Advance HE has a dedicated Head of Partnerships, Fiona Whittenbury that works closely with our 30 member institutions in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. We are committed to supporting you and this flyer illustrates some of our work over the past year and for the forthcoming year.
Advance HE convenes the Australasia Strategic Advisory Board (ASAB) three times a year which comprises senior representatives from our members in Australasia. The group comprises senior representatives of Advance HE Members and partners across Australasia and shapes our activity.
Contact your Membership Team
If you would like to speak your dedicated Membership contact, Fiona Whittenbury.
Australasia Member Benefits
Advance HE will continue to support the region through its member groups (ASAB and APLN) along with continuing the support for Fellowship and accreditation listed above.
With over 430 members worldwide, we’re evolving our approach to ensure that global perspectives are embedded into more of the work that we do.
In addition to working with members on shared global challenges, we’re developing a number of projects focusing on areas that Australasian members have told us are priorities.
Enabling access and progression through Education Development Curricula
An exploration of how academic practice and educational development curricula will need to respond to the changing sector context. For example, in response to the Australian Universities Accord.
Learning and Teaching Reward, Recognition and Progression Excellence
A collection of global case studies and analysis to share successful practice and learn from a variety of approaches within different contexts.
Responding to the Fair Work Act: Prevention of sexual harassment
A series of four online workshops covering strategy, resource alignment, intersectional practice and overcoming barriers.
- Workshop 1: Developing and implementing a whole of organisation prevention-based strategy
16 July 2024 - 11:00 - 13:00 AEST - Workshop 2: Aligning internal resources to maximise gender equity and gendered violence
10 September 2024 - 10:30 - 12:30 AEST - Workshop 3: Addressing all forms of unacceptable behaviour and applying intersectional practice
13 November 2024 - 12:00 - 14:00 AEDT - Workshop 4: Overcoming barriers and resistance to inclusion initiatives
05 December 2024 - 12:00 - 14:00 AEDT
Please note these workshops are by invitation only. If you have not received an invitation and would like to attend please contact networks@advance-he.ac.uk.
Inclusive Leadership
A project to understand what works in supporting leaders to develop and share inclusive leadership practices to accelerate enhancement.
Equal pay reporting and pay-gap transparency
This project explores gender pay-gap reporting globally, including how pay transparency has helped to shrink the UK gender pay gap. It also examines the reporting and action being taken to address ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
Accredited Programme Leaders Network (APLN)
Australasian members are invited to be part of the Accredited Programme Leaders Network (APLN), a group chaired by Professor Abby Cathcart of QUT that meets regularly to discuss matters relating to Fellowship, accreditation and staff recognition. The group features a range of invited speakers and has also led on projects specifically for the region. Key discussions at the Network this year have focused on mentoring of Fellowship and evaluation of Fellowship schemes, and the network also hosted guest speakers from other Advance HE accredited providers.
Professional Recognition in Australasia
Many of our member institutions engage with our Fellowship programme to recognise their teaching and learning support staff. Over 8,000 of our Fellows are based in Australasia - nearly 50% of our international Fellows. To support the ongoing professional recognition of staff in the region we have offered the following this year:
- a range of calibration sessions for those assessing Fellowship applications, that help with training and development of assessors
- drop-in sessions with the Advance HE accreditation team, and resources to support institutions applying for accreditation or re-accreditation
- developmental reviews of accreditation or re-accreditation applications for Strategic Members
- Focus groups and a webinar about the leadership and management needs of staff in Australasian higher education providers
- Advance HE Connect groups to support specific member groups (e.g. Accredited Programme Leaders Network) or those in specific roles (e.g. Principal Fellows network)
- sessions for colleagues to engage with the Professional Standards Framework 2023
- Accredited Programme Leaders Network.
SAGE (Science Australia Gender Equity) Athena SWAN
Advance HE has worked with SAGE to offer the Athena SWAN gender equity charter in Australia. 43 institutions have achieved an Athena SWAN Bronze award in Australia to date.
Advance HE Member Grant funding
Over the past year Advance HE has offered the opportunity for member institutions to apply for grant funding to conduct collaborative projects on a range of higher education themes. We are pleased to note that Australasian members have been successful in applying for these funds.
In addition, Advance HE awarded 15 Global Impact Grants (GIGs) this year to share work that had an impact on staff and students. 7 of those grants were awarded to Australian member institutions and 1 to a New Zealand member.
Surveys
Advance HE runs an annual Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) which has been taken in the past by over 100 UK HEIs and has reached over 50% of the postgraduate research population in the UK. This year, we ran a pilot of the survey with three Australian member institutions.
Fiona Whittenbury, Head of Partnerships (Australasia)
Fiona has over twenty-five years of global experience in cross sector partnerships. Most recently Fiona held a management role at James Cook University where she led a diverse portfolio of partnership programs in the Graduate Research School. Previously, Fiona’s diverse professional journey includes senior management roles at the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Women's & Children's Hospital Foundation, where she led on partnerships and engagement.
