The Universities Accord Final Report was released on Sunday 25 February 2024. The report contains 47 recommendations which the University will review and consider in context as the national university.

The Report makes it fundamentally clear the vital role university research and education play in driving the prosperity and wellbeing of Australia – and we look forward to discussing the recommendations and providing a more fulsome response in the coming weeks. 

Read Vice-Chancellor Professor Genevieve Bell's update on the release of the Universities Accord Final Report.

From left: Tuckwell Scholar Jasmine Pearson, Dr Louise Tuckwell, Dr Graham Tuckwell and Professor Grady Venville plant a Candlebark tree on the ANU campus. Photo: Jamie Kidston/ANU

Ten resilient and beautiful native Candlebark eucalyptus trees have been planted on the ANU campus to celebrate a decade of Australia’s most transformative undergraduate university scholarship.

Launched in 2013 with a $50 million donation from ANU graduate Dr Graham Tuckwell and his wife Dr Louise Tuckwell, the Tuckwell Scholarship Program has provided 260 exceptional high school students from 238 schools, representing every state and territory, with a scholarship to study at ANU covering financial, accommodation, study and travel costs.

In 2016 the Tuckwell’s contributed an additional $100 million to the program to build two on-campus residences as well as ensure the scholarship was funded in perpetuity – marking the single largest gift to ANU in the University’s history. 

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Professor Lachlan Blackhall. Photo: Jamie Kidston/ANU

Professor Lachlan Blackhall has always wanted to build things that change the world. 

“I can’t think of ever wanting to be anything other than an engineer,” he says.

“I love what engineering stands for, which is about understanding the world, and then using that understanding to build what we need. 

“It’s the notion that you can influence the future to be better than it is today.”

As the University's new Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation (DVCRI), Lachlan knows he has that opportunity writ large.

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Maier’s work has earned him the prestigious Australian Award for University Teaching. Photo: Jamie Kidston/ANU

When it comes to parasites and their reputation in the animal kingdom, it largely, well, sucks (literally).

While many of us spend our lives not only trying to avoid parasites but putting their existence out of our minds, Professor Alexander Maier, from the Research School Biology and Division of Biomedical Science and Biochemistry, does the opposite.

Often daring to ask big questions (despite his small test subjects), Maier’s work has not only made significant advances in his field but also earned him the prestigious Australian Award for University Teaching.

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As highlighted in last week’s On Campus, support is always available to you through the Employee Assistance Program or with our Staff Respect Consultant, Claudia Munnings. You can book a confidential conversation via her online booking page. 

Please remember that ANU is a campus and community of respectful debate. While you are free to express yourself on any issue in line with Australian law, please sincerely consider how expressing your views could impact others.  

If you feel distressed or unsafe because of conflicts overseas or the way they are discussed closer to home, support is always available. 

Thursday 7 March, 2.30-3.30pm 

Mark your calendars. Please join the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the Honourable Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who will deliver the 2024 Gareth Evans Oration on Navigating Geopolitical Currents: Malaysia and Australia's Pivotal Role in the Asia Pacific. The Australian Foreign Minister, Senator the Honourable Penny Wong, will deliver the opening remarks.

Register now 

Friday 1 March, 5.30-7pm 

Come along to a free comedy show after work at the ANU Kambri Amphitheatre, featuring Daniel Muggleton, Jenny Tian, Laura Johnston, Jeff Shen and Charlie Thomson. 

Presented by the Canberra Comedy Festival and ANU.  

Register now  

Thursday 7 March, 5-6.30pm 

Join us for this launch of the new children's book, In My Blood It Runs, written by Dujuan Hoosan, Margaret Anderson and Carol Turner, with illustrations by Blak Douglas. The book is based on the documentary of the same name, and continues the argument for self-determined education, and reform of school and juvenile justice systems and education policy. 

Register now 

Tuesday 12 March, 6-7pm  

Sarah Bailey will be in conversation with Chris Hammer on her new novel Body of Lies, the latest in her award-winning Gemma Woodstock series. 

Register now

 

Wednesday 13 March, 6-7pm  

Kathy Lette will be in conversation with Karen Hardy on Kathy's new novel The Revenge Club, a subversive, irreverent revenge romp. 

Register now 

 

Running until Tuesday 14 May 

The School of Art & Design Seminar series will continue weekly on Tuesdays from 1-2pm.  

The Seminar Series is co-convened by Dr Alex Burchmore, Alia Parker and Elisa Crossing. 

Register now

 

28 February – 5 June  

Screening monthly for free at Arc Cinema, Science. Art. Film. is a series that uncovers wacky, weird and wonderful facets of science and art in films. Please join us tomorrow for the first screening - Jaws - at 6pm.

Book tickets

This week the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) will for the first time publicly release information regarding median gender pay gaps and average remuneration by gender per quartile for private sector organisations with 100 employees or more. This includes the gender pay gaps for ANU.

This is a vital initiative and an important step in ensuring that all organisations make pay fair and equal across the board. We fully support WGEA’s publication of gender pay gaps as part of national efforts to advance gender equality.  

As an institution, we are committed to upholding and leading our community with a values-led approach, and we are committed to having difficult conversations when we fall short of our own expectations, and holding ourselves to account to improve gender equity, along with a range of other social and societal issues.

Already, a number of key initiatives have been implemented to improve equity in the workplace:

- Expanding paid parental leave (up to 26 weeks), career re-entry leave, enhancements to superannuation payments, flexible working arrangements, inclusive recruitment practices and targeted academic promotions support.

- ANU has also sought to increase childcare facilities on campus to provide support for working parents to return to the workforce. 

Although we have made progress and commitments to address and lead change, work remains to be done, which will require our entire community to support and deliver.

For details of our gender pay gap that you will see as part of WGEA’s release, to help you understand what this data represents and how we are working to improve our position, please read our Employer Statement.

The ANU firewalls are being upgraded. This will enhance our existing security measures and ensure the University remains cyber safe. This is one of the many steps planned by the Information Security Office as part of our ongoing information security program.  

To upgrade our firewalls, an outage of the ANU network will take place for 15 minutes on Saturday 2 March between 6-10am.  

- The outage will impact the ANU Wi-Fi and all ANU network connected services, including any devices connected to the network, and campus. Any system or services hosted on the network (including HORUS, ISIS, and ES Financials) will be unavailable.  

- The outage will not impact Microsoft 365 (e.g. email, SharePoint, One Drive), which will still be available via your home internet or mobile network.  

Support and assistance  

If you require technical support during and/or following the outage, please call the ANU Service Desk on +61 2 612 54321.  

In case of an emergency, please call 000. For all other security needs during the outage, please contact the dedicated ANU Security Hotline on +61 476 803 626.  

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In response to your feedback on the need to improve our performance approach, we’re excited to be soft launching the new ANU performance process, called Focus.

The Focus performance process will replace the current Performance Development Review (PDR) system over the course of this year. 

Focus is the culmination of many months of consultation, co-designing a process to help drive a culture of feedback, accountability and professional growth. 

Read more information about the Focus performance process, including the new templates, options to transition from PDRs and how to sign up for information sessions. 

Register for an information session

What impact is AI having on your course or your assessment? Would you like to talk to someone about your concerns or about some possible approaches that you can take?  

Sign up for a drop-in session (occurring daily until Friday 8 March) to chat to an Education Designer from CLT. 

AI quick-start guide for ANU teaching staff 

A new semester has started and AI tools have become commonplace at ANU and beyond. Check out this AI quick-start guide which can show you how to use AI tools with your students in an appropriate, ethical and forward-thinking way.