Universities have evolved significantly over the centuries, and in the 21st century,they continue to evolve. The trend towards online study, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, raises the question of whether universities will always have physical campuses. And in Australia, the government is steering students towards STEM careers and away from the humanities.

In this episode, Tom discusses these issues with Professor Jill Downie, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic at Curtin University.

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students [01:14]
• Reliance on international students [03:36]
• Immersive online experiences in university teaching and learning [11:54]
• The humanities [15:27]
• Mass higher education [18:56]

Learn more

Associate Professor Jill Downie

Horizon Report

The government's funding changes are meddling with the purpose of universities

Vital signs

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Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of the university.

Music: OKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons – Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0. Music promoted by Audio Library.

You can read the full transcript for the episode here.