Higher Education and Research Reform Amendment Bill to be Examined at Melbourne Summit

Sept. 22, 2014 - PRLog -- The Higher Education and Research Reform Amendment Bill has now been presented to Parliament – and with the Abbott government appearing strongly committed to seeing it through, the reform package is poised to deliver sweeping changes to the Australian Higher Education landscape.

Against this backdrop of urgency and uncertainty, the key players in the debate are set to convene at the Higher Education Reform Summit, to be held on the 12-13 November at the Sofitel Melbourne.

A who’s who of the education sector will be in attendance. The Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Education; Senator the Hon Kim Carr, Shadow Minister for Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Industry; and The Rt Hon David Willetts MP, former UK Minister of State for Universities & Science will all deliver keynote addresses.

Prof Gene Block, Chancellor, UCLA (video link from the US); Prof Nigel Thrift, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Warwick and Prof Chris Brink, Vice-Chancellor, University of Newcastle, UK, will also deliver keynotes.

Supporting these stellar speakers are leading Vice-Chancellors from across the country, together with representatives from industry and the professions, including Prof Ian Chubb AC, Chief Scientist of Australia; Stephen Durkin, CEO, Engineers Australia; and Brian Owler, President, Australian Medical Association.

Organised by the Financial Review and Informa, the Higher Education Reform Summit will be followed by a one-day event, the Competing to Win: Financial and Operational Management Summit (http://www.informa.com.au/financialoperationalmgmtsummit), held on the 14 November, again at the Sofitel Melbourne

“This Reform Bill constitutes the most dramatic shake-up of higher education since the 1980s, and though we may well see compromises made to get it through the Senate, realistically the reform agenda is not going to go away,” says Dr Alana Piper, Director of the Summit. “This forum brings together leaders and key stakeholders from across the whole breadth of the sector to tease out the implications of the reforms – and begin to formulate strategies for surviving and thriving in a new HE order.”

For a full agenda, please visit here: http://www.informa.com.au/informa-hereformsummit2014

Media Contact: John Wilson, Marketing Director, Informa Australia
Tel: +61 2 9080 4107 | john.wilson@informa.com.au