Vice-Chancellor Iain Martin on Social licence and the future of universities

In this episode, we catch up with Deakin’s Vice-Chancellor, Iain Martin to explore the evolving role of universities. From his beginnings as a medical student in 1980s UK to leading one of Australia's major universities, he explores the delicate balance between education and research, the concept of social licence, and why "ceaseless curiosity" matters more than ever. Read Iain’s white paper on social licence here: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/leadership-and-governance/vice-chancellor/the-social-licence-challenge *Chapters* 0:00 Introduction 0:26 University Experience 3:52 Trust in Universities 5:21 Social Licence and University Purpose 7:36 The Role of Curiosity 8:19 Evolution of Higher Education 11:50 Rankings and Research vs Education 14:10 Balanced Excellence at Deakin 18:04 White Paper on Social Licence 23:45 Universities and Difficult Debates 27:48 Creating Safe Debate Spaces 29:27 Personal Experience with Change 34:57 The Evolution of University Research 40:24 Making Research Accessible 44:05 Deakin Research Highlights 46:06 Why Study at University 48:45 Student Experience and Support 50:16 Advice for New Students 51:50 Improvements in Higher Education 55:37 Quick Fire Questions Please note: The individual views and opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect those of Deakin as an organisation. Deakin is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment where both freedom of speech and academic freedom are vigorously upheld. Our community thrives on diverse opinions and perspectives, with open-minded inquiry and respectful disagreement essential to our university culture. Information provided is as known at time of publishing.