Professor Dawn Freshwater: a sense of optimism

It is no exaggeration to say much has happened in the past four months. While the times have been turbulent and dynamic, I am learning just how much there is to admire about the University and its people: staff, students, alumni and supporters.

Recognition of those strengths and attributes comes also from other agencies. In 2019, Times Higher Education (THE) ranked the University of Auckland No. 1 in its first University Impact Rankings of 850 universities from 89 countries. In April, THE released its Impact Rankings for 2020 and the University of Auckland retained its top spot. The rankings are matched against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The University’s performance is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of world-class work done by staff and students.

The Impact Rankings’ focus on sustainability has become even more relevant as we consider what a post-Covid world might look like, and how the enforced ‘pause’ might be used as an opportunity to reshape economies in more sustainable ways.

There is a growing call for countries to use this crisis to radically rethink economic and social models. This includes concerns about increasing reliance on fragile global supply chains, dependence on single countries for essential manufacturing, precarious health systems, and placing too much emphasis on economic growth that puts unsustainable pressure on the environment.

Against this backdrop, the focus of the SDGs on sustainability in its broadest sense has become even more important and relevant. The Impact Rankings demonstrate how universities, such as Auckland, can play a key role in thought leadership, germane research and sustainable operations.

As a civic institution, it is in our remit to provide direction and leadership and to contribute to the solutions needed to weather the Covid-19 environment.

What we do now matters. I am proud of all those contributing innovative solutions and services and inspirational ways to continue to deliver our core business – answering the challenge of taking teaching and learning online for our 40,000-plus students.

Without diminishing the difficulties we all face, and recognising the emotional and financial distress many are experiencing, I believe we can also have a sense of optimism. The future is not inherently dark. We have already seen innovation across a range of sectors. We see our own teams in health and medical sciences and in mathematical modelling respond, and the work around ethical decision-making and morality come to the fore – an integration of disciplines we might not have imagined in the past when we talked of artificial intelligence and automation. And our alumni, now 200,000 strong, have proved equally innovative, bringing skills and expertise to contribute to the civic good, building support networks of peers and providing practical, emotional and financial support to the University’s staff and students.

As we work through the unpredictability of the coming months, I believe there are fantastic opportunities for us all. The future is here, and we are living it.