Productive visit from the Vice Chancellor of Macquarie University

The UG’s strategic partnership with Macquarie University in Sydney was put centre stage during a visit from the Vice Chancellor of Macquarie University, Prof. S. Bruce Dowton. The purpose of the visit was to underscore the commitment of both universities to deepening and broadening our collaboration, and to chart a course for the future of our partnership in the next year and beyond.

Macquarie University is a strategic partner, one of 9 of the university’s most important partners outside of the EU. There is a significant degree of overlap in our research expertise, and already a lot of collaboration going on between individuals across the university. The visit enabled the UG to demonstrate areas where we have been collaborating successfully, as well as highlighting areas of research where there is potential for colleagues to join forces.

The IDEALAB consortium is one of the earliest examples of close collaboration between the two institutions, and has been a big success over more than 10 years, producing dozens of high calibre scholars in the field of neurolinguistics. Over the years, the relationship with Macquarie has developed, and since becoming a strategic partner in 2020, work has continued to expand the partnership.

The expertise at our institutions overlaps considerably, indeed there is interest among colleagues in all 11 of the UG’s faculties. During his day in Groningen, Professor S. Bruce Dowton met colleagues from three of our faculties: Arts, Law, and Science and Engineering. This enabled our colleagues to showcase their research and how they are working with colleagues in Australia. For example, a proposed series of double doctorates looking at the legal frameworks around the transport of liquified Hydrogen; Australia’s abundant solar energy resources can produce green Hydrogen, but importing this into the EU comes with numerous legal challenges that need to be addressed. Various other areas were showcased, and many of these scholars at both universities have been making use of a jointly funded partial travel grant scheme that allows researchers to meet their collaborators and work on furthering their research. The UG has recently opened a call for more such partial grants for travel to our strategic partners, four of which are for travel to Macquarie. The deadline for applications is 15 April 2023.

In his meeting with President Prof. Jouke de Vries, the leaders of the two universities discussed how university strategy is adapting to the challenges of the modern world. It was clear that both universities are facing similar challenges, but also that we are taking similar approaches. For example Macquarie university is in the process of setting up centres of research which are analogous to the UG’s four new interdisciplinary schools. Other subjects were also discussed, such as the growing concerns around knowledge security, diversity and inclusion, and the role of universities to counter nationalism and protectionism by maintaining a globally connected world where we can work together on challenges we all face, like the energy transition. We also discussed how we can collaborate outside of academic research, for example it became clear that we can share best practices around research valorisation, and how Macquarie makes great use of its location in Macquarie Park, Australia’s largest innovation park.

To conclude the day, the delegation from Macquarie met with Rector Magnificus Prof. Cisca Wijmenga, and among others, the (vice) deans of Arts, Science & Engineering, Law, and Graduates Studies. Work will continue throughout 2023 to further interface UG colleagues with counterparts at Macquarie, as we hope to realise the full potential not just across the full academic spectrum at both institutions, but also in other areas of professional services as well.

In 2024 the UG will celebrate a lustrum year, 410 years since the founding of the university; meanwhile, Macquarie celebrates its 60th year. In the comparatively short time since its founding, Macquarie has come a long way, thanks to its dynamism and ambition. The visit afforded both universities the inspiration that will fuel the coming years of expanding our work together.