Monash University > News and Events > Monash Memo

Ancora Imparo, May, 2009

In April, I attended my last Board meeting of Monash University Sunway campus Malaysia. It was held at Johor Bahru, on the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, at the site of the Clinical School of the Medical School. The facilities there are excellent and the enthusiasm of the staff and students we met was quite inspiring.

It has been great to see the progress of our Sunway campus. It now has seven Faculties represented, with Pharmacy starting successfully this year. The Law Faculty intends to send students to the campus in 2010 to study Asian law along the model of the very successful Prato law programs so there will then be eight faculties represented on the campus. The number of students from Monash campuses outside Malaysia studying at the campus has increased markedly, with 49 students from Monash Australia and six students from Monash South Africa at the campus for semester 1 and 83 students from Monash Australia planned for semester 2. The feedback from the students has been extremely positive and attractive travel and accommodation packages have been provided by the Sunway campus.

There are now over 4400 students at the campus. The new purpose-built campus is stunning. It is operating at a surplus which is returned to the campus to enhance its research activities and to provide for further physical expansion of the campus. Monash University in Australia receives a royalty which is based on the revenue attracted. This amounts to approximately $6m per year, two thirds of which is directed to the relevant Faculties represented on the campus. This recognises the role of the Faculties in supporting the campus, particularly in providing educational resources and quality control.

Other activities over the last month have included a visit to Beijing to sign a collaboration agreement with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This academy represents the foremost researchers in science and technology in China and has a substantial intramural program with several associated institutes. A number of our researchers already have a relationship with the Academy and the agreement foreshadows dual site and joint PhD programs, postdoctoral fellowships and other research collaborations and exchanges. While in Beijing, I was an invited speaker at the Asia Pacific Association for International Education. This is an organisation which is growing in significance. It is planning an initiative where funds will be obtained to support the brightest students in the Asia Pacific region to undertake exchanges to leading universities in the region to undertake PhD and postdoctoral studies - the Asia Pacific Leaders program. This will be along the lines of a regional Rhodes Scholarship and recognises the need for countries in our region to look to each other rather than only concentrating on North America and Europe.

I was also an invited keynote lecturer at the World Universities Forum in Belgrade. I took the opportunity to visit the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg as Monash is to be the lead participant in the Australian associate membership of EMBL. EMBL is the most productive molecular biology laboratory outside the US, is supported by 20 European countries and has five outstations or nodes in other European countries. It comprises teams which include PhD students led by star young scientists who have a maximum period of nine years in EMBL before leaving to populate the leading research institutes and universities around Europe and the rest of the world. It has been a highly successful model.

Most staff (with the exception of some senior staff) received a two per cent salary increase in the first pay after 1 April. Our negotiating team has had positive discussions with the NTEU concerning a new Enterprise Agreement and have agreed on most points. Some issues remain concerning sessional staff, which we hope to be able to resolve. There is also a significant discrepancy in the claim of the NTEU in relation to salaries. We hope to be able to reach a fair and affordable resolution of the differences.

Monash University is fortunate in having a highly skilled and committed workforce. Those negotiating the Enterprise Agreement for the University wish to recognise this by arriving at an Agreement which is as generous as it can be in the prevailing circumstances. It is also essential that the agreement is financially responsible and ensures a continuing bright future for the University with the best possible educational outcomes for our students.