Engagement Australia Conference 2025 Wrap-Up

Transformational Partnerships: Creating Lasting Impact
22–23 July |  The University of Queensland, St Lucia

The 2025 Engagement Australia Conference brought together over 140 leaders from across higher education, government, philanthropy, and the community sector to ask one bold question: How do universities build and sustain transformational partnerships for lasting impact?

Held at The University of Queensland and hosted in partnership with UQ’s Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement), the event was framed by a national and global context in which public trust in institutions—including universities—is under pressure. Over two days, the conference delivered a compelling case for reasserting the civic and democratic purpose of higher education through meaningful engagement.

A Call to Purpose: “What Are We Good For?”

The conference opened with a powerful keynote from Professor Deborah Terry AC, Vice-Chancellor of UQ, who invited the sector to move beyond a focus on excellence toward a renewed focus on purpose. Drawing on the work of Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels, Terry posed the question: What do universities owe democracy?

She argued that the social licence of universities must be earned—not assumed—and that transformational partnerships must reflect not only what universities are good at, but what they are good for. Her framing of engagement as central to institutional identity—not peripheral—resonated throughout the program.

A Timely Panel: Universities & Social Licence

One of the most impactful sessions, moderated by Martin Betts (HEDx), explored the theme Universities and Social Licence: Local Voices and Global Forces. The panel featured:

• Verity Firth (UNSW and Accord Implementation Panel), who emphasised the opportunity of mission-based compacts and the Carnegie Elective Classification to measure and differentiate genuine community impact;
• Luke Sheehy (CEO, Universities Australia), who argued that while trust in universities remains higher than many believe, we must do more to translate that trust into public understanding and shared purpose;
• Georgina Downer (Robert Menzies Institute), who called for broader civic engagement, particularly with communities often disengaged from higher education, and highlighted concerns around free speech and ideological inclusion.

Together, the panelists modelled the kind of honest, pluralistic dialogue needed to confront the question of social licence across ideological divides.

Key Milestones: Launch of Carnegie Classification Round 2

Engagement Australia officially launched the second round of the Australian Carnegie Community Engagement Elective Classification, with applications open until November 2025. The Carnegie Classification continues to offer a rigorous, international framework for recognising universities that place engagement at the heart of their mission and institutional practice. Successful applicants will be recognised at the 2026 Engagement Australia Excellence Awards.

From Policy to Practice: Regional, Indigenous and Global Engagement

Across the program, panels and workshops showcased:

• Community-embedded research from Griffith, USQ, RMIT, La Trobe, and Logan Together;
• Indigenous-led sessions on self-determination, ethical engagement, and knowledge sovereignty;
• International partnerships across the Pacific, including university development in Solomon Islands and Fiji;
• A dynamic focus on shared governance, civic renewal, and impact measurement.

These sessions demonstrated that transformational partnerships are already underway—and that impact is most lasting when communities help design and lead the work.

Conference Outcomes: Rebuilding Trust, Reclaiming Purpose

The conference generated five clear takeaways for the higher education sector:

1. Purpose over prestige – Engagement must be embedded in our strategic missions, not treated as peripheral to academic or research outcomes.
2. Measurement matters – Tools like Carnegie and social mobility indexes are essential to evidencing and rewarding community impact.
3. Engagement across divides – Trust depends on active listening across political, cultural, and geographic communities.
4. Global insights, local action – From civic education in Singapore to mission compacts in the Accord, Australia can lead by localising international best practice.
5. Policy alignment – With the Accord reforms and Skills Agreement underway, the time is now to lock engagement into the national architecture of higher education.

Engagement Australia thanks our hosts at The University of Queensland, our speakers and panelists, and the many delegates who brought insight, challenge, and vision to this conference. We look forward to building on this momentum as institutions continue to shape their engagement strategies, pursue Carnegie recognition, and centre social licence in all they do.