1300th OGM and Open Lecture

“Where next for higher education after COVID-19?”

Professor Mark Scott AO FRSN

Vice-Chancellor and Principal
The University of Sydney

Date: Wednesday, 2 February 2022, 6.30 pm AEDT 
Venue: Zoom Webinar. 
Video presentation: YouTube video
All are welcome

Summary:  The COVID-19 pandemic forced dramatic changes to teaching, research and revenue sources for Australian universities. In this talk, the University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Mark Scott AO will discuss how the higher education sector can build on the lessons made in the past two years to deliver transformational teaching and learning and support research that changes the world for good.

As Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Mark Scott AO FRSN leads the University of Sydney’s strategic direction, in close consultation with the Chancellor, senior leaders and the University’s Senate and Academic Board.

Professor Scott is a proud alumnus of the University and holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Diploma of Education, a Master of Arts (Political Science and Government), an Honorary Doctorate (Letters) and a Professor of Practice (Education and Media) from the University of Sydney, as well as a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of NSW and University of Technology Sydney.

In the role of Vice-Chancellor, he is committed to driving transformative change that will support students and staff from all backgrounds to excel and realise their potential, solve the world’s most pressing challenges and secure a prosperous future for the University.

Professor Scott is a highly respected and successful senior leader of large and complex institutions, across public service, education and the media. Under his leadership as Secretary of the NSW Department of Education (2016 to 2021) the Department secured a record 10-year funding agreement for public schools, created School Infrastructure NSW to deliver an additional 160,000 classroom places and established the School Leadership Institute to train and develop aspiring school principals across the state.

His distinguished record of strategic leadership includes a decade as Managing Director of the ABC (2006 to 2016), where he led the organisation’s transformation to be a public broadcaster in the digital era. Over that time, the ABC created new services like iview, News 24, ABC3 and digital radio; and expanded online and mobile services, such as podcasting and ABC News online.

Professor Scott has also held a number of senior editorial roles at Fairfax, including Education Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and Editor-in-Chief of metropolitan, regional and community newspapers. His contribution to education reaches back to the start of his career, as a teacher in Sydney. He built on his interest in education with senior policy and leadership positions with two NSW education ministers – Terry Metherell and Virginia Chadwick – and in 2011 he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia.