University matters

The Indo-Pacific is the most consequential region in the world today, home to the world’s biggest democracies and economies. It is where the production of knowledge and education is shifting. You can feel the urgency and energy, and Monash is well-placed to not just respond to this shift, but to lead it. After all, it’s something we – you – have been doing for decades.

Around 10 per cent of Monash’s first cohort of students in 1961 were from overseas, mostly from Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Many of these students came to Monash under Australia’s Colombo Plan, which was launched in 1950 and provided more than 20,000 university places for students from our region to study in Australia.

Those students arrived at a critical time in our history, and have helped shape our institution. Whether that’s Professor Dato Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman (President of Monash Malaysia), who studied medicine as an international student here, or our international student alumni, who span the world acting as ambassadors and advocates for Monash and Australia – some going on to serve as ministers in their home governments.

And being the university for the Indo-Pacific goes both ways. This year, 2,100 first year students, regardless of means, will span out across our region as part of the Global Immersion Guarantee – Australia’s largest single student mobility program.

A further 4,000 Monash undergraduate and postgraduate students will travel internationally through Monash Abroad, deepening their international understanding and building the relationships and networks they’ll need to contribute to our region and the world in whatever area they are studying.

That’s why I’d love to see every Monash student study and work in at least two countries of the region during their degree.

For students, it is a personally transformative opportunity."

The experience of being a cultural minority, often for the first time, profoundly shapes you. And if you can be impactful studying and working in these unfamiliar situations and cultures, then you can offer a lot more in the workplace, particularly in our interconnected world.

But sending these students – brimming with ideas, knowledge and cultural know-how – out into the world is also the ultimate act of soft diplomacy. The more high-quality students we educate, the more impact we have on the world. Creating and engaging in an international network is not short term and it’s not about revenue. It’s about assembling a series of possibilities: social, cultural, economic and for the long term.

Monash’s global campus network, arcing across the region and into Europe, is arguably the most compelling example of Australian soft diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific. In Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India and Italy, Monash is anchored in place – socially, economically and culturally – as a long-term partner, innovator and enabler. And each campus is anchored to one another and to Australia. The network is also one of the greatest examples of the new power of universities and of Monash’s impact in our world. It is enabling new partnerships and opportunities for our research to encompass the Indo-Pacific, fostering cross-border collaboration and scaling up our impact.

For example:

• Monash Climateworks Centre researchers in Australia are collaborating with Monash Indonesia in Jakarta to accelerate action to achieve net zero emissions.
• Our researchers at Monash Malaysia, backed by the Wellcome Trust, are investigating the health effects of heat in Southeast Asia and possible interventions.
• Our engineering colleagues are working with BHP at Monash Suzhou in China to reduce emissions from steel production.
• Our researchers are working with India’s most dynamic industries at IITB-Monash Research Academy on challenges including clean energy, food security and artificial intelligence

Here in Australia, Monash is home to one of the greatest concentrations of researchers working on women’s health – taking in everything from public health to the most pernicious effects of gender-based violence, or women’s exclusion from the economy. This work is addressing the critical challenges of social cohesion, peace and prosperity, and women’s participation. It transforms women’s lives, and it could transform the very nature of the region. I can’t think of anything more important – or revolutionary – than gender equality.

It takes immense imagination to create this university in a different mould. Over the past seven decades, staff and students have been unbounded in their thinking and have realised the aspiration in our founding legislation - to be the University of social and technological transformation to address the challenges of the age in the service of our aspiring communities and industries. Impact 2030 enables us to extend this reach across our global campus network to transform the lives and communities of the Indo-Pacific and beyond. As we do so we will keep on imagining what the Monash of the future looks like - and making it a reality.

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