Reflecting on What a university is and can do

One of the ways I teach students is via reflection. The student is usually asked what they have achieved, what they aim to achieve in the future and what they will need to do to get to their goals. The university where I teach is now asking itself similar questions. What have been the achievements in the past, what do we aspire to in the near future and what makes us different from others. I have been teaching at the institution for more than a quarter of its life, so am in a reasonable position to suggest some answers.

Past Achievements

Australian universities were, from the start, created to train professionals and conduct useful research. In the act establishing the university, the functions included:

"(a) To encourage, and provide facilities for, post-graduate research and study, both generally and in relation to subjects of national importance to Australia;

(b) To provide facilities for university education for persons who elect to avail themselves of those facilities and, are eligible so to do; and

(c) Subject to the Statutes, to award and confer degrees and diplomas."

The University was originally envisaged having research schools for Medicine,  Physical Sciences, Social Sciences; and Pacific Studies. Another priority was specialist training for the Public Service. 

My university later added undergraduate students and more areas of research and training, but the emphasis remains on research and training for national priorities. Some of this is done formally, such as through the ASD-ANU Co-Lab, where staff from the Australian Signals Directorate work with academics and students to better protect the nation's digital infrastructure. Some is less formal, as when people from the Department of Defence, where I used to work, drop in for some advice. One achievement is that this mostly happens out of public view.

An achievement was that, along with other Australian universities, was the ability to switch over to online learning in a few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I was able to help with this having been trained for such a situation and then being able to train others. Perhaps an equally important achievement is that universities did not throw away this investment in e-learning skills and infrastructure. Universities have made efforts to incorporate the useful aspects of online learning with the campus experience. 

One earlier achievement was the role universities had in establishing the Internet in Australia, educating politicians and key public servants on its use, through what has been called the Internet Cabal.

The Near Future

The immediate challenge for the universities is to redesign leaning and assessment in response to AI. This is not just about stopping student cheating. It is about teaching staff learning how to teach using AI and teach students to use AI. 

A less intimidate challenge is to design programs to suit the needs of today's students. This requires short programs which can be assembled into the equivalent of traditional degrees. It also requires work integrated learning and recognition of prior learning. I learned how to teach and design programs for this in the vocational sector. 

Being Distinctive

The longer term challenge for Australian universities is to get away from comparing themselves with each other. Students seeking an education can increasingly choose more widely, ranging from local vocational institutions, which can now award degrees, to global online universities.

When I decided to affiliate with a university, early in the previous century, I wrote to every one in Canberra. The first to response came within five minutes, with a very simple offer: "Turn up Monday, we have an office for you". The other universities wanted to have meetings, and discuss pay and conditions. It is that flexibility which I suggest is a winning feature for a university. Students should have flexibility in how and what they study. Also, there should be an emphasis on the human element, even with most students studying mostly online. 

When I wanted to learn to teach online (for international students and in case  students could not get to campus), I started locally, then interstate, and finally worldwide. I wanted an education, the quality of which is unrelated to the research conducted at an institution. I started locally, the an Australian regional teaching university, then a similar one in Canada. 

Undergraduate Certificates are not qualifications for dropouts

The media is portraying Swinburne University of Technology's announcement of an Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education Studies, as a qualifications for dropouts. But this is a positive move, which is an extension of current practice by universities. When a student is unable to complete their program of study it has been usual to offer them a lesser qualification. With postgraduates this could be a graduate certificate. But until recently there was no equivalent for undergraduates, the shortest qualification being a diploma (one year of study). With the advent of undergraduate certificates, students can be offered recognition for their effort. 

My preference would be for universities to go further and offer nested qualifications. That is, rather than receiving a generic certificate, they would get a qualification in their specific field. This would be done by designing their program as a certificate, followed by diploma, advanced diploma and then degree. The student would be awarded each without having to withdraw. I have had the wrenching experience of having to decide should I take the qualification now, or go on to further study. I chose to take what I could get, as I suspect many from low SES backgrounds would. 

ACS Statement on Social Media Ban

The Australian Computer Society has issued a statement on the Australian social media ban for children under 16. Among other luminaries I get quoted:

"We should be looking at how AI can help create kid-friendly alternatives. If kids are suddenly forced to go cold turkey, we’re risking some pretty severe mental health consequences. Overnight they lose their main way of connecting with friends, and for many young people that’s the only social connection they have. We could actually end up making things worse. There’s a real opportunity here to partner with tech companies to build a safer alternative, instead of cutting them off completely."

The ban has, surprisingly, effected me personally. Today, on the day the ban took effect, BlueSky has told me I have to verify my age. Presumably this is due to the Australian social media ban for under 16 year olds. This is not entirely clear as the notice (below) refers to verifying I am adult, and 16 year olds are not adults. I can read, but not post, until I do. 

I have not been that impressed with the quality of discussion in Bluesky, not because it has kid-unfriendly material, but is a sort of "X for Democrats", full of US political material. I can do without Bluesky, so for the moment will not be age verifying.

The notice: 

'We have partnered with KWS to verify that you’re an adult. When you click "Begin" below, KWS will check if you have previously verified your age using this email address for other games/services powered by KWS technology. If not, KWS will email you instructions for verifying your age. When you’re done, you'll be brought back to continue using Bluesky.This should only take a few minutes.'

Testing the Saftey of Smart Cars

Ivan Ang

Greetings from the Australian National University, where Ivan Ang is reporting his research on "User-centric Assessment of Robotic Systems via POMDP Planning of Adversaries". What got my attention was applying this to testing car autonomous driving. Recently I purchased a basic compact car. Despite the low cost, it came with a camera and radar for autonomous breaking, adaptive cruse control and lane keeping. I am trusting my life, and those of other road users, to these systems, so how well are they tested? Ivan pointed out that autonomous breaking was tested by pulling a dummy out in the path of the car on a string. The dummy's arms and legs are fixed, as its speed and direction. The developers of the system can optimize it for this test, but it then might do as well with real people. 

Australian Professional Standards Forum

Greetings from the Professional Standards Forum of the Professional Standards Councils. Today's forum is on AI, with Dr Ryan Payne, University of Canberra. 

The councils set professional standards, including computing. In return members of participating organisations have their liability capped. AI creates many challenges for organisations wanting to ensure their members act legally and ethically. 

Dr Payne claimed that NFTs are making a comeback, which I hadn't noticed. He also mentioned a number of other technologies which have been coming real soon for a long time, but which AI will make mainstream. 

Dr Payne claimed that AI had changed the words MPs use in Parliament and drafted in laws. He then touched on doomsday scenarios of AI optimizing human out of existence, or just subtly nudging human behavior. Of course, given governments, individuals and corporations have engaged in crimes against humanity, so could AI be worse? 

Today Meta started suspending the accounts of children, ahead of the Australian ban. It occurs to me that it should be possible to use AI to make a safer social media for children. I worry that in the next few weeks we will have millions of children suffering real pain and at risk of their lives, due to the ban. 

Then we got to play with Lego! Dr Payne used Lego to explain how a Large Learning Model (LLM) works. This was cleaver, as it got us out of the mode of just looking at Powerpoint slides.

New Canberra Innovation Fund

Greetings from the last First Wednesday of the year at Canberra Innovation Network. at Ken Kroeger just pitched ACTivate Capital. He is not exactly new to the process. ;-)

Networking the Old Way

 Greetings from Tasa Cafe at the Australian National University. After dealing with the morning's mail I wandered over for a coffee. On the way one staff member explained the "Quiet Hour" at student services, for those who can't cope with noise. Then I offer a colleague a coffee, but they are off to talk at consulting company about an initiative to recruit and support a more diverse student population. Then I met someone talk at tomorrow's training on dealing with cheating in the age of AI. After coffee I am planning to make a training video, then attended a seminar on AI warfare tactics. The teaching year may be over, but there is still much to do.