USYD reveals 8-point strategic plan to slash degrees, expand research, manage staff and increase inclusivity

The University of Sydney has unveiled an ambitious policy document for the next five years; its direction to be guided by 8 strategies collectively comprising 29 initiatives. The headline detail from this plan is to slash around 100 degrees from its offering, streamlining down to approximately 20 from the traditional fields of humanities, social sciences, sciences, business, law and music. While the number of degrees contract, there will be expansion in focus on research. This university staple is central to USYD's three primary strategies, and shows how seriously the 166-year-old institution wants to compete in this field, in which it is often ranked behind several other Australian universities on global lists. The first strategic goal is to "Invest in and drive research excellence across the University", which involves establishing research benchmarks, and establishing the Sydney Research Excellence Initiative, the Centre for Translational Data Science and the Sydney Policy Lab. In order to attract and develop the best researchers, USYD's second strategic platform, the Group of Eight Sandstone intends on remodeling the pathway to studying for a PhD, create a new fellowship scheme and establish the Sydney Outstanding Academic Researcher (SOAR) program. The new pathway is depicted in the following visual aide: Once this presumed outstanding research is complete, USYD will release it into world academia, having fulfilled its third aim, to develop partnerships that enable its research to make a difference. This involves promoting the importance of industry research; creating the University of Sydney Knowledge Hub; expanding its Westmead campus; partnering with Indigenous Australian communities; and developing a focused approach to global engagement, whatever that means. Strategies four and five (Transform the undergrad curriculum / learning experience) relate directly to the undergraduate experience. Four is largely covered in the above schematic, and also includes establish a curriculum development fund to expand learning opportunities and better assessment of graduate qualities. While the cohort studies, USYD will foster excellence through the development of contemporary environments that enable flexible and interactive learning, which seems to suggests there will be more free on-campus Wi-Fi. Turning inward, USYD's final three strategic goals related to its leadership, its values and staff. Under the rubric "Demonstrate leadership at all levels", the uni outlines how it wants to implement a development program to support its leaders and future leaders; assess leadership performance against shared values; strengthen policies so leaders can manage poor behaviour from staff; and, conversely, identify and reward outstanding leadership. One topical element of USYD's strategic value proposition is the continued implementation of programs catering to Indigenous Australians, LGBTIQ individuals and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Finally, a desire to move away from the pre-modern silo-driven university structure informs USYD's eighth strategy: Promote understanding across institutional barriers. Under this initiative, the uni extrapolates that it wants to "create pathways so that professional staff can develop careers across the University and between faculty and central services".

USYD reveals 8-point strategic plan to slash degrees, expand research, manage staff and increase inclusivity

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Australian Signals Directorate

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Director of Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality

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