In this speech, Mitchell Professorial Fellow Peter Noonan discusses the role of vocational education and training (VET) and calls for a sustainable investment base for VET and a more coherent funding model across the tertiary education system in Australia. Introduction The national VET system in Australia is very much at the crossroads. While workforce skills...

Having served for three years as Victoria University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dawkins takes stock of his experience across all educational sectors and outlines the case for reconceptualising tertiary education. He goes on to comment on the recent higher education policy announcements outlined in the 2014 Australian Government Budget, which involved a major deregulation agenda. He examines...

This report presents four propositions to accelerate transformation in Australia’s schools. Summary In November 2013, the Mitchell Institute hosted a policy forum titled New approaches to persistent problems attended by approximately 100 of Australia’s leading educators, researchers, policy makers and leaders. The discussion was chaired by Mark Burford, Executive Director of the Mitchell Institute and...

The report presents findings of a multi-method exploratory research project implemented by ICEPA. The study draws on data gathered through an on-line survey of 1,013 international and domestic students, in-depth interviews with 35 international students and interviews with 29 stakeholders from across government and non-government organisations concerned with the safety of international students.

The current 'future of journalism' debates focus on the crossover (or lack thereof) of mainstream journalism practices and citizen journalism, the 'democratisation' of journalism, and the 'crisis in innovation' around the 'death of newspapers'. This paper analyses a cohort of 20 investigative journalists to understand their skills sets, training and practices, notably where higher order...