Welcome to the November edition of the Noticeboard, a monthly update with news and opportunities from around the sector. If you have anything you’d like to share with members please contact our Research and Engagement Officer Ellen Kirkpatrick.
News from dassh
Thank you and farewell to Executive Director Jane Ryan
Executive Director Jane Ryan is moving on from DASSH at the end of November to a new role. Jane has been integral to DASSH’s success for the four and a half years she has been with the organisation. She has “broken in” three different presidents and been the glue connecting every one of our universities to the professional development and advocacy spearheaded by the organisation.
She transformed DASSH into a Company Limited by Guarantee, ensuring our status as a charity. She really understands the diversity within our membership. She has supported the ADR community of practice and reinvigorated Aotearoa confidence in the work of DASSH. She’s also provided a crucial public lens on our activities, not only understanding what government needs to hear, but also pursuing truly public offerings like the Pathway to Success interview series.
Perhaps most importantly, Jane has ensured that our disciplines have a say in all the important higher education policy issues of the day. DASSH has listenability in the sector, and that profile is hard to achieve.
Ellen Kirkpatrick will serve as Acting Executive Director until the end of June 2026. Many of you will know Ellen from her work as DASSH’s Research and Engagement Officer over the last year, and her integral role in landing the annual conference in Sydney this year.
I know I speak for the whole organisation in extending our best wishes to Jane Ryan in the next steps for her career. Jane, thanks for everything you’ve contributed to DASSH.
Heather Zwicker
DASSH President
Submission: Building Australia’s Asia Capability
Our submission to the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Education outlined risks to building Asia capability associated with policy fragmentation, lack of coordination across the education system and the undervaluing of cultural competencies that are eroding Australia’s sovereign skills.
Based on consultation with members, key points included:
- Language and international studies are at risk in Australia and this is fundamentally eroding our Asia capability along with other sovereign capabilities that ensure regional and economic security.
- The extensive skills, career pathways and opportunities associated with the study of languages and culture are not being communicated to prospective students.
- There is a major disconnect between primary, secondary and tertiary educators when it comes to the delivery of language and cultural education.
- The focus of public debate on vocational skills without considering sovereign capabilities, languages and cultural competencies is sending the wrong signal to students about the value of languages and cultural studies.
- Once language and cultural capabilities are lost in Australia we also lose a generation of PhD researchers and future experts. It is extremely difficult to rebuild expertise in this environment.
Our submission also detailed the extensive list of programs, activities and experiences facilitated by DASSH members which are actively developing Asia capability, cultural literacy, language learning and strengthening regional relationships.
Consultation: Jobs and Skills Australia National Skills Taxonomy discussion paper
Friday 14 November
1pm-2pm (AEDT)
Online
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has called for feedback on drafting a national definition of ‘skills’ and framework for recognising skills gained through diverse experiences recently proposed in their discussion paper ‘Building a system that puts people and skills first’.
This feedback will inform the next phase of developing the National Skills Taxonomy (NST) which DASSH has previously consulted members on.
Members have been sent a calendar invitation and brief. If you have not received this, please contact us.
Read JSA discussion paper
Read 2024 DASSH National Skills Taxonomy submission
Teaching and Learning Network
Our first Teaching and Learning Network gathering took place in early November. We’d like to thank Dr Steven Murdoch, Professor Amanda Mooney and Dr Tony Fisher for leading the gathering and initiating the network.
The gathering provided the opportunity for colleagues in Teaching and Learning roles to get to know one another better and identify some common issues and themes across roles and institutions. This included:
- Managing staff morale, fatigue and burnout
- AI and assessment
- Balancing administrative and strategic workloads
- Funding pressures
- Change fatigue and restructures
- Negotiating diversity within Schools and Faculties
- Navigating expectations of roles and creating change
Please contact us if you are interested.
2026 Mentoring Program
The pilot Mentoring program launched in 2025 recently concluded. We’re in the process of evaluating the pilot and look forward to launching the 2026 program soon. Applications for Mentors and Mentees will open this year so members, please keep an eye on your inbox!
Read more
Find out more about the Mentor program
Final Essential Insights webinar for 2025
2025 Policy Wrap
Wednesday 19 November
12pm-1pm (AEDT)
Online
Join us for a or a wrap of the key policy shifts and initiatives that have shaped the higher education landscape in 2025. Professor Lori Lockyer, DASSH Secretary and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice at the Queensland University of Technology will lead the discussion.
Around the traps
Stop calling them ‘soft skills’
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) Deputy Commissioner Megan Lilly has written on the JSA blog that treating human capabilities as ‘soft skills’ is costing productivity, mobility and fairness. She says that tertiary harmonisation and a National Skills Taxonomy will modernise how skills are defined and valued with a focus on gender and equity.
Beyond STEM in Aotearoa
Universities New Zealand – Te Pokai Tara Chief Executive Chris Welan has written a media release with key messages for two groups: policy makers and academics. To academics he says, HASS needs to do better at demonstrating impact. To government, he says there needs to be more investment in incentivising HASS research.
Government announced new governance measures for Australian universities
The Australian Government has announced a set of new University Governance Principles that require universities to report annually on compliance with TEQSA. Universities will be required to publish meeting outcomes, consultancy spending, Vice-Chancellor external roles, annual renumeration reports and governance composition.
Read the media release
Read Universities Australia response
Aotearoa government to set up single science funding body
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti announced a single, independent board, called Research Funding New Zealand, will be established to replace the multiple layers of decision-making, taking on the Endeavour, Marsden and Strategic Science Investment Funds. The decision has raised concerns about research independence and job security.
Read government press release
Read expert reactions
Australian Research Council announces 2026 funding grants
The Australian Research Council (ARC) recently announced new grant outcomes and funded projects for the 2026 Discovery Projects and Linkage Projects. Further details and selection reports will be made available shortly.
See funded Discovery projects here
See funded Linkage grants here
Aotearoa’s Vice-Chancellor’s Committee welcomes new strategy group
Professor Grant Edwards, Chair of the New Zealand Vice-Chancellor’s Committee, has welcomed the potential of the new Universities Strategy Group (USG) to provide universities a voice with government and experts to raise issues which are important in the higher education sector.
Read here
Australia first country to use new UNESCO framework to model its art and culture system
A new report by A New Approach (ANA) uses the UNESCO Cultural-Value Generation Model to explore how the Australian arts and culture system is organised, governed and developed. It highlights how cultural literacy and creative skills building occur through education, training and practice.
Find out more
Investigating the relationships between First-in-Family status, equity groups and university access
A new report from the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success highlights that First-in-Family (FiF) students make up more than two-thirds of Australia’s student population yet remain unrecognised in higher education policy. The report calls for FiF status to be recognised in equity policy and for greater investment into research.
Read here
Addressing placement inequities via participatory action research
A new Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) report highlights the widespread hardships students face during compulsory university placements. Key recommendations call for stronger partnerships among stakeholders, expanded financial support, more flexible placement models and ongoing advocacy.
Read the report
Tuition increases and university behaviour
New research by Katherine Cuff, Ana Gamarra Rondinel and Abigail Payne published by Life Course Centre offers insight into how universities behave in systems where tuition is regulated. Findings include universities respond strategically to financial incentives, and how these behaviours significantly influence access to higher education.
Read the report
First Nations Fellowship final report
Findings from an Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success Fellowship study Increasing the Number of Aboriginal Teachers in the NT: Planning for the Future highlight the lack of accessible and culturally relevant information about teaching as a career for Indigenous people in the NT, and the need for positive schooling experiences.
Read report
TAFE CEO says harmonisation misunderstands VET sector
Tim Winkler writes in Future Campus that TAFE Directors Australia CEO Jenny Dodd says the Universities Accord goals of tertiary harmonisation exposes misunderstandings of what TAFEs deliver.
Read here
Opportunities
Australian Research Council Discovery Projects 2027
Expressions of interest applications for Australian Research Council Discovery Projects funding commencing in 2027 are now open. Funding between $30,000 and $500,000 is available each year for up to five consecutive years with projects undertaken by individuals or research teams.
Applications close on Friday 12 December.
Find out more about Discovery Projects
Apply here
dassh Events
Essential Insights series
Register now for the final 2025 Essential Insights online webinar.
2025 Policy Wrap
Wednesday 19 November
12pm-1pm (AEDT)
Online
Join Professor Lori Lockyer, DASSH Secretary and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice at the Queensland University of Technology for a wrap of the key policy shifts and initiatives that have shaped the higher education landscape in 2025.
James Verdon, DASSH Board member and Executive Dean of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education at Swinburne University of Technology will be chairing this session.
dassh Networks
Teaching and Learning Network
We’re establishing a Community of Practice for Associate Deans (Teaching and Learning) with a full calendar of events in 2026. We are planning on hosting an initial gathering next month to welcome interested members and select topics for the 2026 events calendar.
Please contact us if you are interested.
Associate Deans (Research) Community of Practice
The Community of Practice is comprised of Associate Deans (Research) across member institutions. The group meets regularly to discuss spotlighted topics, share resources and guidance for addressing common challenges.
Implications of De-Casualisation
Thursday 27 November
12pm (AEDT)/12pm (NZDT)
Online
Australian events
National Skills Forum: Listening for 2026
Wednesday 19 November
12pm – 1pm (AEDT)
Online
Australian Research Data Commons
The November National Skills Forum focuses on key takeaways from the Skills Summit in October where more than 100 trainers and researchers gathered to chart the future of research training in Australia. This session will focus on translating ideas into action as we look to 2026.
Register now
Australian Political Studies Association Conference
Monday 24 – Thursday 27 November
Melbourne
Australian Political Studies Association
Join colleagues from across Australia for three days of presentations, panels and networking at the Australian Political Studies Association (APSA) conference. Themed ‘Challenges for Australia and Beyond in a Changing World’, the conference brings together scholars, students and practitioners to reflect on the challenges and opportunities shaping political life today.
Find out more
The right to enquire? A symposium on academic freedom
Tuesday 25 November
Melbourne
Australian Academy of the Humanities
Join the Australian Academy of Humanities at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) Congress for a free event exploring what it means to define, contest and safeguard academic freedom in the 21st century.
Re-defining open social scholarship in an age of generative intelligence
Tuesday 2 – Wednesday 3 December
Hybrid
Canadian Australian Partnership for Open Scholarship
The seventh annual conference of the Canadian Australian Partnership for Open Scholarship (CAPOS) will coincide with the Australasian Association for Digital Humanities (aaDH) Digital Humanities Australasia (DHA) 2025 conference. This conference aims to mobilise knowledge, research, and professional experience around the benefits and challenges of developing and maintaining open scholarship in the current age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital platforms.
Annual Symposium: Celebrating Community, Creating Legacy
Friday 5 December
Melbourne
The Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts
Join the Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts (DDCA) at their free and fully catered annual symposium celebrating what makes the creative arts integral. Members will be empowered to remain vital in their practices and to their communities.
Register now
True Liberal? The record and legacy of the Fraser government, 1975-1983
Friday 12 – Saturday 13 December
Melbourne
University of Melbourne Archives & Special Collections | Melbourne School of Government | Trinity College
This major symposium marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Fraser government’s election in 1975. The symposium brings together scholars, politicians, political thinkers and civil society leaders to review the record of the government and its relevance to contemporary issues and debates concerning the nature of liberalism and other issues.
Find out more