ANU will chart a new course as it prepares to face upheaval at home and abroad, Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt AC revealed in a major speech on Thursday.
The announcement, delivered to more than 1000 staff gathered in Llewellyn Hall, outlined the university's strategic direction for the future.
Features of the new plan included:
- Investing in five "globally significant research challenges"
- A talent-attraction scheme with a commitment to hiring at least 50 per cent women
- Changing the ANU admissions process to put less emphasis on ATAR results
- Creating a "policy incubator" to investigate public policy solutions deemed too risky for government
- Playing a leadership role in the reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians
The Nobel Prize winner told The Canberra Times how the strategy addressed issues such as isolation between departments and flagging federal funding.
"We are a national university. We are not just another university," he said.
"[We need to] remind ourselves that we have a special role as the national university. That is a privileged position with great responsibility.
"We have sort of begun to forget that. It has sort of faded.
"This university needs to work as a giant family. Collegiality, which was at the heart of ANU when it was formed, we need to make sure we don't lose that."
A greater emphasis on industry partnerships and alternative sources of funding would compensate for a political environment in which universities were sometimes "taken for granted", he said.
"My reflection is government does spend a lot of money in higher education, as it should.
"But Australia has been the lucky country as far as the government is concerned with respect to higher education.
"I'll be honest, I think governments of both sides tend to take the sector for granted."
Other priorities for the university included attracting talent and promoting diversity, Professor Schmidt said in his speech to staff at Llewellyn Hall.
"We will invest in recruiting, retaining and mentoring the best in the world," he said.
"The ANU Futures Scheme will attract new world-leading early and mid-career researchers to ANU, at least 50 per cent of whom will be women.
"I am deeply committed to ensuring that women achieve the full promise of their careers – academic and professional – at ANU."
The university would also be changing its admissions process to place less of an emphasis on ATAR results.
"In 2018 we will begin changing our admissions so that ATAR is not the only consideration for entry to ANU," he said.
Another theme stressed by Professor Schmidt in the speech was promoting collaboration over isolation.
"We want an environment that encourages and supports collaborations and collegiality," he said.
"We need to continue to work across disciplines to address the most pressing challenges facing our world and to break down the walls of isolation amongst units across the university."
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