Thank you for joining today’s community meeting at Llewellyn Hall.

It was great to see so many of you in person and online. For those unable to attend, I spoke about where we have been as an institution over the past decade, where we are now, and where we’re heading – through our University strategy and co-design.

Further information and a recording of the meeting are available on our new ANU Roadmap web page.

As we shape this strategy together, I invite you to share your ideas and feedback. What would it take for our community to see themselves in our strategy, and to know the part they play in the future of ANU? Please email us at roadmap@anu.edu.au.

Thank you for being part of the conversation.

Voting for the casual vacancy election for one academic staff member closed on Friday 24 October. The Returning Officer has declared Professor Sasha (Alexander) Mikheyev as the elected member to ANU Council. Thank you to all staff who participated in this important election process, and congratulations to Professor Mikheyev.

Further information about the ANU Council election process and results are available on the election website.

ANU alumna Sonali Varma has been named one of nine Australian Rhodes Scholars for 2026. A passionate advocate for youth mental health, Sonali will study psychiatric epidemiology at the University of Oxford to strengthen links between data-driven research and lived experience.

“My time at ANU was genuinely transformative,” she said. “It gave me the foundation to pursue postgraduate study and the confidence to continue serving my community.”

Sonali is the 12th ANU graduate to receive a Rhodes Scholarship since 2019.

Learn more: ANU alumna Sonali Varma awarded 2026 Rhodes Scholarship

A team of researchers from ANU, led by Dr Keqing Huang and Dr The Duong from the School of Engineering, has achieved a major efficiency breakthrough in solar energy research. They have reached the highest efficiency levels ever recorded for devices using tin oxide as the electron transport material.

“It means more than a quarter of the sunlight hitting the cell is converted directly into usable electricity,” Dr Duong said.

Learn more: ANU team create record-breaking solar cells

Before you start marking during this exam period, take a moment to check your Canvas setup and explore our quick tips and Marking workshops to make marking smooth and stress-free. 

From Tuesday 4 November 2025, ANU staff and student systems will update gender descriptions and all staff are encouraged to review their gender description in HORUS. If you have previously selected ‘female’ or ‘male’, this will have been updated to ‘woman or female’ and ‘man or male’ respectively.  

If you have previously selected ‘indeterminate/intersex/unspecified’, this will have been updated to ‘no value defined’ as this option will no longer be available.

Please contact the ANU Staff Respect Consultant at staffrespect@anu.edu.au who can assist you with the updates with respect and sensitivity. You are encouraged to do this by Wednesday 31 December 2025. 

If you wish to discuss how you can support students through this change, please reach out to Inclusive and Respectful Communities via Respect@anu.edu.au.

For further information about the context for this change and the support available to staff affected by this change visit Updates to gender data collection at ANU.

Windows 10 has officially reached end-of-support by Microsoft. Continuing to use it puts your data and ANU systems at risk due to increased security vulnerabilities, compliance concerns and potential software incompatibility.

Upgrading to Windows 11 helps us to stay secure, supported and up-to-date.

If you're ready to upgrade, please request a hardware reimage via the ANU Service Desk, or if your device is too old to reimage, you can order a new device with your supervisor and delegate approval.

Need assistance? Contact the ANU Service Desk to develop a plan for your device.

Please note: specialist research devices that have been identified and have a management plan in place with ITS are exempt from this request.

Culture Amp is offering Skills coach, a skill-based learning tool for employees and managers that delivers engaging content directly via email. The two minute daily activities teach key leadership skills and are easy to use.

The courses use short interactive lessons, backed by science. Topics include: resilience, productivity, feedback, strategic thinking, leading change, coaching, 1-on-1s, meeting mastery and people development. Courses use three components to make learning effective: spaced repetition, experiential learning and reminders.

Learn more: Skills coach returns

ANU is reviewing its Student Discipline Framework, and a draft is now available for feedback.

Read the Draft Recommendations Report to help shape the framework.

Share your feedback via the survey or register to attend an information session to learn more:

Learn more: Final call for the feedback on the Student Discipline Framework draft recommendations

In the lead-up to the launch of the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025-30, we’re continuing our weekly spotlight on the themes that shape it.

This week’s focus is ‘listen more, learn more’. It highlights how the Strategy supports capacity building and reflective evaluation across our community.

Theona Gevorgian, a Work, Health and Safety Consultant at ANU, explains how Mental Health First Aid training and injury prevention initiatives build the skills and confidence we all need to support each other.

Learn more: Listen more, learn more

LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool, but it can also expose sensitive information. Learn how to protect yourself from phishing, impersonation and data scraping by managing what you share and who you connect with.

Learn more: Keep It Professional – protect your identity on LinkedIn

The University’s initiative to simplify course planning and academic progress monitoring for students, known as Plan, Track, Check, has reached a significant milestone with Stellic selected as the preferred vendor partner.

The next phase, underway until the end of November 2025, is tesing how the Stellic platform integrates with ANU systems and supports both students and staff in real-world scenarios. It’s a critical step before a formal review in December this year, when the Student Experience Governance Group will decide whether to proceed with broader implementation.

“This marks a pivotal stage in the University’s journey to improve our student experience. We’re ensuring that the Stellic platform will support clear course planning, easier progress tracking and more empowered decision-making for students. It’s about making academic life simpler and more supportive,” said Suzie Alcorn, Director, Student Services and Academic Standards.

Learn more: Plan, Track, Check: Student academic progress monitoring milestone reached

Sunday 16 November – Saturday 22 November.

The University Risk Office is hosting International Fraud Awareness Week (IFAW) between Sunday 16 November and Saturday 22 November. This year’s theme is Preventing Fraud is a Team Effort, reminding us that each of us has a role in protecting the integrity of our University.

This means:

You can do your part by registering to attend the 2025 ANU Fraud and Corruption Awareness Seminar, hosted by the University’s Risk Office, and featuring a guest presenter from the National Anti-Corruption Commission. This session will be held online on Monday 17 November, 2pm.

You can also view the Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre’s webinars that are open to all staff.

The 2025 ANYOU pulse staff survey is open until Friday 7 November. Please complete the survey and have your say.

Learn more: 2025 ANYOU pulse staff survey open now

Internal Expressions of Interest are now open for the Director, Research School of Biology.  

The Director of the Research School of Biology is responsible for supporting academic staff in delivering research, education and community engagement, fostering a collaborative, innovative and supportive environment that develops future leaders, and contributing to College and University priorities. The role also includes oversight of the School’s operational budget and the effective management of academic, financial and staffing functions.  

Expressions of Interest close at 11.55 pm AEDT on Tuesday 11 November 2025. 

Learn more: Internal Expression of Interest – Director, Research School of Biology

Thursday 6 November, 6–7pm

Award-winning author Sofie Laguna will be in conversation with Karen Viggers about her new novel The Underworld.

The Underworld is for every reader you know; thinkers, laughers, empaths, quirky folk, queer folk, nostalgists, the young and those getting on.

Register here for Meet the author: Sofie Laguna

Thursday 6 November 7.15–8.15pm

Join the ANU Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership for its Annual Lecture with Marina Go AM, Chair of Adore Beauty and the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

Marina will discuss the importance of Asian-Australian representation in leadership roles and how to drive meaningful change.

Register for 2025 ANU Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership annual lecture

Friday 7 November, 5.30–6.30pm

Join the launch of Military History Supremo, a volume honouring the remarkable career of Emeritus Professor David Horner AM FASSA, one of Australia’s greatest military historians.

Authors will pay tribute to Horner’s legacy by engaging with his scholarship, applying his conclusions to new case studies and contexts.

Register here for Military History Supremo

Monday 10 November, 6–7pm

Julianne Schultz will be in conversation with Allan Behm on the updated edition of her book The Idea of Australia: A search for the soul of the nation. Asking the questions, what is the "idea of Australia"? What defines the soul of our nation?

Its publication complements the October SBS four-part series, hosted by Rachel Griffiths, inspired by, and based on, Julianne's book.

Register here for Meet the author - Julianne Schultz

The Australian Centre on China in the World’s flagship journal has been ranked number one for impact in Area Studies for 2024 and earned a Social Science Citation Index JCI of 4.43. This means it is outpacing leading titles in political science, sociology, international relations, anthropology and economics. The latest issue covers topics from Tibetan political disenfranchisement to academic self-censorship in China.

Learn more: The Australian Centre on China in the World’s flagship journal, The China Journal, hits a new high

ANU staff and students have free and unlimited access to the ACTS Conference 2025 – The Future of Sustainability, running virtually from Wednesday 5 November – Friday 7 November 2025. 

Across three days, hear from sustainability experts, explore best practice and connect with peers across Australasia. ANU staff and students can register for free and receive unlimited access to all sessions. 

Don’t miss the chance to be part of the leading sustainability event for the tertiary education sector. 

Learn more: Don't miss the ACTS Future of Sustainability Conference

Do you have a photo you’re proud of that you’d love to have featured in On Campus?

We’ll now be featuring your photo submissions in each edition of On Campus to showcase your moments, scenes and perspectives that make our University special.

This week’s picture comes from Lewis Tremayne who captured the entry of the ANU College of Law building saying, “I always stopped to admire this spot when walking from Coombs to Ursula Hall. There's something about the symmetry and orderliness that catches me!”

Share your photo with us using this form and include a short note about why you chose it and what makes it special to you.

ANU Security – (02) 6125 2249 

For life threatening emergencies first call 000 (or 0000 if dialing from an internal phone), then call ANU Security.  

Media hotline – (02) 6125 7979 

Contact the media hotline during business hours or email media@anu.edu.au for media queries regarding the University and its operations, or to track down experts that aren’t listed in our Experts Guide.

Help is available if you need it. The University has a range of information and services that can be accessed by Managers and staff.  

Whether it's a work-related issue or a personal one, the University encourages you to seek counselling support through the Employee Assistance Program.

If you need to support a student in distress, please refer to this guide developed by the Student Safety and Wellbeing team.