July 2025

I also trust everyone across our campuses has managed to keep warm during the biting winter cold spells we’ve had lately.

In early June, I travelled to the UK and Denmark with Chris Pakes, DVC (Research and Industry Engagement), for a series of engagements aligned to our research and innovation collaborations. A highlight of our trip was an event I hosted in London for La Trobe alumni; it was wonderful to hear how our graduates are faring in the UK and where their degrees have taken them career-wise.

We also made site visits to the University College London East innovation precinct; Bristol University’s Temple Quarter enterprise campus; and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Skylab in Copenhagen, which brings together students, researchers, start-ups, and industry to innovate and develop prototypes. These visits provided insights we can apply to the Research and Innovation precinct we are developing at La Trobe.

The trip further provided an opportunity to gain strategic insights into emerging trends in higher education in Europe. I joined Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehey for a meeting with his counterpart at Universities UK; met with the High Commissioner for Australia in London and the Victorian Agent General to the UK and Europe; and participated in roundtables hosted at the Higher Education Policy Institute and the QS headquarters in London. I also held meetings at several UK universities to explore potential research collaborations. Our Research and Industry Engagement team will follow up these opportunities over the coming months.

Closer to home, the Federal Government has a clear mandate to continue implementing reforms under the Australian Universities Accord following the 3 May election that returned the Albanese Government with a significantly increased majority. This includes establishing the Australian Tertiary Education Commission that began operating on an interim basis on 1 July. The first piece of legislation expected to be tabled in the new Parliament will enact the Government’s proposal to reduce existing higher education student loans by 20 per cent. The Government is also expected to announce policies aimed at lowering net overseas migration. However, it remains to be seen whether it will reintroduce legislation to enable caps on international student enrolments or continue managing visa settings under the Ministerial Direction introduced in late 2024 that applies priority visa processing for study with providers yet to reach their allocation of new international student commencements.

In his first major speech since securing a second term, the Prime Minister addressed the National Press Club on 19 June and noted that “this is a time when Government has to step up, to invest in education and skills and research and innovation, to build and upgrade the infrastructure that supports growth and drives productivity.” Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP will host a productivity roundtable in Canberra in August to bring together policy experts with trade union and business leaders to generate ideas for supporting economic growth and productivity. We will watch the discussions with interest and identify opportunities for La Trobe to collaborate in projects coming out of the roundtable.

In the meantime, I’d like to share some recent activities and achievements from across the University.

Australia’s first medical AI supercomputer

Last month, we reached a major milestone in our mission to support development of precision medicine and halve drug-development timelines. The NVIDIA DGX H200 supercomputer that is powering La Trobe’s Australian Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Medical Innovation (ACAMI) was officially switched on at an event with Danny Pearson MP, Victorian Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs.

The DGX H200 system is one of the world’s fastest AI supercomputing infrastructure platforms and will enable vastly faster translation of research into clinical trials and development of personalised therapies at ACAMI to accelerate progress on immunotherapies, cancer vaccines, and other med-tech and healthcare solutions.

Outstanding honours

I was delighted that we recently awarded two outstanding individuals with La Trobe Honorary Degrees for their significant contributions to the community.

In May, we bestowed an Honorary Doctorate on Emily Hanford, the journalist behind the international hit podcast Sold A Story, which explores the ways children are taught to read. We also hosted a sold-out event at the State Library of Victoria, with Emily in conversation with Joanna Barbousas to discuss how school curricula should be designed by using evidence about how learning happens.

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, La Trobe alumnus Ben Carroll MP, spoke at the event about the importance of education change and explicit learning, which is backed by research findings from our School of Education.

Last month, we presented Yorta Yorta leader Uncle Paul Briggs AO with an Honorary Doctorate at a graduation ceremony in Shepparton. Uncle Paul is the Executive Chair of the Indigenous-led think tank the Kaiela Institute and Deputy Chair of the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence, a partnership project in which La Trobe is proud to be engaged.

Uncle Paul also hosted me for a day on Country in Shepparton recently. It was a privilege to spend time with Uncle Paul and learn about Indigenous history, culture and traditions in the region.

Health innovation

La Trobe’s expertise in health innovation continues to grow, with the University recently awarded funding for two projects supporting the nursing profession.

Jodi Oakman from the School of Psychology and Public Health has received funding of $710,000 under the highly competitive ARC Linkage grant program to work with partners including Worksafe Victoria, personal injury claims management provider EML, Monash Health, St Vincent’s Hospital, Austin Health, and Eastern Health to develop a toolkit of evidence-based procedures to reduce workplace exposures to hazards for nurses.

And Deirdre Fetherstonhaugh and her team in La Trobe’s Australian Centre for Evidence-Based Aged Care have received a $3.77 million Commonwealth Government grant to deliver skills training for nurses working in Victorian residential aged care homes.

Additionally, the School of Psychology and Public Health has entered into a partnership with the Summer Foundation to undertake research addressing housing and wellbeing for people with disability. The collaboration will provide important evidence for the NDIS reform agenda by increasing our understanding about what works in driving better quality services and innovation.

Agriculture innovation network

I was pleased to see La Trobe selected as one of four Australian universities in a $20 million Federal Government initiative to establish a national network of infrastructure and expertise to accelerate innovation in agri-food productivity. The La Trobe Institute of Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) will play an important role in helping the network supply infrastructure and expertise to researchers, government, and industry partners. LISAF is already innovating through programs to enhance plant functionality and enable food and medicinal crops to be grown with new properties including improved nutritional and medicinal qualities and climate resilience.

Leading lights

It has been terrific to see several La Trobe colleagues recognised recently for their expertise, impact, and leadership.

Lauren Rickards, Head of the La Trobe Climate Change Adaptation Lab, has been appointed as the University’s Ambassador to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The Network aims to connect and mobilise the world’s universities, think tanks, and national laboratories around critical sustainable development challenges.

Emmanuel Kuntsche from La Trobe’s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research has been appointed to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on Alcohol and Drug Epidemiology and will help advise the WHO on global monitoring of alcohol and drug use, their health consequences, and the development of evidence-based policy responses.

Our Bendigo head of campus, Marg O’Rourke OAM, has been appointed by Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Regional Development, Jaclyn Symes MP, as the new Chair of Regional Development Victoria’s Regional Development Advisory Committee. This important leadership role will see Marg lead a committee made up of the Chairs of nine Regional Partnerships to support economic growth across regional Victoria and unite voices from every part of the state on issues and opportunities impacting the regions.

Meg Morris, Nicholas Taylor, Chris Sobey, Stephanie Gras, Brian Abbey, Wei Xiang and Pam Snow have been appointed as La Trobe University Distinguished Professors in recognition of their extraordinary records of academic achievement and international distinction for outstanding research and scholarship.

Finally, it was terrific to see Christine Bigby and Lisa Amir recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours, along with La Trobe alumni and former staff. Christine and Lisa have made incredible contributions to research, policy, and practice in the fields of intellectual disability and women’s health. Everyone at La Trobe can be proud to see them receive one of the nation’s highest honours.

Congratulations to these La Trobe leaders on their eminent appointments.

Upcoming events

The La Trobe Rural Health School’s annual conference is being held on 10 July. It will showcase research projects on the theme of Innovating for Equity: Bridging Gaps in Rural Health Care and includes the Violet Vines Marshman Annual Oration, which is being delivered by Professor Jenny May, the National Rural Health Commissioner. Information and registration information is available here.

Robert Manne has assembled a stellar panel to consider the future of the Liberal Party in Australia as part of the Ideas and Society series. On 22 July, Andrea Carson will lead a discussion with former Federal Attorney-General George Brandis KC, media commentator and former Prime Ministerial adviser Sean Kelly, Tom Switzer from the Centre for Independent Studies, and La Trobe University Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow and former Member for Indi, Cathy McGowan AO. You can register here.

On 30 July, the Centre for AI in Medical Innovation (ACAMI) is hosting a webinar on Advancing Medical Frontiers with AI featuring Wei Xiang, ACAMI’s Director and Chief Scientist and the Cisco Research Chair of AI and IoT at La Trobe; Zhen He from the Department of Computer Science and IT; and Damminda Alahakoon, Director of the Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition. More information and registration information is available here.

In closing

I look forward to talking with colleagues at our next all-staff webinar on 22 July, which will provide an opportunity to discuss our recently released Regional Growth and Innovation Strategy 2030 and the refreshed La Trobe Strategic Plan 2025-2030, which will be launched later this month.

Before then, I’d like to acknowledge the hard work being done in preparation for our 2025 Open Day series which will be held across all campuses during August. Open Day is our most important annual recruitment event and a chance to show potential students and their families why La Trobe is such a great place to study.

With best wishes,
Theo