Curriculum Challenges for Universities Agenda for Change

Professor Jim Nyland is Associate Vice-Chancellor (Queensland) at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), Australia. Prior to this, he held academic appointments at the University of Queensland, Australia, where he was the Director of Corporate Education, and Director of UQ (University of Queensland) Business School Downtown.  Previously, Jim was Manager and Principal Advisor in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office for Engagement at Griffith University, Australia, and has held managerial positions in a number of universities in the United Kingdom. He holds a doctorate in Education and has published research covering curriculum change, the nature of learning, and the impact of modernity on educational opportunity. Jim’s work is international in scope, and he has developed education programs in the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as published keynote academic papers in Ireland, Strasbourg and South Africa. He is particularly interested in extending knowledge and capacities in ‘new learning’, both in work and professional settings, and in communities which are in transition and face challenges. He is President of Engagement Australia, Editor of the new Australian journal Transform: Journal of Engaged Scholarship, and represents Australia on the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy.  

Professor David Davies is Professor Emeritus at the University of Derby, United Kingdom. He has published many works on access, widening participation and equalities over a long period. After researching and teaching in Germany, David worked for the Open University in the United Kingdom and at the universities of Surrey, Cambridge and Derby. He pioneered further and higher education provision, as well as research and the development of new doctoral degrees. He has edited three academic journals and is currently working on university engagement and the significance of literature for social analysis.