Engaging for impact nationally and globally

Engagement must be at the heart of Griffith’s way of working. It is through engagement that we play a key role in driving economic, social, environmental, cultural and health benefits for our communities. It is through partnerships that we will be able to produce graduates who are ready for the new world of work and undertake research that tackles the big questions of the future. It is through meaning ful engagements with our local communities and the wider public that we affirm our place as a civic university driven by values.

Over the life of this plan, we will partner strategically for impact at local, national and international levels, and will become even more visible as contributors to public debate, public policy and the cultural life in Australia and beyond.

Domestic engagement

Griffith already partners with a wide range of external parties, including universities and research organisations, alumni, industry, the professions, government, community and cultural organisations, hospitals and health organisations, and schools. Those partnerships will be critical for us in the future in helping to create opportunities for our students, including supporting them into employment, and providing research partnerships.

We are also deeply engaged members of our community, enhancing the quality of public debate and contributing to public cultural life of our communities.

Over the life of the strategy, we will focus attention on several key types of partnership and will strive to make Griffith easier to work with, more responsive to the needs of our partners, and more agile.

Engagement opportunities of particular importance over the life of the strategy include:

• Partnerships that allow us to carry out large-scale research with a focus on end-user impact. Each Griffith Beacon will need to have a strategy for partnering both domestically and internationally, and we will work cooperatively with other universities on major projects and funding proposals.
• Relationships with governments, international institutions and policymakers to assist informed decision-making and involvement in the delivery of transformational projects. Griffith will build on its existing strength in these areas at all levels of Australian government and internationally.
• Partnerships with employers and entrepreneurs to ensure that our curriculum meets the needs of the workforce, that our teaching is enriched by regular engagement with employers, and that our students have the skills and knowledge to thrive in the new economy.
• Strong engagement with our alumni and supporters to ensure that they continue to be part of the Griffith community and benefit from being so, and contribute to Griffith’s success as ambassadors, mentors, advisers and donors.

International engagement

Griffith’s founders had the foresight to recognise that Australia’s future would be closely tied to Asia’s fortunes. We know that the coming decades will require us to continue to engage ourselves in Asia while becoming a global university with an international reputation for high-quality education and research.

Griffith is determined to remain one of Australia’s most Asia- engaged universities through a range of student experiences, existing and new university partnerships, and a deepening of our Asian research. We will strengthen our historical position as a trusted source of expertise on Asia with an emphasis on trade and business. We will work actively with both the Queensland and Australian governments to provide the support, advice and knowledge base that will help our businesses to thrive in Asia and to produce graduates who are ready to succeed in an Australia that is economically engaged with our Asian partners.

The University will develop a strategic plan for a full range of international partnerships and engagement with core countries within Asia and beyond. This will lead to the development of a key strategic international university partner in six countries—four of them in Asia–Pacific and two beyond—with sustained investment to allow for the development of university-level ties in areas including student mobility, PhD programs, research, and joint teaching programs.

Key actions

By 2025, we will:

• Develop stronger links with industry through the creation of a new category of academic staff—professors of practice—who have achieved significant career success outside universities and who will focus on external partnerships and obtaining industry funding.
• Increase coordination around opportunities to engage students directly with employers (e.g. through internships, clinical programs and project-based learning) by creating a visible and easy-to-use ‘front door’ to the University for employers.
• Launch a philanthropic campaign for our 50th anniversary based on sustained relationship building with our alumni and key supporters.
• Adopt a stronger, more professional and better-coordinated interface with all tiers of government.
• Create a new research and public policy hub on Asian trade and business to strengthen our credentials as a leading source of Asian expertise for the public and private sectors in Australia.
• Develop a comprehensive international partner strategy that will allow us to work more strategically with key international collaborators including our major existing partners.
• Develop a strategy for raising the reputation and profile of Griffith, internationally and nationally.

Key outcomes

By 2025, we will:

• Have at least 10 professors of practice spread across all academic groups.
• Increase research income and evidence of research impact and engagement through partnerships.
• Establish whole-of-university partnerships with six key international partner universities or institutions, including four in the Asia–Pacific region.
• Have created a new hub of research and engagement with issues of business and trade with the Asia–Pacific that has demonstrated value at state and national levels.
• Increase our reputation in key international rankings.