Monash University > News and Events > Monash Memo

Ancora Imparo, December, 2007

5 December 2007

Overall, 2007 has been an excellent year for Monash University with great progress towards achieving our objectives of excellence in research, education and management, a strong international focus, fairness, diversity and self-sustainability.

Highlights of the year included:

Research:

• New grants announced from NHMRC increased from $39m in 2006 to $49m in 2007 (3rd highest).
• New grants announced from ARC increased from $35.2m to $38.7m in 2007 (6th highest).
• Two new Federation Fellowships were awarded.
• $15m was received from the Commonwealth Government to complement the $35m from the State Government for the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute.
• Monash participated very successfully in the NCRIS Program and was lead partner in the Victorian node of the Australian Nanofabrication Facility, with $15m funding from each of the Commonwealth and State Governments.
• Total research income is likely to increase from $186m in 2006 to about $214m in 2007 (4th highest behind Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland).
• Eight Monash scientists were major contributors to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

Education:

• Monash received $10.55m out of $83m distributed from the Government's Learning and Teaching Performance Fund, including funding in each of the four discipline clusters. This was the highest amount awarded to any university.
• The percentage of VTAC students within the top 5% choosing Monash University as first preference rose from 24.2% in 2006 to 27.0% in 2007. The percentage of the top 5% VTAC students admitted to Monash did not rise (33.5% in 2006 to 32.9% in 2007) because of a markedly decreased number of deferrals at the University of Melbourne, presumably due to the imminent introduction of the "Melbourne Model".
• There was steady improvement in the mean student evaluation scores of units and a marked improvement in all parameters of the Course Experience Questionnaire.
• The Monash MBA was ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the best in Australia, the second best in Asia and 43rd best in the world overall, and second best in the world in the category of "Educational Experience and Personal Development".
• The Gippsland Graduate Entry Medical School was accredited by the Australian Medical Council.
• Monash students won three out of 13 Fulbright postgraduate scholarships and two of eight General Sir John Monash Awards for overseas postgraduate study awarded in 2007.

International:

• Very successful opening of the new Monash University Sunway (MUS) campus in Malaysia.
• Student number (now over 3300) and budget targets for MUS were exceeded.
• Full accreditation of Medical School at MUS by AMC was achieved.
• Accreditation of programs at MUS by LAN was achieved.
• MUS awarded the Business of the Year by the Malaysia Australia Business Council.
• Student number (now over 1700) and budget targets for Monash South Africa (MSA) were exceeded.
• New Campus Centre and Learning Commons at MSA were opened.
• Good report of MSA by the Higher Education Quality Council of South Africa received.
• Intense relationship with Sichuan University in Chengdu was initiated.
• Agreement with the Chinese Aluminium Company (CHALCO) to establish an International Centre for Light Alloy Research at Clayton was signed.
• Commonwealth Government funding to set up a Centre of Excellence in Stem Cell Sciences with Beijing University was obtained and agreement signed.
• Progress was made towards finalising the joint venture with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) to fund and establish a joint research academy/institute with first jointly badged PhD students recruited, government funding achieved and significant progress made towards achieving further industry.
• International student enrolment targets at Monash University in Australia were exceeded with commencing load in 2007 exceeding that in 2006 by 6.3 per cent.

Engagement:

• Very successful launch of the Monash Academy of Performing Arts with several performances in music and drama.
• Appointment of a high-profile PVC Industry Engagement and Commercialisation.
• A successful exhibition program held by Monash University Museum of Art.
• A successful first "Festival of the Arts" held at Caulfield campus.
• Celebration of 20 years of the Monash University Accident Research Centre, perhaps the most successful example of university, government, non-government, not-for-profits, and industry and community engagement by any Australian university.

General Aspects of the Student Experience:

• Transition from compulsory amenities' fees managed successfully with student campus experience, sporting activities and role of the student associations preserved.
• Monash University was one of 3 Australian universities given top rating by National Union of Students for preserving student campus experience and preserving the role of student associations.
• MEQ 2007 showed further very consistent improvement in the student evaluation of their experience at Monash continuing the strong trend shown in MEQ 2005 compared with MEQ 2003.
• Monash University finished a close second in the Australian University Games and has been awarded the role of Principal Partner with Australian University Sports in hosting the 2008 Australian University Games.

Staff Experience and Attitude:

• The second biennial staff attitude survey showed a marked improvement in overall satisfaction as reflected in bench-marked items between 2005 and 2007 with the mean Likert score rising from 3.3 to 3.7 (58% to 68% overall satisfaction rating).
• Wellness at Monash program expanded with 1600 (25%) staff participating in 10,000 steps program and many staff taking part in a variety of community sports programs.

Management:

• Streamlined senior management structure was introduced with the Committee of Deans and Senior Management Committee replaced by a single Strategy and Resources Committee.
• The annual cycle of planning, budgeting and reviewing is now well established and accepted.
• Devolution of budget and line management responsibility to the Gippsland campus was implemented successfully with improved budget performance by the campus.

Capital Program:

• STRIP 2 construction has commenced and is progressing well -- $111m project fully funded with grants from the State and Commonwealth, and major contribution from Monash University.
• Menzies building refurbishment ($65m project) has commenced.
• Final stages of fitting out of Building H at Caulfield are underway.
• Final plans for redevelopment of the Western Precinct of Caulfield campus are close to completion.

Donor and Alumni Relations:

• Silent phase of fund-raising campaign is underway and on target to meet intermediary fund-raising targets.
• Campaign Chair has been recruited together with some high profile members of the Campaign Committee.
• Plans for public launch of Campaign during Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2008.
• Alumni Chapters have been established in several overseas countries.
• Successful international alumni meeting was held in conjunction with the Distinguished Alumni Awards.
• Very successful Distinguished Alumni Awards evening was held in a new format.

Financial Performance:

• Forecast operating result for Monash University will comfortably exceed budget of $43m and consolidated operating result will be around $60m, well above targeted result.
• Debt -- equity ratio, interest coverage and current ratios are all comfortably within our target ranges.
• Performance of all controlled entities was very satisfactory.

Conclusion:

In the tough and competitive environment of higher education, Monash University has performed very well in 2007. Responsibility for this lies with our outstanding and committed staff, our inspiring students and the support and leadership given by Council. Many challenges lie ahead, but we are well placed to meet them.

I would particularly like to acknowledge the role of the outgoing Chancellor, Mr Jerry Ellis. He has provided outstanding leadership of Council, invaluable advice to me and has steered the University through some very difficult times with calmness and wisdom.

We enter our Golden Jubilee year in 2008 proud of what Monash University has achieved in its first 50 years and convinced that over the next 50 years, we will play a still greater role in building a better future for the world.

Flash version, 11.57 minutes, 19.0 MB

Upgrade / install Flash player for optimum video viewing or refer to the alternative versions below.

Alternative versions

Windows Media Video (WMV) (11.57 18.9 mb)
Quicktime Video (MPEG-4) (11.57 15.7 mb)