Outcomes from the Senior Officers’ Meeting held at ANU in September 2023
When they met in September, senior officers exchanged updates and news from their institutions, with a few thematic sessions presented by some of the IARU group leads.
ANU group leads from two of the IARU working groups, Professor Jochen Prantl and Dr Beatrice Bijon presented an update from the Global Transformation Group, highlighting the value of the Borderlands field course in a short film of the participating students. Roxanne Missingham updated senior officers on the work of the Librarians’ Contact Group and their new staff exchange scheme.
A session on student mental health and well-being was led by Dr James Brann, the Head of Student Experience at ANU, with senior officers exploring the idea of establishing an IARU working group on the topic, to share best practices, knowledge and experience. The subject of student mental health is a key concern for many universities and was discussed at the Presidents’ Meeting in January 2023. The proposed working group is viewed as a practical way of taking that conversation forward within the network.
The IARU Secretariat also reported that after a few challenging years, participation in the Global Internship Programme (GIP) and IARU courses was increasing again as observed in the 2023 uptake. Information about the 2024 courses is available here, while the global internship information can be accessed here. Many senior officers felt that education programmes were important for IARU and that articulating the unique strengths of IARU would be an essential part of successfully pursuing external funding.