by: Dianne van Eck

Well this is it! End of 2025 is coming up fast. Hello everyone, I hope you are well.

We have had lots of activity at DVE since my last update to you. From communicating best practice via our webinars to managing critical projects for our clients, to engagement across the sector on how to improve work, processes, roles and systems, the DVE team has been fully engaged and enjoying every moment.

There have been quite a few negative news articles about the Higher Education sector during 2025, particularly focused on the uncertainty of international student numbers and the impact on institution budgets, Vice Chancellor and senior staff salaries, university restructures and high numbers of sector job losses. At times it can be quite depressing to read. So I thought I’d do a search on Linked In and search for some good news stories. Here’s what I found:

• Flinders University has developed a new student portal
• The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) has expanded their Clinical Trials facility at Morayfield
• UNSW is building a new campus in Canberra

Expert Council on University Governance in Australian Higher Education releases final report and principles.

On 17 October 2025, the Education Ministers Meeting considered the Final Report and Principles of the Expert Council on University Governance.

The Final Report includes Principles, Recommendations, key findings and commentary that will provide a strong basis for strengthening and improving university governance across Australia’s public universities

Prof Kerri Lee Krause summarises the following from the report: (source Linked In)
📍5 priorities for rebuilding trust in universities and their governance (p.27):
i. Leadership and culture ii. Accountability iii. Inclusion and engagement iv. Transparency v. Remuneration of Vice-Chancellors
📍8 principles for strengthening and continuously improving university governance (p.39): i. Accountability ii. Diversity of perspectives iii. Independence iv. Transparency v. Trustworthy vi. Inclusive + responsive vii. Sustainable viii. Responsible
📍At the end of the day: ‘strengthening culture is key to sustainably lifting the governance performance of universities’ (Cilento, p.2).

I think some universities need to take account of this report very closely.

Tertiary Harmonisation

It was great to read, as posted on Linked In by Prof Barney Glover AO in October, that Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) and the University of Canberra have announced their seven guaranteed pathways to make it easier for students to move between vocational and higher education. As Prof Pascale Quester noted ‘An excellent approach and one which the dual sectors, including Swinburne, have led for some time. Good ideas, as they say, eventually get noticed!’

Professor Denise Bradley at UniSA City West Campus, 2003

This is indeed true, however, the idea of establishing formal pathways from vocational to higher education was implemented at UniSA in the early 2000s between TAFE SA and the University. Prof Denise Bradley AC, trailblazer of her era, led the way in the then, innovative approach to help students achieve success in their higher education studies.

For further information about the current Federal government program, read the Tertiary Harmonisation Report.

AI and Higher Education

A new collection of essays,  AI and the Future of Universities  (HEPI Report 193) edited by Dr Giles Carden and Josh Freeman, brings together leading voices from universities, industry and policy. The collection comes at a point when Artificial Intelligence (AI) is projected to have a profound and transformative impact on virtually every sector of society and the economy, driving changes that are both beneficial and challenging. The various pieces look at how AI is reshaping higher education – from strategy, teaching and assessment to research and professional services. (sourced 23 October 2025).

DVE continues to explore ways to utilise AI to improve processes, both internally and for our clients. Despite recent press about some consultancies using AI to deliver findings and reports, DVE is committed to honest and ethical use of AI in DVE projects.

Adelaide University

It’s almost time! The University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia will formally merge to create Adelaide University at the beginning of 2026. This has been a long and interesting program of work with many stakeholders involved to ensure all activities will transition well into the new university. It may feel somewhat like Y2K for some people! DVE has worked alongside several teams during the past 18 months to bring together structures, processes and roles in key areas. It has been wonderful to see the goodwill of so many staff from across both universities working hard to make this change as seamless as possible. Good luck to you all and see you in 2026!

Placements/WIL Communities of Practice (CoP)

Our 3rd Community of Practice (CoP) was held in September. Unfortunately I was unable to facilitate this session so Managing Consultant Larissa Pearce faciliated discussion about placement/WIL activities across the sector.

DVE CEO, Jo Schneider then demonstrated the placement/WIL management system, Placements Plus (P+) . This new, modern system will empower your institution with a modern, configurable SaaS platform that streamlines compliance, communication, accommodation, transport, events and reporting.

Co-designed by users from two universities over the past 15 years, P+ adds high quality value to placement management. P+ is a flexible, purpose-built solution with the user in mind, that supports placement needs across rural, remote, and urban settings. It is highly adaptable and would be well suited to Business, Law, Engineering, Social Work, Psychology, Education, Health and other disciplines.

This quarter also brought exciting news– Jo was awarded a $60,000 Fearless Innovator Grant for 2025, recognising her leadership in developing innovative, technology-enabled solutions for the higher education sector. The grant will help further strengthen DVE’s work in advancing placement and WIL systems across Australian universities. 

Contact Jo today for further information about Placements Plus. Jo.Schneider@dvesolutions.com.au

The DVE Team continues to grow

DVE has recruited two more experienced consultants to the DVE team. Chris Bishop, previously Director College Services at the College of Science and Engineering and prior to that the College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University.

Chris’s experience as a successful and contemporary executive leader at GM/Director and CEO levels with extensive Education, Not-for Profit, Commercial and Government experience. Chris has an MBA, Engineering Degree and an AICD Diploma. His expertise and skills include organisational development and growth, leading large (300+) staff teams, enterprise wide and local change management, business development, contract management and negotiation, government relations and stakeholder management, strategic and business planning, corporate governance and financial management ($40 million+ per annum budgets) and risk management.

Chris has been a DVE Client whilst working in both Colleges and will now sit on the other side of the desk to provide services back to the sector. It will be great working with Chris, particulaly with his deep knowledge of College/Faculty/School operations in HE. If you would like to chat to Chris he can be contacted at chris.bishop@dvesolutions.com.au.

Also joining DVE is Matthew Hodge, technical developer supporting the Digital Transformation team. Matthew, or ‘Hodge’ as he is the second Matthew at DVE, is an experienced Full Stack Developer with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and consulting industry. Matt is skilled in various technologies with a Bachelor of Computing (BComp) focused in Programming from Monash University. Hodge will work with Matt Brown and the team building and implementing Placements Plus.

It’s exciting seeing the DVE team grow as our solutions continue to be implemented across the sector.

DVE Webinars

During the past several months, DVE has presented a selection of webinars, supported by experts across the sector. The following webinar recordings are now available:

• Shifting Sands: How technology is changing the way students choose a university. A conversation with Rob Malicki.
• What You Need to Know to Register as an Institute of Higher Education in Australia
• From Policy to Practice: Aged Care Compliance in Action Webinar

Follow DVE Solutions on LinkedIn for updates and details on upcoming sessions.

Conferences

The ATEM 2025 IMPACT Conferencee was held on 7 – 10 September in Canberra with ANU as the ATEM Conference partner. By all accounts it was a great success with many networking and learning opportunities provided.

The 2025 Heads of Student Administration (HOSA) conference was held in Christchurch, New Zealand in early September, also providing opportunities for networking and sharing of best practice across the leaders of student administration and services.

DVE is a SILVER sponsor of the NAFEA 2025 Conference: The WIL Effect. Shaping the Future World of Work
, to be held in Geelong, Victoria on 29 – 31 October. CEO, Jo Schneider and Managing Consultant, Larissa Pearce will be co-presenting a workshop with Flinders University Director of Graduate Career Readiness, Nalini Klopp titled ‘Beyond the Checklist: Embedding Risk Visibility, Safety and Wellbeing into Rural WIL Systems’. The workshop will leverage insights from DVE’s 2nd sector-wide WIL survey which is due to be released any day now. If you would like to receive a copy please email info@dvesolutions.com.au using the subject line ‘Requesting WIL Survey Link’.

Tommy adventures and puppy spam!

Tommy turned 3 on Sept 1 and the fun with this little guy just continues. He loves sharing things, jumping on anything and everything, running very fast (look out Oma!), reading and playing with cars and trucks. Tommy also has a new little sister (the furry kind) a Cavoodle named Chloe who is just adorable. They are having a lot of fun together. Some latest pics.

Thank you for taking the time to stay connected. If you would like to catch up for an online or in person coffee at any time, please contact me on 0412 417774.

All the very best for the next quarter of 2025.

Warm regards.

Di
Dianne van Eck
Director Higher Education