President and Vice-Chancellor's Message

By now many of you may know that I have advised Deakin’s Council I will retire on or before the end of my second term as Deakin’s Vice-Chancellor – the exact date will depend on the needs of the next Vice-Chancellor. My decision was a difficult one as we have achieved so much together for Deakin and for our communities.

However the wheel turns for us all and by mid-2019 it will be time for me to think of doing other things, most particularly paying some attention to my husband Jeroen and our two children. In the meantime, it will be business as usual for Deakin and I very much look forward to making progress on what we still need to achieve across this next period.

You will see that this month’s Newsletter includes information on Graduate Insights Survey – we want to hear from you how you believe your Deakin degree has contributed to your career success. I encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the survey. In this time of workplace change when career pathways can seem more like jungle gyms than ladders, your input is important in helping shape Deakin for current and future students. The survey only takes 10 minutes and anyone who completes the survey will go into the draw to win first prize of a Google Home device, or one of five runner up prizes of AU$50 vouchers.

If you are thinking about further study yourself, you might want to consider professional practice credentials from Deakin Co.. Professional Practice Credentials formally recognise the skills and knowledge you develop through your learning and work experience. The credentials are benchmarked against recognised industry skill frameworks and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and are also a great way to earn credit towards a Master’s Degree.

The days are getting shorter and colder, and if you’re looking for something to do on an autumnal May weekend, consider heading down to the Queenscliffe Literary Festival which will be on each weekend throughout May. Deakin is one of the sponsors and the program has something for everyone with writing workshops, master classes and keynote speakers including John Bell and Robert Dessaix.

I do hope you’ll enjoy this April edition of dKin Times. We value your feedback, so please send through any suggestions on what you like and don’t like about the newsletter through to the alumni team.