Australia's Digital Pulse

Greetings from the National Press Club in Canberra, where Malcolm Turnbull, Minister for Communications, is speaking at the launch of "Australia's Digital Pulse". This eighty page report was prepared for the Australian Computer Society (ACS) by Deloitte.

Brenda Aynsley, ACS President, said we need a deeper pool of ICT professionals and a focus on STEM skills in classrooms.

The report was prepared by Dr Ric Simes and John O’Mahony at Deloitte Access Economics. As well as the full report the key findings are available.

One point made by the authors is that while ICT is important to the economy and there are plenty of ICT jobs, the enrollments in ICT at Australian universities is declining. Australia is now importing many more ICT professionals than it is graduating at its own universities. The mining sector diverted students from ICT to other industries. Also the perception is that ICT degrees are for geeks, not cool digital business people. Also the current boom in the ICT industry is not as visible as the mining boom.

The authors also warned of a digital divide at schools, with a few who are literate and many who are not. Computer studies at Australian schools are also declining.  A national curriculum of digital technologies is being introduced but I notice that NSW appears not to be prompt to implement it (a topic for a future ACS e-Learning Special Interest Group in Canberra).

The Minister said he was excited by the digital revolution, including the additional hotel rooms being provided in Sydney without any new buildings, due to Internet booking. The minister urged Australia to embrace the volatility due to the Internet. Perhaps Australian government agents will use digital currency to buy off people smugglers in the Arafura Sea ;-)

More seriously, the Minister asked why female participation in the ICT industry is decreasing.He suggested joking that some culture change to the stereotypical pizza eating caffeine drinking male computer nerd.

I did a quick search of the report and found that "Massive Open Online Course" (MOOC) gets a mention, but no other forms of open access to education. The report appears to cover many of the same issues in the "#SMARTer2030: ICT Solutions for 21 st Century Challenges" by Accenture for GeSI (2015).

"Digital technologies is one of the fastest growing parts of Australia’s economy with its economic contribution growing from $50 billion in 2011 to $79 billion in 2013-14.
Deloitte Access Economics and the Australian Computer Society Australia’s have partnered to produce Australia's Digital Pulse which examines how digital disruption is dramatically changing industries and occupations across the economy.
The report found there has been 5% growth in the number of ICT professionals, with an increase to 600,000 ICT workers in 2014, and demand for a further 100,000 workers over the next six years. Despite the demand, the number of graduates with ICT qualifications has declined significantly since the early 2000s.

The report shows that Australia needs a workforce that is equipped with the ICT skills necessary to fuel its digitally-driven economic growth. This creates an enormous opportunity for students considering a career in ICT.

Key findings

• Employment in the ICT sector is expected to grow by 2.5% per year over the next six years to 2020. Compared to employment for the economy as a whole, which is forecast to grow by 1.6%
• The gender pay gap in ICT stands at 20%, significantly lower than the workforce average of 34%
• 47% of all workers who studied ICT are now in other professions, such as advertising, marketing or accounting
• 43% of workers in ICT occupations studied courses other than ICT or engineering, such as commerce and management degrees
• 52% of ICT workers are in industries outside ICT itself including professional services, public administration and financial services
• The highest growth rate in demand for ICT qualifications is forecast for postgraduates, with demand forecast to grow at 4.2% annually over the six years to 2020."

Cut in Federal Funding for Australian Universities

Craig Emerson , Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, announced a $300M cut in annual university funding, in a "Statement on Higher Education", 13 Apr 2013. Also students will no longer receive a 10% discount on university fees for upfront payment and start-up scholarships will be replaced with repayable loans. A Fact Sheet with more details is available. The funding is to be redirected to primary and secondary education.

These cuts are relatively small, but do come at a time when universities are under threat from new technology. We are likely to see 75% of university education move on-line in the next five years. The question is if this will be a move of students from Australian physical campuses to Australian virtual ones,  rather than see 75% of Australian tertiary education disappear overseas. Australian universities need to make a large investment in re-training of staff, re-equipment and reconfiguration of buildings now, to remain competitive. This will be more difficult with fewer funds, although a reduction in funding may provide the rationale the vice-chancellors need to make rapid changes.

Australia Supporting Indonesian Tertiary Education with $110M

AusAID are inviting comment on the concept note "Supporting Indonesia’s Tertiary Education" detailing a $110M program for tertiary education in Indonesia, over four years (with a possible four year second phase). The aim is "knowledge-driven growth that is sustainable and equitable for a prosperous Indonesia", by improving tertiary education outcomes and enabling disadvantaged students to complete tertiary education. The "note" is a detailed thirty six page document. It notes Indonesia is a lower-middle income country, the 17th largest economy in the world with GDP per capita of over USD $3,200.

Last year I was invited to speak at Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau in Indonesia, on "Sustainable Development Through Green ICT: The Role of Education and the Business Sector". What I found was a well equipped institution with competent trained staff. There did not seem to be much that Australia, could help them with, in terms of conventional classroom teaching.

The obvious ways to improve tertiary education in Indonesia are much the same as in Australia and elsewhere: teach the staff how to teach, teach them online, teach them how to teach online and teach them how to teach to international professional standards.

Many university staff lack formal education in how to design and deliver courses. Even those who receive some teacher training lack experience with, and training in, on-line courses. University teachers tend to be inducted into a process of ad-hoc creation of courses, rather than a systematic process designed to meet a set of standard skills specified by an international professional standards.

Sending Australian staff to Indonesia to sit in meetings and conduct legacy training courses involving power-point slides would be a waste resources and entrench bad work practices. Instead the Australian government could fund the development of on-line teacher training courses, to do conducted with mixed on-line classes of Australian and Indonesian academics. These courses should be designed in accordance with international professional standards and include rigorous assessment, leading to formal qualifications. This would foster good on-line working habits and also closer cooperation between Australia and Indonesia and also between academics at different Australian institutions.

The Australian Department of Finance is planning a series of short courses on social media for the Australian Public Service ("Proposed online engagement courses for the APS"). Such material could be used to help academics with the transition to on-line teaching. In the longer term online communication skills could be incorporated in graduate courses, as a basic skill for academics.

Australian government could fund the development of policies and systems to encourage institutions to share on-line courses and to allow students to undertake online courses from a range of institutions. This could then be implemented across Australia and Indonesia, allowing both Australian and Indonesian students to include courses from both countries universities in their program.

An example of an online course designed systematically to meet international skills standards, see my "ICT Sustainability" offered through the Australian National University (COMP7310), Open Universities Australia (ACS25) and Athabasca University (COMP 635).

Online Higher Education Working Group

A Coalition Online Higher Education Working Group, chaired by Alan Tudge MP, is looking at how "... online technology improve existing campus-based teaching with all the benefits of interaction, in the classroom and beyond...". Here are my quick thoughts on the topics raised by the working group:

1. Trends in online learning both in Australia and internationally and how this might unfold over the next decade:

Online learning will be integrated into most university courses, with blended learning (on-line plus classroom), using the "flipped classroom" model being  the norm. Pure on-line learning with no classroom will be available as an option, particularly for more advanced and mature students. However, face-to-face instruction will still be required for younger, less experienced students. As a rough guide about one quarter of the students will turn up to optional face-to-face classes, with thre quarters finding the on-line mode adequate. The Australian Computer Society is a leader in on-line learning with its masters level, globally certified CPEP Program. The use of online learning at a traditional university is discussed in: "A Green Computing Professional Education Course Online", for 7th International Conference on Computer Science & Education (ICCSE 2012), July 2012, Melbourne, Australia.

2. Assess the benefits of online learning for Australian students and the Australian economy, including the potential:

a. Impact on cost, flexibility, customisation and quality: Online learning is lower cost when used with large volumes of students. However, this requires a high initial investment in course design and highly trained staff. Most Australian university academics are not currently qualified to design or deliver on-line courses.

b. Benefits of enhanced choice, including from global players: Global choice of online courses will be limited by accreditation requirements. There is likely to be a flood of poor quality, unaccredited courses.

c. Impact on workforce participation and democratisation of learning: Online learning allows for learning while employed and in remote areas. However, being a student is still hard work and requires considerable amounts of time.

3. Assess the challenges of online learning and how they could be overcome, including:

a. The challenges to existing institutions and their preparedness to face them: Institutions will require staff to be retrained in online pedagogy and use of technology. This retraining can make use of online technology. A stepwise approach, which would see graduate tutors trained in basic online teaching, is proposed in "Report on Incorporating Professional Skills in the ANU Master of Computing", February 2013.

b. The maintenance of quality and standards: Online learning can enhance quality and standards through more detailed and frequent monitoring. However, measures to prevent cheating by students will need to be enhanced. Also teaching staff and students will require explicit training in how to communicate online.

c. The technological and infrastructure requirements of online courses: The learning technology already being introduced to universities and vocational institutions can be ungraded for larger scale use. In particular, Australia is a world leader in learning management systems, by virtue of the locally developed Moodle system. Ways to leverage this technology for MOOCs is discussed in "MOOCs with Books: Syncronisation of Large Scale Asynchronous e-Learning",  for 8th International Conference on Computer Science & Education (ICCSE 2013), April 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

4. Assess what policy measures are required to capture the benefits for Australian students and the economy, including:

a. How do deal with accreditation: Current accreditation processes for domestic courses will require minor modification for online courses. International accreditation will require government or industry agreements. Work by the Australian Computer Society in accrediting global professional qualifications can serve as a model.

b. How to best assist Australian providers: Governments can assist Australian providers by removing barriers which prevent online courses from being undertaken by students. Government can also set an example by allowing their own staff to undertake online courses and teach in them. As an example, the online engagement courses proposed by the Department of Finance for all Australian Public Servants could be delivered online by Australian tertiary institutions.

c. How to capture the opportunities that international institutions provide while fostering Australian ones: Australian institutions can be encouraged to join international partnerships for online course creation.

d. What other regulatory changes are required to capture the benefits of the emerging environment: Visa restrictions which limit International students undertaking online courses should be relaxed. Currently an international student is expected to be on campus for about three quarters of a full time course. This should be reduced to one quarter.

5. Determine how Australia’s tertiary institutions can best capture the growing online international market, particularly in Asia. This would include:

a. Assessing the size of the opportunity: Australian experience suggests that all university courses will be delivered at least in part online, with the typical student spending about 25% of their time in a face-to-face class and 75% online. Undergraduate degrees will have more face to face components, and  postgraduate courses less. This will result in a drop in Australian students on campus, but allow for millions more online from our region.

b. Determining how Australia can grow an online international market without compromising our on-shore market: With most education online, Australian and international students will be able to choose courses from anywhere in the world. Retaining a proportion of the Australian students and capturing part of the international market will require maintaining Australia's very high standards for accreditation. A national course recognition program, so students can combine courses from multiple Australian universities, would be useful to promote "Brand Australia"  (I undertook a combination of ANU blended courses and USQ pure online ones for a Certificate in Higher Education). The Australian government can also fund Australian academics to reach out to the region.In November 2012 I was invited to talk on "Sustainable Development Through Green ICT: The Role of Education and the Business Sector", in Indonesia. The proposed "new Colombo Plan" has potential as a way to help promote Australian education in the region. However, as with the existing Colombo Plan, this may become enmeshed in geopolitics.

c. Determining what measures should be put in place to help capture the opportunities. Australian universities are already reconfiguring their campuses with accommodation and "learning commons" to suit the new blended learning. Campuses are being redesigned to be pleasant places to be, not just study. See also: "On-line Professional Education For Australian Research-Intensive Universities in the Asian Century", November 2012.

d. Identifying regulatory barriers that need to be addressed: No specific regulatory barriers exist, with online courses being covered by existing regulations on education. However, it would be useful for the Australian Government to advance bilateral and multilateral agreements on mutual recognition of educational standards. Support to professional bodies to advance standards for disciplines would also be of assistance.

Student Loans

As someone from outside the USA I find the discussion of the “gainful employment” regulations made by the U.S. Department of Education a little hard to understand. As I understand it, the US government provides low interest student loans to students to study, much like Australia and other countries. These loan schemes are frequently controversial, with issues of if students take on more than they will be able to repay.

In "Now What?" (Inside Higher ED, March 21, 2013), Paul Fain writes that U.S. Department of Education “gainful employment” regulations,have been struck down by a court. The regulations were to measure performance of vocational programs in education institutions. One measure was the percentage of graduates repaying their loans. This seems a curious measure to use and one a court might well strike out, as the educational institution would have little say on if its graduates pay their loans or not. It would be reasonable to see if the courses provided a qualification in a job category in demand, what the rate of employment of graduates was and how much their salary went up. However, such measures are used in Australia only to provide potential students with information when choosing courses, it is left to the students to decide what courses to take.

As an example, here are the statistics for Computer Science graduates from the Australian National University (where I teach),  as reported by the Australian Government's "My University" website:

Overall satisfaction rate (opens in a new window)	79.2%
Good Teaching Scale (opens in a new window)	45.8%
Generic Skills Scale (opens in a new window)	85.4%

Graduate Outcomes (Average of 2009 to 2011)

Graduate Outcomes (Average of 2009 to 2011)	Value
Graduates in full time employment (opens in a new window)	77.9%
Graduates in full time study (opens in a new window)	9.6%
Median graduate salary (opens in a new window)	$54,000

The ANU rates well, except on the "Good Teaching Scale (45.8%). Staff have been encouraged to get trained in the latest education techniques and make full use of technology, to improve teaching and I have found this works Even before finishing the ANU's certificate in Higher Education, my student satisfaction scores increased, after applying what I learned on the program. I discuss some of what can be done, in "MOOCs with Books".

Tony Abbott Address to Universities Australia Higher Education Conference

The leader of the federal opposition, Tony Abbott, made an Address to Universities Australia Higher Education Conference in Canberra, 28 February 2013.  He started by referring to his studies at Oxford University and his time boxing there (but did not mention Oxford has been offering on-line courses since at least 2009).  at He pointed to education as Australia's biggest export, after minerals. He proposed a "... new, two-way street version of the Colombo Plan building on the original one that brought tens of thousands of students from around our region to study in Australia", with the the Menzies Research Centre hosting a policy development roundtable to work on a "... Rhodes Scholarship for our region".

Mr Abbott also expressed a wish for Australian universities to take advantage of online learning and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), however no funding or other support was proposed for this. A Coalition Online Higher Education Working Group, looking at how "... online technology improve existing campus-based teaching with all the benefits of interaction, in the classroom and beyond..." (chaired by Alan Tudge, with Karen Andrews, Senator Fiona Nash, Senator Stephen Parry, Nola Marino, and Rowan Ramsey). These are very timely questions to be asked, as on-line courses are transforming education, including university education.

It is not clear if MOOCs will be more than a 21st Century version of the DOT.COM bubble, with no cl;ear business case. But it is clear that e-learning is an effective form of education. The question is how to implement it while maintaining the cultural and economic benefits of the Australian education system. For my own take on this, see: "On-line Professional Education For Australian Research-Intensive Universities in the Asian Century" and "Proposal for Teaching ICT Masters Students How to Teach On-line".

THE COALITION’S ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION WORKING GROUP

Terms of Reference

Overview

Australia enjoys an enviable international reputation for delivering world class higher education.

International education is Australia’s fourth biggest export and our largest services export industry.

Like so many other parts of our society and economy, the Australian higher education sector can rightly stand proud of its achievements and international reputation. But resting on past achievements is never as important as looking toward the challenges of the future.

Perhaps the greatest challenge is the digital revolution and the global trend toward increased reliance on technology and online resourcing. Just as the digital revolution is transforming printed media and retail, it will almost certainly transform higher education.

The Coalition understands that the possibilities and benefits of online learning opportunities are enormous for all involved in higher education. We firmly believe that Australian higher education institutions are uniquely placed to take advantage of future online learning opportunities.

Our history, current international standing and world class reputation for excellence are all factors that potentially give Australia a competitive advantage when it comes to online education opportunities.
The biggest danger is for Australia to be left behind.

The Coalition knows that higher education institutions are best placed to deal with future challenges and opportunities.

The task for government is to ensure public policy provides the capabilities and incentives so that our students can tap the opportunities that online higher education can deliver. Most importantly, the Coalition believes it is crucial that government does whatever it can to ensure higher education providers are able to embrace online opportunities.

Traditional higher education models are vitally important and while they remain a central focus of government policy, we must also have an eye on the future.

We believe online learning has great potential to increase access and choice for students, enabling greater customisation and a better balance with work and family demands.

The online trend cannot be ignored The potential benefits of online learning for Australian students, higher education institutions and the economy are enormous.

Online education can allow students to access more customised, effective and efficiently delivered education at the time of their choice. For students living in remote areas, or possessing disabilities or juggling work or family responsibilities, greater online education will make access to higher education easier.

It also has the potential to speed up learning, allowing students to save money and enter the workforce more rapidly. The traditional university model is built around lecture-theatre and academic availability during a 26 week per annum schedule. People increasingly expect to be able to work, learn and study whenever and wherever they want.

Other countries are moving rapidly The most important evidence of how online education is transforming higher education can be found by looking at the growing involvement of some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford. These institutions have begun to offer premium learning content in the form of “massive open online courses” (MOOCs).

MOOCs are offered by these universities through online providers such as Coursera and edX. Over two million people have registered for these courses. Within six months of joining Coursera, Melbourne University had more students online than on campus.

Currently, the vast majority of MOOCs are free of charge, are not assessed or graded and do not provide students with credit toward the completion of their university degrees. The next stage in the global development of online higher education is for online courses to be accredited and incorporated within the existing programs offered by universities.

Online challenges must be faced The increased choice, flexibility and lower cost will be beneficial to Australian students and our economic productivity, but it will be immensely challenging to existing Australian institutions. Our biggest danger is to simply ignore the overseas trends which, according to some forecasts, could have negative ramifications for current university models.
As well as producing the skilled graduates needed to drive productivity and long-term growth, Australia’s universities also educate hundreds of thousands of international students and in doing so generate $15 billion in export income each year (our leading services export industry).

There is potential to expand this greatly through online offerings. Over the next forty years, the demand for education from our region will be enormous. The OECD predicts the middle class in the Asia Pacific to grow six-fold in the next 20 years to 3.2 billion people. In India alone, the working age population will grow by 240 million over the next 20 years. There is insufficient capacity in their education system to cope, as McKinsey & Company have identified.
India’s online education market will be worth $40 billion by 2017, presenting huge opportunities for Australian institutions.

The opportunities from the online education trend are enormous, but so are the challenges.

Better approaches for Australia Labor has not capitalised on the opportunities that the online trend presents.

Labor has rigidly held onto the traditional learning model founded in “bricks and mortar” teaching and has neglected addressing the challenges facing higher education. Labor’s base-funding review of higher education ignored online opportunities and the potential for more effective and efficient learning methods.

For the past five years, the Government has focused on funding formulae, visas and regulations while Australia has declined in education export revenues. This has been particularly noticeable over the last two years despite other competitor countries continuing to grow their share.
This highlights the need to consider better approaches to ensure Australia is not be left behind.

Traditional higher education environments are important, but the challenges and opportunities of the future must also be considered.

Objectives and scope of the Working Group As part of the Coalition’s commitment to implementing innovative, forward-looking higher education initiatives that will drive increased productivity and economic growth, the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Tony Abbott MHR, has established the Coalition’s Online Higher Education Working Group to examine the potential for greater online delivery to be incorporated within Australia’s existing higher education framework.

The Working Group will be chaired by Mr Alan Tudge MP and its other members will be Senator Fiona Nash, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education, Karen Andrews MP, Senator Stephen Parry, Ms Nola Marino MP and Mr Rowan Ramsey MP.

The Working Group will liaise closely with Shadow Minister for Universities and Research, Senator the Hon Brett Mason and Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP.

The Working Group will examine the key issues and challenges related to the development of online higher education in Australia. The Working Group will consult widely with all relevant stakeholders, including tertiary providers, employer groups and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, to inform its response to these issues and challenges.

Specifically, the Working Group will:

1. Assess the trends in online learning both in Australia and internationally and how this might unfold over the next decade.
2. Assess the benefits of online learning for Australian students and the Australian economy, including the potential:

a. Impact on cost, flexibility, customisation and quality.

b. Benefits of enhanced choice, including from global players.

c. Impact on workforce participation and democratisation of learning.

3. Assess the challenges of online learning and how they could be overcome, including:

a. The challenges to existing institutions and their preparedness to face them.

b. The maintenance of quality and standards.

c. The technological and infrastructure requirements of online courses.

4. Assess what policy measures are required to capture the benefits for Australian students and the economy, including:

a. How do deal with accreditation

b. How to best assist Australian providers.

c. How to capture the opportunities that international institutions provide while fostering Australian ones.

d. What other regulatory changes are required to capture the benefits of the emerging environment.

5. Determine how Australia’s tertiary institutions can best capture the growing online international market, particularly in Asia. This would include:

a. Assessing the size of the opportunity.

b. Determining how Australia can grow an online international market without compromising our on-shore market.

c. Determining what measures should be put in place to help capture the opportunities.

d. Identifying regulatory barriers that need to be addressed.

The Working Group will provide a report on these matters to the Leader of the Opposition by 15 June, 2013.

Contributing to the Working Group Written submissions to the Working Group are invited by 30 March, 2013 and should be addressed to:

The Office of Mr Alan Tudge MP
Suite 4, Level 1, 420 Burwood Highway Wantirna South, VIC 3152

Or sent electronically ...

To arrange a private meeting with the Working Group or to obtain further information about the Working Group, please contact ... the office of Mr Alan Tudge MP ...

From: THE COALITION’S ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION WORKING GROU: Terms of Reference, Alan Tudge, 28 February 2013

Federal Opposition Focuses on On-line Education for Universities

The speech by Tony Abbott, opposition leader, at the Universities Australia Higher Education Conference yesterday, concentrated on on-line education, judging from the published summary. Universities Australia had put twenty two proposals to the "Incoming Government". However, Mr. Abbot appears to have directly addressed only a two of these in his speech:

• 2. maintain a system that enables any Australian who is capable of studying at university to do so
• 17. ... review the regulatory burden placed on the university sector ...

Of the twenty one initiatives the universities proposed to take, the opposition leader appears to have only supported three:

•   2. broaden pathways into university degrees
•  8. improve international students’ welfare and university experience
• 19. integrate technologies to support teaching and enhance the student experience

Mr. Abbot highlighted on-line learning, and in particular Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), pointing out these provide opportunities but also challenges for universities.

The opposition also proposed to establish a new Colombo Plan. It should be noted that the Colombo Plan, for cooperative economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific, is a multinational initiative which is still in operation, with Australia providing university education as part of the plan. Proposals for a new plan would therefore need to be negotiated with the other countries involved. The plan is named after the location of its foundation meeting in Colombo in 1950. There is a detailed history of the politics behind the plan in "Facing Asia: A History of the Colombo Plan" by Daniel Oakman (ANU e-Press, 2010). The Colombo Plan Secretariat is still located in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

As it happens I will be speaking on e-learning at an international conference in Colombo in late April. I discussed co-operation on e-learning for sustainable development in Indonesia late last year.

Nothing is Wrong With Our Universities

Richard Hil, author of Whackademia: An Insider's Account of the Troubled University, argued on ABC Radio  ("What's Wrong With Our Universities", Sunday 20 January 2013) that Australian universities are under-funded and its academics overloaded with administrative work and pressure to pass sub-standard students. He looks back to a golden age when academics where funded without any accountability and could sit around thinking great thoughts. However, I doubt such an age ever existed. Universities cost money and someone has to pay. If academics want to sit around and think great thoughts, then ether they will have to think up something very useful occasionally which justifies they salary, or do something else, such as teach, to subsidize their thinking time.

Hil expresses concern that there is are a countless number of part time university teachers who do not have the pay and conditions of permanent staff. This seems to contradict other parts of his argument where he calls for less administrative burden on academics and more flexibility. As an adjunct lecturer I like the relative freedom of not being included in university administrative processes. I don't have to go to administrative meetings, unless they concern my course. I don't have to fill out leave forms, because I don't get paid for leave, just for the courses I teach.

Hil claims there is pressure from administration, even from VCs, for academics to pass students who are not up to the required standard, particularly international students. I have never been under such pressure. Any academic who is, should report the matter to the appropriate internal review body, or if it appears to be a systemic problem to the independent commission against corruption (or equivalent).  There will always be legitimate debate about marks, but if inappropriate pressure is being applied for financial gain, then that is a crime which needs to be reported and investigated.

Universities have to balance the need to be financially viable with research and teaching. There is also the need to balance the need to turn out "work ready" graduates and to create new knowledge. There is never going to be enough money to do everything every academic wants and everything society expects.

Australia in the Asian Century

On Sunday, the Australian Government released the long awaited and much anticipated "Australia in the Asian Century White Paper". This seems to have with general acceptance, with criticism being limited to it lacking detail and in particular funding detail. However, this is a white paper, which is intended to set a broad policy direction, not implementation detail.

The paper sets ambition goals for Australian education, including Asian language and cultural studies in schools and increasing the number of top ranking universities in Australia. The former is easier to achieve, by the use of online technology.

Improving the ranking of Australian universities would appear an all but impossible task. A more realistic task would be to maintain 50% of the current ranking. Asian universities are putting considerable financial and intellectual efforts into improving the quality of their universities and there is no reason to think they will not be successful. This is not just a matter of throwing money at the problem, but also applying the same sort of quality management processes to academia which made the Japanese car industry (and more recently Korea), world beating.

ps: By coincidence, I am off to an Indonesian university next week to discuss online ICT sustainability education.

Australia in the Asian Century White Paper

Contents

• Foreword
• Executive summary

1. The rise of Asia
2. The future of Asia to 2025
3. Australia in Asia
4. Outlook for Australia to 2025
5. A productive and resilient Australian economy
6. Building capabilities
7. Operating in and connecting to growing Asian markets
   •  Case study: Australia’s agriculture and food sector
8. Building sustainable security in the region
9. Deeper and broader relationships

• Appendix A: Asia’s resurgence
• Appendix B: Australia’s bilateral relationships with Asia
• Abbreviations
• Glossary
• References
• List of figures, charts and tables
• About this publication