May 2024

10 May 2024

Mornings in Melbourne have been decidedly chilly lately – a sign that winter is approaching. Thankfully, we’ve still been blessed with some glorious afternoon sunshine. I know it can get very cold at some of our regional communities during the winter months, so I hope you can make the most of the sunny days while they last.

This will be my first Melbourne winter. For many Victorians, it’s a time that is based around the fortunes of their favourite football team. I’ve attended a couple of AFL matches featuring our partners at Carlton FC. The theatre and atmosphere on match day is certainly exciting, although I’m also happy whenever I have the chance for some quiet time at home to read a good book. Whatever your hobbies outside of work, I hope you can find time to unwind on weekends.

Our staff and students are deep into first semester, which concludes at the end of the month. Recently, I’ve been getting to know our industry partners and enjoyed discussing current joint projects and opportunities to expand partnership activity. I’ve also visited facilities at our Bundoora campus, including the La Trobe Sports Park, the Student Accommodation Apartments, and the Digital Innovation Hub. I’ve been on a tour of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute in Heidelberg and am looking forward to an upcoming visit to Bendigo TAFE.

It was terrific to be in Mildura for our graduation ceremony on 12 April and to attend two graduation ceremonies in Bendigo the following week. The excitement of our newest graduates was infectious. I really enjoyed hearing the Valedictorian speeches at each ceremony; it was clear that our graduates value the expertise and care of our wonderful teaching staff.

In higher education sector news, the Federal Government is expected to outline its response to the final report of the Australian Universities Accord Review Panel as part of the Federal Budget to be handed down next Tuesday. Universities Australia has suggested that the Budget may include a “down payment on the Accord” and Government has already announced some related policies.

Last weekend, Minister for Education Jason Clare announced a $3 billion package to alleviate student debt. A cap on HECS-HELP indexation will also be introduced from 1 July; and a means tested Commonwealth Prac Payment of $319.50 per week will begin in July to support students doing teaching, nursing, midwifery or social work placements. This is a welcome measure to help in addressing “placement poverty” for eligible La Trobe students.

We will analyse the Budget papers and let staff know about any other funding commitments or announcements relevant to La Trobe and the higher education sector.

In the meantime, I’d like to share some recent achievements and activities from across our campuses.

Healthy futures

La Trobe’s standing as one of Australia’s leading universities for health research and innovation was reflected in the extraordinary outcomes of the latest NHMRC Investigator Grant program funding round announced last week. We were successful in securing seven research awards valued at $11.5 million in total, with five projects led by La Trobe researchers and two by experts based at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and La Trobe School of Cancer Medicine.

Congratulations to Ivan Poon, Danilo de Oliveira Silva, Ebony Monson, Stephanie Gras, Amy Dennett, Matthias Ernst and Conor Kearney on winning these grants to work on projects that combat cancer, viruses, and knee pain in young adults. This is La Trobe’s best ever performance under the NHMRC Investigator Grant scheme! Well done to Deepa Balakrishnan and her team in the Research Grant Development and Transformation office for facilitating this brilliant result.

Congratulations are also due to Della Forster from La Trobe’s Judith Lumley Centre, which explores issues of major public health importance for women, children, and families. Della won a $1 million grant under the NHMRC’s Targeted Call for Research funding round, which sought projects that can help in identifying how telehealth can be used most effectively. Della’s research considers whether a combination of telehealth and face-to-face visits for antenatal care can improve experiences for pregnant women.

A partner with industry

Well done to Caitlin Gionfriddo from the Centre for Freshwater Ecosystems at our Albury-Wodonga campus on receiving an ARC Industry Early Career Fellowship valued at $446,000 for a project on the impact of mercury contamination on marine ecosystems. These Fellowships support research collaboration, translation, and commercialisation. Caitlin will work with project partners from Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Asian agreement

I was delighted to welcome Thomas Parks, Vice President of US-based NGO The Asia Foundation, to our City campus last month to sign a new partnership agreement with the University. The agreement builds on joint activity that Chris Roche and the team in La Trobe’s Centre for Human Security and Social Change have been doing with The Asia Foundation over the last four years.

The Foundation’s work throughout Asia and the Pacific to improve lives and expand opportunities has clear overlaps with La Trobe’s body of research. I’m sure we can continue to make a difference by working together to address issues such as inclusive economic growth, democratisation and rule of law, environment and climate action, and women’s empowerment.

Feather in our cap

I get invited to some interesting events as La Trobe’s VC, but I doubt anything will match spending a morning welcoming three emus to the Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary at our Bundoora campus last month.

I know that the La Trobe community has greatly missed the two emus that died at the Sanctuary more than five years ago, so it was wonderful to see three male emus introduced at the site.

Emus are iconic animals in Indigenous culture, so it was fitting that University Elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin AO spoke at the event alongside a special smoking ceremony by Wurundjeri Elders. Our Sanctuary team is working with the Narrap Rangers from the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, who are helping with land management, consulting, and plant production.

The Wildlife Sanctuary plays an important role in helping to restore and manage Indigenous flora and fauna, as well as providing an incredible natural bushland environment for conservation, education, and research. If you haven’t been to the Sanctuary, I encourage you to make a time to visit.

Truth telling

Julie Andrews, La Trobe’s Academic Director of Indigenous Research and Director of our new Gabra Biik Wurruwila Wutja Indigenous Research Centre, took part in the Yoorrook Justice Commission's land, sky and waters hearings, along with La Trobe historians Katherine Ellinghaus and Richard Broome.

The hearings are an important means of telling the truth about the impacts of colonisation on First Peoples in Victoria. Julie described the sessions as “white law and Aboriginal law coming together for the shared goal of truth telling and justice for my people.”

Truth telling is essential for reconciliation and is a collective responsibility of all Australians, including everyone at the University. The Commission’s work to establish an official record of the effects of colonisation on First Peoples and develop a shared understanding among all Victorians of its impact is supported by our Indigenous Strategy, which commits us to be an institution where Indigenous leadership, self-determination, and knowledges thrive. I look forward to joining with Julie later this month for the formal launch of the Gabra Biik Wurruwila Wutja Indigenous Research Centre.

Pathways to success

I attended a terrific event on Wednesday at the Rumbalara Football Netball Club, an Indigenous-led sporting club in Shepparton. The event showcased programs delivered in partnership by La Trobe, GOTAFE, and the University of Melbourne. Together we are providing pathways that improve access and participation in tertiary education for First Nations students and people from low socio-economic backgrounds in the Goulburn Valley region.

I facilitated a panel discussion with local students and recent graduates, including La Trobe Nursing and Social Work graduates who began their higher education journey by participating in the Academy of Sport, Health and Education program in Shepparton that is run by the University of Melbourne, Rumbalara Football and Netball Club, and GOTAFE.

The panel also featured students from La Trobe’s Rural Medical Pathway program and Year 11 and 12 students from Greater Shepparton Secondary College. Hearing the students talk about their experience was incredibly effective in demonstrating how small-scale projects can have a big impact by not only supporting individuals but having a ripple effect on families and communities.

In closing

I look forward to attending our graduation ceremonies in Shepparton and Bundoora in the coming weeks to see more of our newest graduates prepare for the next stage in life. And I hope you can find time to enjoy some autumnal sunshine before winter sets in.

Best wishes,

Theo