From the Vice-Chancellor January 2022

Dear Deakin community,

I hope you all enjoyed time with family and friends through December and January. At Deakin, while we are excited about the year ahead and what we’ll be able to achieve, we are also very aware that the Omicron variant is impacting many lives across the community, introducing new complexities and considerations. But we must also continue to be creative and grasp the opportunities that 2022 will provide.

It is always uplifting to start the year with the Australia Day Awards. So many of Deakin’s staff and alumni were recipients of awards and recognition toward the end of 2021, it is wonderful to hear about even more of those in our community who have made a real difference through their dedication. Service to the community – and indeed, improving the community’s services – is more valuable than ever, as our resources are being stretched thinner and need to go further.

My sincere congratulations to all of those in the Deakin community who have received awards in this year’s citations; you can read the full list in our media release, and more of the details in this edition.

In 2022, Deakin remains focused on ensuring we are able to do what we do so well: the right mix of on-campus and online educational activities that delivers the best results. We are looking forward to moving back to the model we had which has proven so successful.

This year, Deakin will also build on its reputation for high-quality short courses that enable students to advance their skills and careers, or to change direction mid-career while utilising the experience they have gained. Many of our short courses are ‘stackable’ – they are complementary, and some can be combined over time to make up a full-length degree. We believe wholeheartedly in the importance of lifelong learning, and it has become an imperative throughout any career. Our Deakin short courses support your ongoing learning, so please have a look at some of the offerings on our website.

We also continue to work with the State and Federal governments, and with our international partners, on the return of international students to our campuses. Since mid-December, we have been welcoming back the first arrivals to resume their studies in-country, and we greatly anticipate those that will follow in the weeks and months ahead.

I’d like to say a personal thank you to those who donated by 31 December last year to help our students and Early Career Researchers. Every donation over $100 was generously matched by Community Bank at Deakin University, and we raised $54,250 in total.

All the best for this year. I hope we are able to develop our connection with you, and that you can enjoy some of the many things happening at Deakin.

Best wishes,

Iain.

Vice-Chancellor
Deakin University