Greetings from The University of Sydney

As the oldest university in Australia, The University of Sydney has stood for more than 170 years and has consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. We have recently been thinking about our future as well as how we can make our work more compelling and more important to society.

Looking at the great pressing challenges the world will face over the next decade – climate change, energy transition, pandemics, gender equality, the resilience of democracy, the search for evidence and truth, and more – it is easy to see how large, comprehensive universities like Sydney have so much to offer.

A focus of our work in recent years has been on pulling together teams from different disciplines across our institution to bring about new ideas and discoveries. Everywhere you turn at Sydney, you see cross-disciplinary teams – like at the Charles Perkins Centre, Brain and Mind Centre and Sydney Nano – pressing for insights, driving for discovery and preparing the next generation of leaders to take us through the great challenges ahead.

This shift hasn’t always come naturally as partnerships and cross-disciplinary work is not innate in our higher education culture. We have had to work hard to develop and strengthen our capabilities of cooperation and collaboration. We do this because we know that much of the important work to be done in the years ahead will come through partnerships not just across our university, but also with other Australian universities and research institutes, with industry and philanthropic partners, with our large worldwide alumni community and with other great global universities.

In an era where top universities will need to be truly international in their outlook, ambition and capability, we must use opportunities like this summit to learn from each other about best practice in partnership and to find ways to ensure our universities can thrive through working together, generously and collegially.

I look forward to welcoming you to Sydney in 2023.

Professor Mark Scott

President and vice-chancellor

The University of Sydney

400

areas of study

73,000

students

380,000

alumni

About The University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is one of the world’s leading, comprehensive research and teaching universities. Our campuses stand on the ancestral lands of Australia's First Peoples. We offer an exceptional range of disciplines – more than 400 areas of study – and our community includes more than 73,000 students, 8,100 permanent and fixed-term staff and 380,000 alumni in over 170 countries.

Leadership has always been at the core of our values. We were one of the first universities in the world to admit students solely on academic merit. Our aim is to make lives better not just by producing leaders of society, but by equipping our people with the qualities that empower them to contribute to the common good.

In creating the first university in Australia in 1850, our founders recognised the transformative power of education and research to improve the lives of the communities we serve. We hold that belief just as strongly today, and it is deeply embedded in our 10-year strategic vision for the university.

Currently ranked 54th in the THE World University Rankings 2023, The University of Sydney also ranks consistently among the top universities in the world.

Multidisciplinary research excellence

Our research is driven by our commitment to building a better world. From combating the world’s deadliest diseases to inventing tiny devices that make a super-sized difference to computing, we excel in innovative collaboration.

Supported by more than 90 research centres, our researchers are finding solutions to the world’s greatest challenges – and many others – by changing the way they look at them, leveraging our deep disciplinary expertise and partnering across institutions and government.

We work with the best companies – including Microsoft, GE and Qantas – to generate products, systems and services that benefit the communities we serve locally, nationally and globally.

A distinctive education

With world-class teaching and learning, state-of-the-art facilities and a vibrant campus life, Sydney is a place where students can attain widely recognised and respected qualifications.

We recognise that the future of work will be very different, so it’s our ambition that every University of Sydney student will complete their degree with the confidence and ability to think critically, collaborate productively and influence the world.

We are committed to continuing our educational innovation to meet changing workforce needs, developing our suite of short courses, micro-credentials, and online offerings to support lifelong learning.

 Visit Sydney's website