This third entry on the matter – Italy – Florence and Rome in particular - further supported the notion of WFA but with some new considerations that would enhance the process and ensure high levels of communication and support in relation to the Sydney/Melbourne headquarters.…

Amazing new AI bots are now able to convincingly write cogent academic essays and assist in penning other student assignment tasks. The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has caused consternation in a higher education environment already struggling to sustain its own relevance and credibility and the first jerk of the knee response by Australia’s GO8 has been to foreshadow a return to paper and pen examinations.…

If I needed convincing that I am working in the 21st century, my time at wework has convinced me of a new paradigm at work and about work, and I like it! We have all no doubt heard of the working environments pioneered by Apple, Microsoft and the other Californian tech companies where bean bags replaced office chairs and open hot desks replaced closed in work stations.…

Heeding advice – for academics and tertiary administrators alike – is often difficult. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that teachers (current and previous) are so accustomed to telling – they are often not listening.…

The challenge of working from a country where English was not the dominant language loomed and was grabbed with relish. Is it possible to effectively operate from foreign quarters (France/Paris) and maintain the very levels of communication and operation needed? In short – quite straight forward for many reasons.…

Gone are the days when a wrist watch was only used to tell the time – and possibly show the date. These days you can receive phone calls and text messages – just to name a few things you can do – on your smart watch which is all part of the new reality.…

We wrote about ‘things never being the same’ and the fact that COVID-19 was in so many ways an accelerant for digital developments both at home and across the planet. The developments have been significant – even in my small world.…

We are beginning to see evidence of panic around the topic of cheating across the sector – initially noted as breaches in academic integrity – but now just called out as ‘cheating’! If we believe everything we read (and that is probably not a good idea) it has reached epidemic proportions – and is running rife especially in our universities. To be honest it is not a new phenomenon as is being made out. The new obsession is simply highlighting what has already existed for decades. If you go looking hard enough for something – you will surely find it.…

The ‘new normal’ has been explained away – suggesting that the changes that have occurred and reframed our working lives in particular are now normal. The term ‘new reality’ is probably more fitting as we stretch and yawn our way out of the COVID-19 scenario and take stock of the new environment we have created and are now living within.…

There is much talk about the idea of mandating the return of students to campus – in fact a number of providers (both public and private) have attempted such a thing – with varying success. The practice is essentially doomed and is most certainly fraught with potentially dangerous outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic – spoiler alert – is not over. In fact, there are more cases of COVID-19 (and its various strains) now than ever before. The potential for infection – particularly enhanced by large groupings in small spaces - is ever-present.…