ÌÇÐÄVlog

Being the third wheel to a celebrated marriage might make some feel small. For the boss of Flinders University, it means his institution has ¡°come of age¡±.

¡°We¡¯re about to become the oldest university in the state,¡± said vice-chancellor Colin Stirling. ¡°We¡¯ll have to wear that mantle of seniority.¡±

Flinders¡¯ establishment in 1966 came almost a century after the 1874 formation of the University of Adelaide ¨C Australia¡¯²õ third oldest ¨C and 25 years before the arrival of the University of South Australia (UniSA), which soon became the state¡¯²õ biggest. Now, the venerated elder and the plus-sized upstart are joining forces in one of the biggest university mergers in global history.

The fledgling Adelaide University, which became a legislated entity in 2024, formally absorbed staff from the two constituent institutions in May and will commence classes next February.

But Flinders never entertained the notion of joining its cross-town rivals. ¡°Good luck to them,¡± Stirling said. ¡°We¡¯re focused completely on our own strategy. We were kind of born to be a bit of a rebel [and] always have done things a little bit differently. Students need choice. We¡¯ll make ourselves a very, very strong choice. It¡¯²õ¡­easier to differentiate ourselves from one institution than from two rather different ones.¡±

Flinders has been differentiating itself for more than half a century. In 1974, it opened Australia¡¯²õ first medical school wholly embedded in a teaching hospital. It broke the mould again in 1996, launching Australia¡¯²õ first four-year graduate-entry medical programme.

¡°People¡­tell me they got a chance at Flinders when they couldn¡¯t get into any other university because they were two or three years too old,¡± Stirling said. ¡°Flinders has always been a place that has opened its doors to people with talent and given them an opportunity. We¡¯ve always had a real focus on equity and students and their success.¡±

The university claimed joint 21st place overall in ÌÇÐÄVlog¡¯²õ Impact Rankings and was ranked second in the world for its efforts to reduce inequality. It also scores highly for equity in Department of Education statistics. Some 23 per cent of its domestic students come from the most disadvantaged quartile of neighbourhoods ¨C well above the sector average of less than 17 per cent.

But UniSA does better, at 26 per cent. Stirling said that was partly?because of geography. Flinders is located in Adelaide¡¯²õ relatively affluent south, while UniSA¡¯²õ campuses in the central business district and suburban Mawson Lakes are much closer to northern hubs like Elizabeth and Salisbury, which rank among Australia¡¯²õ most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Stirling said 45 per cent of students at Flinders¡¯ new city campus, which opened in early 2024, came from low socio-economic districts. ¡°We knew that¡­students from the northern suburbs were interested in coming to us, but when they looked at how they were going to get to us, it was all too hard. They¡¯re now coming because we¡¯re in a convenient location. A new demographic has access to Flinders.¡±

He credited the new campus for ¡°massive¡± 14 per cent growth in Flinders¡¯ domestic commencements this year. ¡°Perhaps we¡¯re taking a slice of someone else¡¯²õ pie, but we¡¯re also growing the pie. The northern suburbs¡­have the lowest participation rates.¡±

According to the latest available statistics, Flinders also enrols more postgraduate students than any other South Australian university. It earns more money from competitive research grants than any Australian institution outside the Group of Eight research-intensive universities. And the proportion of its revenue that comes from competitive research grants is the second highest in the sector.

Flinders also earned equal fifth place for gender equality in the Impact Rankings. Stirling said both professors and senior professional staff were evenly split on gender lines. ¡°We¡¯ve had a real focus on ensuring¡­that women, in particular, are being considered for and getting put forward for promotions.¡±

The university takes the same approach with students. Flinders¡¯ drafts hundreds of schoolgirls from all over South Australia and the Northern Territory for intensive workshops led by female engineers and scientists.

Stirling said young women¡¯²õ reluctance to study STEM at school was denying them opportunities in a state likely to be the epicentre of Australia¡¯²õ future submarine programme.

¡°A hundred per cent of our engineering graduates get a job straight away,¡± he said. ¡°If they¡¯re all men, well, there¡¯²õ another element of gender inequity. High-paying, lucrative jobs ¨C and not enough women have access to them because they¡¯re not studying STEM in school.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com