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Thank you very much and thanks for the opportunity for being with you today. I'm not going to
match the billing I was just given as if I'm going to announce the solution to the challenges
we're here to discuss because I suppose one of the reasons we're having the symposium
is because as Minister I wanted to engage with the sector about what these things mean
from a government, for the sector but also how the government ought to be reacting, what
issues we ought to be focusing on. So trying to understand some of these changes that are
occurring with technology and what that means for policymaking.
I'm very pleased to see that we've used the Conversation, I think it's a really important
tool in spreading understanding about the work going on in our universities and I'm
very pleased to support it. I can go on the site and understand learned articles which
is always a good sign. The man in the street test, the Minister can understand it, probably
most people can but I think the fact that we're using the Conversation, people are on
Twitter and are able to access this through the internet tells you how much the world
has changed compared to how we would have done this even 10 years ago.
I used to like the old butcher's paper but apparently we don't use that anymore. Look
I know the focus for today is very much on what MOOCs, Massive Online Open Courses might
mean for us and I think, I suppose from my point of view I'm not sure I see it as such
a game changer but it's obviously a very important development. I think other people probably
have a slightly stronger view about the changes will drive and the jury on that is out and
obviously the question about whether there's a sustainable business model for people in
this is a big issue but who can predict where this will end. I certainly can't.
But I think it has brought to a head the debate about online and blended learning, the impact
of rapid technological change on how we teach, how students learn and what universities ought
to look like, what are they, what value are they adding in a changing world where we have
an increased democratisation of information and access to knowledge, a very different
way of people being able to access knowledge without necessarily enrolling in university,
without necessarily attending. And I think universities and students are obviously already
having to respond to that. I use this example but I look at the way my
sons learn, one's at uni, one's allegedly doing Year 12's exam in a few weeks but you
wouldn't notice by, he's very relaxed about it. I see these articles in the paper about
all the pressure students are under. No sign of pressure (6.21). He's very focused on cricket
and the internet, anything that might distract him. But I mean you look at the way young
people learn, where they get the information from, vastly different from my generation
and just visiting universities, looking at the way the sort of libraries and hubs are
used now, completely different to the way people are interacting and learning and therefore
their needs are changing. So we've got this continuum of development
occurring and I think it's challenging all of us and I think for universities who traditionally
have been the gatekeepers of knowledge and recognition of learning it's obviously a big
challenge for universities as well, what their role will be in all of this and I think particularly
in how they teach. I think if people are learning differently and we have very informed consumers
as students then how we teach and how we work with them and meet their needs has to respond
and they have more choice, there's more competition both inside the country and outside the country
and obviously MOOCs are potentially even taking that further.
But from my point of view as a Minister and as part of a government that believes in the
empowerment that comes from knowledge and learning I can only see this as an opportunity,
it has enormous potential for allowing people from all walks of life, from all parts of
the globe, to be able to access knowledge and information and to develop their skills.
I don't mean necessarily through MOOCs but through the development of the technology.
What we know about technology and the pace of changes that resisting it is futile.
So many people, we always use Kodak as an example, have just been swept aside as change
goes through and I think we've got to be very much aware of that, the idea that we can stay
still I think is clearly not an option but where and how we move are obviously important
issues for public debate but there is obviously the risk of getting left behind if one doesn't
engage and look at the opportunities. So from a government point of view we're very keen
to engage on those issues. From my point of view there's a range of priorities in all
of this. My job is make sure that Australian students
get the best opportunity for a quality education and get as much opportunity as possible, so
that's the priority for us. It's not to protect patches, it's not to protect the current system,
it's to protect the opportunities of Australian students and the development of their capacity
and the contribution that makes to our society. So that's our central focus. Obviously a challenge
is to make sure we protect quality but encourage innovation and there's always tensions about
that but we want to see our universities innovating and responding to opportunities but obviously
part of our role as a government is to protect quality and ensure that students will get
quality experiences and Australia's reputation for quality is maintained.
I think that's a really important challenge here for our international market, it's a
very big export earner for Australia. We're under increasing competition from the United
States and other countries and increasingly so from China for access to international
students wishing to study. Clearly the technological changes are making location and place perhaps
less important, although obviously people still want a human experience often as part
of their study and a sense of being part of a broader community but clearly there are
huge challenges for attraction of international students in Australia given the pace of change
in these areas and obviously from a government point of view there's a whole range of considerations
for us, provision of capital, whether we should be supporting more investment in technology,
what we should be doing in terms of supporting, best practice and teaching. A whole raft of
issues that look at what the government's role is in supporting universities as they
adapt and how we maximise opportunities for students.
So I think I've got a sort of a sense of the problem. I've come to the symposium today
to hear the answers. This is why we invest so much in the people at the table because
they are the people who are going to provide me with the answers. I think one of the things
I want to stress though from my point of view is I'm conscious that different sets of students
will want different things out of universities. I finished my degree part-time and I never
felt the university was meeting my needs when I was doing that, never responding to the
realities of your work and study balance and I think at the time universities were slow
to respond. I think increasingly they are responding to
the various needs but what a 19 year old student from rural and regional Australia needs might
be completely different to what a mature aged learner with a family working might well want
from the system and from us in terms of developing their education. So I think we've got to be
careful not to sort of overly generalise in terms of student needs and how we respond
to those. But anyway, look thanks everyone for coming. I hope it's a useful exercise.
I think it's part of conversation that will obviously continue and not trying to necessarily
nail answers and it's something unis have been dealing with for some time but I think
the MOOCs has really brought to a head the need for us to focus in on some of these issues,
both from a policy point of view and obviously from universities. So anyway thanks for your
participation, I look forward to the panels' contribution and I hope to learn something
as we all do. Thank you very much. 96