Maharey calls for universities rethink
Departing Massey University vicechancellor Steve Maharey is calling for a rethink on tertiary education to meet the challenges of a changing world.
‘‘It’s time for a serious re-look at the policy environment that universities operate in,’’ he said.
‘‘There are big drivers in our world that will mean tertiary education will have to change, and that’s not happening at the moment, the constraints are too big.’’
After eight years at the helm of Massey, the former politician is bowing out with warnings about gaps in the system.
The focus of the university system was on school leavers studying fulltime, he said.
‘‘Yet we’re talking about the future of work meaning people will have to retrain in jobs a few times in their life at the least.
‘‘We’re funded on people completing their degree, but a number of people would say to us ‘can I just refresh my knowledge by studying a part of a degree?’
‘‘If you’re 40 and you really want six months of study to refresh your skills then you probably haven’t got time to do three or four years’ study. So you need to have things packaged in a different way.’’
This also applied to international students, who now had more good-quality global options. New Zealand needed to solidify its position in international education before important ground was lost, he said.
‘‘More investment is going to be essential.’’
He was most proud of Massey developing a stronger identity under his leadership.
‘‘The 21st century will belong to universities that show they’ve got something different to offer. Universities need to mark out what do they teach that’s distinctively their strength, and what do they research that’s distinctively their strength, because in a very crowded world that’s where our reputation lies – and we’ve been doing that over the last eight years.
‘‘We’ve been encouraging academics to mark out where they think we’re doing something that’s special. You could point at our strength in design or disaster management, we’re the No 1 journalism school in the country ... vet medicine, food systems, sport, innovation in the sense of ideas from science through to business application.’’
Maharey became vicechancellor in 2008 after an 18-year stint as Palmerston North MP, which included being an influential figure in Helen Clark’s Labour Government. But his relationship with Massey goes back further, to his decision to go back to night school to gain UE, then to earn a sociology degree and masters and reaching the role of senior lecturer in sociology at Massey.
Gains had lately been made in strengthening Massey’s relationship with Palmerston North city, he said.
‘‘We need to be more regionally committed to international education.
‘‘We can offer things like safety, a great experience while you’re studying, living in a small cosmopolitan town like Palmerston North with 100 different cultures so you don’t feel out of place when you come here – where people actually welcome you into their homes – those are things that you can’t reproduce elsewhere, either.’’
The Worldwide project founded two years ago to offer Massey education offshore could double the number of students studying via the Palmerston North campus, he said.
‘‘We need to be strategic. I think the numbers of people who shift country to study won’t rise as rapidly as the number of people who will learn in an online or blended environment.
‘‘They may never come to New Zealand, so we work with them online and then give them face-toface experiences – say running a block course in Singapore, and they come to us.’’
Maharey wrapped up his last days at the Palmerston North campus last week, and is looking forward to taking some time off.
He is ‘‘not tempted in the slightest’’ to return to politics, and hopes to find new roles in governance for public and private organisations.