From the Vice-Chancellor

The summer recess is a time of rest for many, but not for the University.

For many academic staff, it is often a busy time, when they make the most of the non-teaching period to focus on their research, undertake fieldwork interstate and overseas, and plan for the year ahead.

Meanwhile, our newest students engage in their first Melbourne learning experience during the break: the Melbourne Summer Reading program encourages first-year undergraduates to buy and read The Boat by alumnus Nam Le.

When classes start, the students are invited to meet their new classmates and discuss the book, spurring reflection, debate and, often, new friendships.

The University also increases its engagement with the wider Melbourne community by running a large range of summer programs in January and February.

Classes range from the annual Classics Summer School, which sees participants explore the ancient world, to drama, film-making and music courses at the Faculty of the VCA and Music, and Chinese classes for students of all proficiency levels at the University’s Confucius Institute.

Such programs give many people who may not otherwise engage with the University an opportunity to access the wealth of teaching talent and learning opportunities available here. Members of the public, students from other institutions, and VCE students come together to experience study at the University of Melbourne.

For the VCE students in particular, the Melbourne University Student Union’s annual summer school, run every year since 1971, may be the first of many University experiences. The course gives participants the chance to take part in a range of activities and workshops and to hear from guest speakers.

Participation helps to broaden students’ interests and encourage academic learning and personal development. Because the volunteer tutors are undergraduates, the participants also gain an understanding of tertiary study.

These students, who are so motivated that they sacrifice the last portion of their holidays to prepare for Year 12, are often welcomed to the University as undergraduates the following year.

And while these formal programs are running, the summer recess also gives the local community the chance to explore the University’s many cultural programs, including plays at the Melbourne Theatre Company, exhibitions at the University’s Ian Potter Museum of Art and in the Baillieu Library, and its sponsorship of the annual Sidney Myer Free Concerts at the Myer Music Bowl.

Glyn Davis
Vice-Chancellor