April 2026

Thanks again for your participation and engagement, particularly during the Q&A session with Mark Smith and Regan Sterry. If you were unable to join us on the day. Broadcasting the webinar from Bendigo was an opportunity to reflect on the tremendous impact we have across regional Victoria. Our mission to expand opportunity and transform lives through education really comes to life in regional communities — and there is no better place to see our impact than at regional graduations.

It is a privilege to attend these ceremonies and hear the inspiring stories of so many of our graduands – people like Albury-Wodonga social work graduate Jess McGregor and Mildura midwifery graduate Jasmin Fargher.

Taking part in Albury-Wodonga and Mildura graduations in recent weeks has been a highlight of my year so far. It is profoundly gratifying to share in the success of these graduands and witness the pride of their families, friends, and supporters. I very much look forward to joining our Bendigo community for graduations on 14 April.

We also celebrated our impact at a wonderful event in early March to recognise our 2026 Distinguished Alumni Awards winners. What unites our six newest Distinguished Alumni is not only their professional success, but the difference they make in their communities. Each has excelled in their field, yet all have chosen to use that success in service of others. It was a memorable celebration of what it means to be a La Trobe graduate.

I’d now like to share some other recent activities and achievements from across our campuses.

Regional ready

We have strengthened the foundation for continuing our regional impact by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Northern Victoria Institute of TAFE that has been established following the amalgamation of Wodonga TAFE and GOTAFE. The MoU will support more opportunities for students across a shared and expanded footprint in regional Victoria, including pathways that support lifelong learning; skills development and workforce solutions for industry and community partners; and opportunities for joint advocacy, pilot programs, and course development.

Eagleworks is live

Megan Fisher and the Industry Engagement team hosted an outstanding event last month to launch the University’s Eagleworks Innovation Centre. Almost 300 industry leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers and students joined us for tours, tech installations and presentations by partners including BioNTech, Cisco, Breakthrough Victoria, and ServiceNow as well as founders from across our startup and research ecosystem.

The launch demonstrated how far we have come in our mission to deepen engagement with industry, strengthen our digital and innovation capability, and ensure research translates into real world impact.

Eagleworks is grounded in the belief that great ideas should not remain on the page or in the lab, but reach the communities, industries and markets that need them. This commitment will be brought to life through our landmark agreement with Silicon Valley-based innovation platform Plug and Play. It’s brilliant to be the first Australian university to partner with Plug and Play, giving La Trobe startups unique access to investors, industry mentors and strategic partners across the United States, Europe and Asia.

The La Trobe University Eagle Fund, our pre-seed investment fund in partnership with Breakthrough Victoria, is another key element of our innovation ecosystem. I’m delighted that the Eagle Fund is providing $1 million to support La Trobe-based spin-out company Deftbiotech to conduct clinical trials of a new drug to treat topical fungal infections.

I encourage you to visit the Eagleworks Innovation Centre and find out how you can take your ideas further.

You can also sign up for The Startup Network's AI and Deep-Tech Pitch Night on 28 April, which is being sponsored by La Trobe as part of our Eagleworks program.

Health innovation

It was gratifying to see La Trobe’s strategic investment in health innovation reflected in the latest QS subject rankings, with our Nursing program ranked 42 in the world, the third consecutive year it has been placed in the world’s top 50.

Our international reputation and depth of expertise in nursing and midwifery have also culminated in La Trobe’s appointment as the lead academic institution for the Nursing Research Academic Partnership within the Parkville health precinct. Partnering with the Royal Children’s Hospital, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital in this major research collaboration will drive enormous benefits for our students and researchers – and strengthen our position as Victoria’s leading health innovation university.

Well done to Marie Gerdtz and her team on this significant leadership appointment.

Education innovation

Congratulations to Jacqueline Magee, a PhD student in the School of Education, on being awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to collaborate with researchers at the University of Southern California and investigate the role of school curriculum development in teaching and learning and implications for education policy.

It is encouraging to see the next generation of researchers carrying forward La Trobe’s national leadership in evidence-informed, practice-based research that is transforming teacher education.

AI and digital innovation

I’m delighted that Patricia Haueiss is joining the University to lead the La Trobe AI Institute which, when launched in June, will provide a unified platform to showcase the nationally-leading AI capabilities and impact at La Trobe in research, education and industry engagement. Along with the university-wide rollout of ChatGPT Edu and AI curriculum innovations across 2026 and 2027, these developments will position La Trobe to support positive adoption of AI by our students, industry partners and the communities we serve.

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and we will continue to provide regular updates for staff and students.

Sporting success

La Trobe excels in the sporting world – both on and off the field.

Our Sports-related subjects reached their highest-ever rank in the latest QS subject rankings, rising 18 places to 29 to enter the world’s top 50.

We can be confident about maintaining our global reputation for outstanding sports-related teaching, research and collaborations following the announcement of our new partnership with Hockey Victoria to support the launch of the Melbourne Cobras in 2026. The Cobras are a new Victorian team that will join the national hockey league, and build on La Trobe’s connections to India by featuring players of Indian origin.

Humanities leading the way

In addition to the excellent performance of our Sports-related and Nursing subjects in the QS Subject Rankings noted above, I’d like to call out the incredibly strong performance of our School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

While the elevation of Archaeology into the top 50 globally is a standout achievement, the depth of academic excellence across the School means that HUSS disciplines now account for six of La Trobe’s 12 subjects ranked in the top 200 globally, with five HUSS subjects also ranked well inside the top 10 in Australia.

Congratulations to Matt McGuire and colleagues in HUSS on this well-deserved recognition of their contributions to La Trobe’s academic standing and global profile.

In closing

I hope you enjoy the Easter break and the opportunity to spend time away from work.

Our first designated Recharge and Focus period for 2026 intentionally coincides with Easter, creating space for you to either take recreation leave or focus on key tasks. I hope this initiative continues to have a positive impact for staff across the University.

Best wishes,
Theo