In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by Distinguished Prof. Keith Dowding and Dr Marija Taflaga from the Australian National University - with some answers to the problems of university governance.

In the episode you'll here references to:

• the paper Dr Taflaga, Dr Markham and Prof Dowding recently published: https://doi.org/10.25911/MWW4-9781
• their submission to the Senate Inquiry into University Governance is submission number 6 on the new Senate inquiry website: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/UniversityGovernance48/Submissions
• the Senate inquiry's interim report has helped focus public attention on how significant some of the problems are in universities - it's at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/UniversityGovernance48/Interim_report
• the University Chancellors Council's submission to the Accord Panel's Interim Report is at: https://www.education.gov.au/system/files/2023-08/AUA_inter_tranche3_043%20University%20Chancellors%20Council.pdf
• in a much earlier episode of the podcast (episode 130) I summarised the submissions made to the first iteration of the inquiry (before the election). Those submissions are available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/UniversityGovernance/Submissions
• in episode 132 I spoke to Prof. Renée Leon on university governance and the Charles Sturt University submission
• in episode 135 I spoke to Prof. Gavin Nicholson about his submission on university governance, and
• in episode 137 I spoke with Dr Julia Anaf about the health impacts on university staff of the current governance problems in much of the sector. 

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode, Claire is joined by by Bala Subra, TAFE NSW IT Program Development and Management to discuss their use of a new AI tool, Maya, as a team teacher supporting student learning.

In the episode Claire refers to the following resources which listeners working in the VET sector will find particularly useful if you haven't come across them before:

• TEQSA's GenAI knowledge hub: https://www.teqsa.gov.au/guides-resources/higher-education-good-practice-hub/gen-ai-knowledge-hub
• Claire's interview with Timmy Theopelus on Gen AI and a tech company getting engaged in VET: What Now? What Next? episode 109 
• Claire's recap of the 2024 HolonIQ Summit where Prof. Rose Luckin spoke about AI: What now? What next? episode 113

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode Claire is joined by Shae McGregor, Pathways Course Transitions Manager at TAFE Gippsland to discuss some phenomenal work they are doing to help learners experiencing intersectional disadvantage to make profound changes to their lives.

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by the Vice Chancellor of the University of New England, Prof. Chris Moran to discuss the work UNE is doing to engage and support students from less privileged backgrounds to consider university study and find a place at UNE despite many not having an ATAR.

During the conversation Claire referred to this new report from Jobs and Skills Australia: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/research/studies/gender-economic-equality-study#paper2educationand

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by Dr Tabatha Griffin from the NCVER and Tamie Cousins and Elcin Gul from Melbourne Polytechnic to discuss the next generation of VET educators and the support they need to be great educators.

Recent research Dr Griffin has undertaken with her colleagues at the NCVER on the VET workforce, teaching, and learning includes:

• Effective teaching and learning: teacher perspectives on what works best for whom
• Effective student support: enabling the learner journey - good practice guide
• Laying the foundations: how foundation skills shape VET outcomes

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by Dr Julia Anaf from Stretton Health Equity, at the University of Adelaide to discuss the Stretton Health Equity submission to the Senate inquiry into university governance and why university leaders need to be paying much more attention to the psychosocial safety of their staff - particularly as they restructure.

During the podcast Dr Anaf discusses:

• The Stretton Health Equity submission which is available on the Senate website (submission 30): https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/UniversityGovernance/Submissions
• Her research on on the corporatisation of universities with the head of Stretton Health Equity, Prof. Fran Baum: Baum, F., & Anaf, J. (2023). Corporatisation and the health of Australian universities. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 47(3), 100057, and 
• The World Health Organisation's interest in and emerging work on the Commercial determinants of health.

The submission to the Senate inquiry from the University of South Australia's Psychosocial Safety Climate Global Observatory (submission 47) includes data on the research that Dr Anaf discusses - about the relatively poor psychosocial safety levels in Australian universities relative to other Australian workplaces.

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode of the podcast Claire is joined by Assoc. Prof. Mark Bassett, Director  Academic Quality, Standards and Integrity at Charles Sturt University to discuss generative AI, AI detection tools and how institutions can help their staff safely use GenAI tools.

During the interview Assoc. Prof. Bassett discusses the following:

• S.E.C.U.R.E Framework: https://secureframework.ai 
• AI detectors in education: https://tinyurl.com/aidetectorsineducation

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode Claire is joined by QUT's Prof. Gavin Nicholson to discuss his submission to the Senate Committee's inquiry into university governance.

If you want to read a copy of Prof. Nicholson's submission (Submission 21) - you can find it at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/UniversityGovernance/Submissions

And if you haven't listened yet - you may also find episode 130 of the podcast interesting - it's Claire discussing what she learned from reading the first 190 submissions to the inquiry. 

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode Claire is joined by QUT's Dr Natasha Arthars to discuss her recent research on VET in Schools enrolments and the questions that arise for students labour market prospects and future study pathways. 

Dr Arthar's research paper can be accessed at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1360080X.2025.2478962

The OECD research Claire mentions on high school students' career aspirations is available at: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/the-state-of-global-teenage-career-preparation_d5f8e3f2-en/full-report.html

And the SaCSA (Services and Creative Skills Australia) report on their 'Creative Workforce Scoping Study' is available at: https://sacsa.org.au/our-projects/creative-workforce-scoping-study/

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au

In this episode Claire unpacks some of the changes happening in the tertiary sector as both regulators (ASQA and TEQSA) start thinking about how AI is changing the world of work and what that means for what providers teach.

Claire references the following reports, frameworks and research in the episode:

• NSW Audit Office (2025) Universities 2024 https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/universities-2024
• TEQSA GenAI toolkit: https://www.teqsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-11/Gen-AI-strategies-emerging-practice-toolkit.pdf
• Claire's latest public commentary on GenAI and TEQSA and ASQA's recent directions to providers: https://clairefield.com.au/australias-tertiary-education-sector-takes-a-significant-step-into-the-future-on-genai/
• Upcoming TEQSA webinar on GenAI: https://www.teqsa.gov.au/about-us/news-and-events/latest-news/gen-ai-and-tomorrows-professionals-upcoming-webinar
• New practices in GenAI in the UAE: https://clairefield.com.au/what_australian_higher_education_should_be_learning/
• Dr Selena Chan (2025) Artificial Intelligence in VET: Understanding Learner and Teacher Perspectives on the Integration of Generative AI through Participatory Action Research  https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-96-6001-8
• Dr Mark Bassett The S.E.C.U.R.E. GenAI Use Framework for Staff https://secureframework.ai/

Contact Claire:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Claire Field
• Follow me on Bluesky: @clairefield.bsky.social
• Check out the news pages on my website: clairefield.com.au
• Email me at: [email protected]

The ‘What now? What next?’ podcast recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s traditional custodians. In the spirit of reconciliation we are proud to recommend John Briggs Consulting as a leader in Reconciliation and Indigenous engagement. To find out more go to www.johnbriggs.net.au