Our University's Strategic Context
Over the past few months, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rufus Black, has been engaging with the University community to provide an outline of the global challenges that we are facing and to ask the question – how can the University of Tasmania respond to these challenges as it delivers on its mission? Professor Black is also keen to engage with students on these challenges and this question, and is seeking to engage directly with student leaders.
- Date and Time: Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
- Venue: Room G19, TUSA Building, Sandy Bay Campus
Further Context:
Over the past few months, our staff have undertaken many conversations about our University’s mission. As the University of Tasmania, our mission is clear: to make a positive impact for Tasmania, and from Tasmania to the world. At the core of our mission’s agenda is how can we make a better future for our island, and make Tasmania a lighthouse for the rest of the world in creating a more sustainable future.
To truly understand our mission as well as the challenges and opportunities we face in Tasmania, we must look at the bigger picture. The world is changing rapidly, and it’s clear how our current way of living is unsustainable. Just recently, we've experienced record-breaking temperatures and seen heatwaves, wildfires and floods across the northern hemisphere. Winter in the southern hemisphere saw the Antarctic ice sheet shrinking to a seventh of its normal winter level.
As the #1 ranked University in the world for Climate Action, our staff and students are already meeting these challenges head on. We are also acutely aware that change isn’t coming soon enough in response to our global climate issues.
It’s time for us to be bold and think differently about our University’s role in all of this. We have both an opportunity and a duty to imagine our University responding to these challenges in new and innovative ways, ways we haven’t tried before. And our students will be at the forefront of these efforts, becoming leaders who make a difference in their local communities and around the world, creating a more sustainable, inclusive and positive future.
