1. Universities and the public in the 20th century

How Australian universities will fare in a post pandemic world depends on an influential but rarely talked about relationship.  This is the relationship between the state, its institutions, and the public: what’s often referred to as “the social contract”.  The social contract universities ha…

8. The future of higher education - who will set the settings?

In the season finale of The New Social Contract, host Tamson Pietsch is joined by Dr Gwilym Croucher, Senior Lecturer at the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, to consider for the final time how the relationship between universities, the state and the public might be reshaped as we…

7. The purpose of universities in the 21st century - A Vice-Chancellor and Shadow Education Minister’s perspective

Higher education leaders and policy makers in Australia are facing a lot of hard decisions right now.  The New Social Contract Podcast spoke with UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Attila Brungs  and Shadow Minister for Education and Training Tanya Plibersek to find out their different perspectives on …

6. Universities and Communities - who should they serve?

Who is it that makes up the constituencies of a 21st century university? And what should different sections of the public be demanding from those institutions?  These questions go to the core of higher education’s purpose. Do universities create communities - or do communities create universities?…

5. Universities and the nation’s workforce

What kinds of work will we be doing in 2040? What industries will still be going strong and which will have fallen away?  The training and education we need now will depend on the kinds of work - the industries and services - around which, as a nation we want to build our economy and society.  Au…

4. Universities and climate

After a savage summer of devastating fires, universities, society and even some Australian states have recognised that the country needs a social and economic framework dedicated to the conditions of habitability - so how might the imperatives of climate change remake the social contract for univer…

3. What does this all mean now?

What does the COVID-19 crisis mean for universities now and over the next 6-12 months?  There’s a lot that is uncertain. From job losses to student recruitment, future university business models and the role higher education will play in making a post-COVID society - the consequences of the pand…

2. The context of the crisis

Covid-19 has torn at the fabric of our higher education institutions but were the threads of that fabric already wearing thin?  In episode two of The New Social Contract we discuss the context of the crisis - what are the challenges and how did we get here?  Is the pandemic likely to force a …

BONUS: People behind the numbers: voices from Australian universities

Covid-19 has torn at the fabric of our higher education institutions but were the threads of that fabric already wearing thin?  In episode two of The New Social Contract we discuss the context of the crisis - what are the challenges and how did we get here?  Is the pandemic likely to force a …

What does COVID-19 mean for universities?

The New Social Contract seeks to contribute to a national conversation on how the relationship between universities, the state and the public might be reshaped as we live through the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us as we discuss the kind of higher education sector our society needs.  Episode One is d…