From the Exec Dean - March

Hello Everyone,

David with Peter Lorange, President and owner,
Lorange Institute of Business Zürich

Welcome to this very busy time of the academic year, as enrolments are being completed and students are settling in their very first classes, or returning to continue their programmes of study with us, and we’re seeking to engage them accordingly.  With that in mind, I thought to turn our attention to the importance of the student experience and our respective contributions to that experience.

During our recent Faculty meeting at City Flinders, I spoke about this year as not just the “Year of the Dragon” in terms of the Chinese astrological calendar, but also a year in which, as a Faculty, we need to “ride the dragon”.  Referring to a quote from Confucius:

I know a bird can fly, a fish can swim, and an animal can run.

For that which runs, a net can be fashioned; for that which swims, a line can be strung.

But the ascent of a Dragon on the wind into heaven is something that is beyond my knowledge.

I told the story of the Sydney 2000 Paralympics Domes and Pavilion volunteer team supporting the efforts of the fencing competitors and how we were expected to “ride the dragon” of a competition schedule that was threatened always by pairings that ran over- or under-time, by competitor “no shows”, and by equipment failure or breakdown.  This was a fluid and dynamic environment in which we were constantly on the lookout for changes/variations and to which we needed to respond quickly and creatively.  Given the success of the Sydney Paralympics, it appears that the team rode the dragon pretty well.

In 2012, we in the Faculty of Business and Law need to ride the dragon of a highly competitive and uncertain environment, as international student numbers decline across the country, and our sister institutions seek to shore up their revenues by enrolling significantly larger numbers of local students than would otherwise be expected. This year we need to be focussed on recruitment and retention as full year activities – ensuring we maximise the number of students who join us and minimise the number who leave us.

Key to that focus, as our single most important recruitment and retention strategy, is the quality of the experience, in and out of the classroom, that we create for our students.  And we need to do this in the face of significant resource constraints resulting from the highly competitive environment in which we are embedded.

A great exemplar of creating such an experience is Accounting and Finance’s Lily Wong, who is this month’s featured colleague.  Lily’s commitment to the students and her ability to motivate and inspire is evident in both the student evaluations and teaching awards she has received. Lily is a colleague for whom, when she’s working with and on behalf of her students, everything counts.

I look forward to working with you throughout the year where, together, we can create an environment for our all students and each other where “everything counts”.

Best Regards,

David