UniSA vice chancellor David Lloyd proposes merging Adelaide’s three universities into two
Merging Adelaide’s three universities into two would kickstart education and the economy but require major reforms that include TAFE, the head of UniSA says.
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Folding Adelaide’s three universities into two is being urged by UniSA vice-chancellor David Lloyd as part of an extensive tertiary education overhaul to drive economic recovery.
Reigniting merger debate, Professor Lloyd said South Australia would be best served with “two strong state universities”.
Cautioning against merely “banging” universities together to create a slightly larger version, Prof Lloyd called for major reform, also involving TAFE.
Adelaide University said there was “possible merit” in changing SA unis’ “shape and number”.
Federal Trade Minister and SA senator Simon Birmingham said there was “real merit” in assessing optimal structures across vocational and higher education if reform was to be considered, partly to position the state as an attractive education destination.
Prof Lloyd, also the Committee for Adelaide chairman, was responding to a proposal raised at a summit of SA’s most influential people last weekend for all three universities to merge to create a University of Australia.
“Two strong unis would be better for the state than three institutions which are still very, very good, but not as good as they could be,” Prof Lloyd said.
“I think there’s an opportunity to think about the products that are offered, the geographies of the campuses, the remit to deliver not only metropolitan education but also regional education, and how we create a decent pathway from TAFE into universities without disrupting the apprenticeship model.”
This model would give the future two vice-chancellors places on TAFE SA’s board with “a responsibility for success”.
Prof Lloyd said universities and TAFE SA would both conduct vocational education for priority state industries, such as shipbuilding, space and agriculture, with courses dependent on the level of qualification.
SA’s public universities, which support 8500 direct jobs, are facing a financial hole of hundreds of millions of dollars because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Adelaide University does not have a permanent vice-chancellor after Peter Rathjen resigned last month, removing a potential obstacle to talks about rationalising tertiary institutions.
Adelaide and UniSA scuttled merger talks in 2018, jointly declaring they were “unable to reach agreement on the threshold issues and strategic risks”.
Prof Lloyd said the size of SA’s three universities and the state’s school graduate pool meant there was “no great game-changer that any one university can do that’s going to shift domestic markets”.
Market share between the three public unis now fluctuating as students opted for competing degree offerings in the same disciplines. “So, the distribution of the number of students who want to study engineering (for example) across three engineering schools, means that all three engineering schools are actually at a level where they haven’t got the scale and critical mass they should have,” Prof Lloyd said.
“And we need to have really strong engineering schools to underpin all of what we want to do in defence, aerospace and innovation.”
Prof Lloyd did not specify his preferred model for two universities in SA but said there needed to be “social and political licence” to explore the opportunity.
“If you sat down with a willingness to have, I guess, the ‘open kimono’ conversation where nobody’s been held to having to actually do it, (you could be) exploring the possibilities and then to see whether what gets put up is better, or could be better, than what we already have.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of political will. I think that there’s a very high level of political pragmatism that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
“So you need to have a thirsty horse in this instance. And the thirsty horse is four institutions who are willing to have the conversation, because TAFE has to have the conversation too.”
Adelaide University chancellor Catherine Branson, QC, said the institution was committed to engaging with the State Government, other universities and the community “on how the tertiary sector can best meet the needs of the state”.
“In that context, we continue to see possible merit in a rationalisation of the shape and number of public universities in South Australia, and in Adelaide positioning itself nationally and internationally as a city of learning,” she said.
She said Adelaide’s University Council wanted to apply lessons learned from the abandoned UniSA merger talks before formally recommencing any process.
“It would, for example, be essential to have a clear understanding of what was sought to be achieved by any merger and why; that is, of what the state’s tertiary sector would look like post-merger and of why it would then better serve our state,” Ms Branson said.
“It would also be necessary to achieve an upfront understanding of all parties’ prerequisites for any potential merger or rationalisation.”
Flinders University vice-chancellor Colin Stirling declined to comment.
Senator Birmingham, a former federal education minister, said: “If reforms are to be considered, there is real merit in simultaneously assessing optimal structures across both vocational and higher education, so as to best meet the future needs of South Australians and successfully position the state as an attractive education destination.” State Education Minister John Gardner said it was more important than ever that young people had different options to transition from high school to jobs and tertiary and vocational education.
He said SA had a solid foundation in a range of future industries, such as health, space, defence and cyber, and the State Government would “continue to work with and support our universities in important areas of reform and innovation”.
Prof Lloyd said proposals from the Committee for Adelaide Influencer summit, inspired by an Advertiser list of SA’s 50 Most Influential People published in February, would be presented to Premier Steven Marshall’s Economic Advisory Council.
Other proposals includedgrowing the state’s population from 1.7 million people to three million within 20 years, with attractions including businesses and residents having free energy.
This would involve supercharging renewable energy development and considering the controversial option of nuclear energy.
Prof Lloyd, speaking as Committee for Adelaide chairman, said nuclear energy had been infamous for rare disasters yet many modern reactors worked very well.
“There are small reactors and we have a very, very, very, big state where there’s an awful lot of places you could put a nuclear reactor, where it could be managed properly and well,” he said.
Peregrine Corporation executive director Sam Shahin, who suggested and spearheaded the Influencer summit, said the event highlighted that population growth, working to strengths and reasonable risk-taking were essential ingredients for future prosperity.
“I will support every idea that, at its core, makes South Australia more competitive and even more desirable,” Dr Shahin said.
“We want to see a thriving and diverse population that makes South Australia the most desirable place to live. We must foster a culture of promoting, assisting and respecting those that are prepared to take risk.
“Risk is not a bad word. It’s in everything we do.”
Originally published as UniSA vice chancellor David Lloyd proposes merging Adelaide’s three universities into two