'Multi-faceted: supporting diversity aspirations in UK higher education' talk by Tricia Wombell from the Leadership Foundation  for Higher Education, on Monday 23 February 2015.

For more about the ACU's Perspectives speaker series, please visit our website: www.acu.ac.uk/perspectives

ACU Perspectives #6 - Tricia Wombell

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Scientific Adviser for the UK Department of Health, delivered an insightful ACU Perspectives talk on the topic of Ebola and global health security. The event took place on Monday 30 March at the Wellcome Collection in London, UK, and assembled an audience of academics, medical researchers, and higher education professionals.

Dame Sally took delegates through the history of Ebola, from the discovery of the virus in 1976 to the most recent outbreak that started in Guinea in December 2013. She discussed how, due to the unprecedented nature of the outbreak, the outcome relied on the response not just of governments and supranational organisations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organisation, but also of industry, academia and the non-profit sector. She said the crisis in Western Africa raised profound questions about how all sectors must work together to protect the world's population from infectious diseases, and particularly how research can influence policy.

Dame Sally examined the challenges and opportunities of working with industry and academia to develop and trial new vaccines and treatments, as well as the importance of scientific advice to government – even when the content of this may be uncomfortable for policymakers.

The photos of the talk are available on our Flickr account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_acu/sets/72157649341886604/), and the video will be published shortly on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/ACUviews).

ACU Perspectives:
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) hosts a regular speaker series – ACU Perspectives – on the broad theme of change and opportunity in higher education. These free events are held in London, and the audience comprises higher education professionals, academics, and policymakers. Read more at https://www.acu.ac.uk/perspectives

ACU Perspectives #7 - Professor Dame Sally Davies

Professor Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, gave a keynote address at the 2015 ACU SARIMA conference in South Africa.

He said: 'I think all global challenges that we’ve ever faced actually going back throughout history ultimately have always been solved by some sort of research and some sort of innovation.

'If you go back to the Middle Ages; if you go back to the 19th century; if you go back to today, all of the challenges we face will be solved by further investment in research and in the innovation that comes from it.'

Audio collected and edited by Nolwandle Zondi 


Role of research and innovation in tackling global challenges, by Professor Farrar

The eighth ACU Perspectives event saw Datin Dr Siti Hamisah, Deputy Director General of the Malaysian Department of Higher Education, give an engaging talk on the Malaysian higher education blueprint. 

The informal event saw academics, Commonwealth education experts, Malaysian scholars, and higher education professionals come together, to hear how the student-centred approach detailed in the strategy will influence and shape higher education in Malaysia.

The event, titled ‘A strategy for the next decade of
Malaysian higher education’, was held on Tuesday 19 January 2016 at Friends House in central London. The photos of the talk are available on our Flickr account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_acu/sets/72157663730588536), and the presentation slides are available on our website (https://www.acu.ac.uk/events/perspectives/datin-siti-hamisah-presentation).

Read more about the evening at https://www.acu.ac.uk/news/view?id=135&x[0]=news/list

ACU Perspectives:
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) hosts a regular speaker series – ACU Perspectives – on the broad theme of change and opportunity in higher education. These free events are held in London, and the audience comprises higher education professionals, academics, and policymakers. Read more at www.acu.ac.uk/perspectives

ACU Perspectives #8 - Datin Ir Dr Siti Hamisah binti Tapsir

The ninth ACU Perspectives event saw Dr Helen Rawson, Registered Nurse and Research Fellow at Deakin University in Australia, give an engaging talk on the theme: 'Is higher education enabling students to fulfil their civic responsibilities as future professionals in a global society?'

Dr Rawson discussed how, in today's globalised world, graduates need to enter the workforce with a sound knowledge of cultural values, beliefs, practices, and attitudes if they are to respond effectively to the needs of society.

The event was held on Thursday 14 July 2016 at De Morgan House in central London, UK.

This talk should be listened to in conjunction with the Powerpoint slides at https://www.acu.ac.uk/events/perspectives/rawson-presentation

Read more about the ACU Perspectives speaker series at https://www.acu.ac.uk/events/perspectives/

ACU Perspectives #9 - Dr Helen Rawson

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