04 December 2014 
Jen Summerton, Executive Director
The annual lecture this year was delivered by Professor Paul Wellings, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, Australia on the evening of Wednesday 26 November, 2014. Prior to this role, he held the position of Vice-Chancellor at Lancaster University.
Prof. Wellings compared the UK and Australian higher education systems, noting some similarities while also outlining major differences between the countries’ geographies and economies.
Discussed in the lecture were issues around widening access, student number caps, expenditure per student and strengthening of innovation. Also noted were the very different industrial structures in place in each country meaning that collaboration between businesses and universities varied. However, the number of researchers placed in higher education in both countries is similar, it was claimed.
The full lecture notes are available via HEPI.
