives it a distinct advantage. “We’ve been on the front foot of opening the doors and making sure there are avenues and pathways for students to make their way to both skills-based education as well as higher education,” she said. “It’s important to remember that the Bradley review talked about both of those, and often that is forgotten. “We need to make sure we’re preparing people forAustralia’s future who can respond to the skills deficits that exist, as well as the higher education requirements for the knowledge economy.” Future-proofing students to become industry leaders whose education transcended geographical boundaries was another way to describe the university’s responsibility, Kristjanson said. This is another inherited obligation is Swinburne’s relationship with industry and theMelbournepublic. In the early 1960s, the university became the first to introduce industry-based learning (IBL), whereby undergraduates can perform paid vocational employment as part of their course. “It’s the longest-running IBL program in Australia and I think in 2009 there were approximately 400 students working in more than 350 businesses,” said Kristjanson. “Now that’s an example of a university that’s engaged. It’s therefore important for me to be sure that we are reaching out actively to stay relevant to the wider community.”She intends to ensure the university stays at the cutting-edge of emerging sustainability issues, too, such as environmental policy on carbon trading. The university was the first to offer an accredited course on carbon accounting. Kristjanson said it also was active in discovering practical green solutions for the 21st century through its National Centre for Sustainability. She said she had been inspired by the university’s Advanced Technology Centre, completed in February and the first educational building to receive a five-star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. On the subject of gender equity in university employment, Kristjanson said she did not tend to look at the world or her workplace through gender lenses. “Having said all that, I really believe we need to redress some of the systematic biases that occur in all systems,” she said. Swinburne’s mission for its educational offerings is equally down to earth, with the university forming partnerships with TAFEs and other higher education institutions to widen student access. “It’s allowed students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to go to university to find a pathway to higher education…” said Kristjanson. “We do not confuse quality with elitism.”