annual report 2010 Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Australia QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 2010 QUT CAMPUSES Gardens Point 2 George Street GPO Box 2434 Brisbane Qld 4001 Australia Phone +61 7 3138 2000 Kelnin Grove Victoria Park Road Kelvin Grove Qld 4059 Australia Phone +61 7 3138 2000 Caboolture Cnr Manley and Tallon Streets PO Box 1376 Caboolture Qld 4510 Australia Phone +61 7 5316 7400 ISSN 0819-209X ABN 83 791 724 622 CRICOS No. 00213J www.qut.edu.au © 2011 QUT 17470 INTRODUCTCONTENTS ION REPORT OF THE QUT COUNCIL FOR 2010 2 INTRODUCTION FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR 3 QUT’S VISION AND VALUES 4 COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENdaNCE IN 2010 5 GOVERNANCE 6 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 12 HOW WE ARE ORGANISED 14 LEARNING AND TEACHING PLAN 16 RESEARCH AND INNOvaTION PLAN 20 PEOPLE AND CULTURE PLAN 24 FINANCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN 30 INTERNATIONAL STRATEgy 32 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 36 FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE UNIVERSITY 40 SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 42 QUT AND CONTROLLED ENTITIES—FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2010 Income statement 44 Statement of comprehensive income 45 Statement of financial position 46 Statement of changes in equity 47 Statement of cashflows 48 Notes to the financial statements 49 CONTROLLED ENTITIES—­FuNCTIONS AND REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS 105 INTERNATIONAL TRavEL REPORT 106 CONSULTANCY EXPENDITURE 179 CORPORATE INFORmaTION SYSTEMS 179 COUNCIL COmmITTEES MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENdaNCE IN 2010 180 Queensland University Administration Published by The complete QUT 2010 Annual of Technology 2 George Street QUT Marketing and Report, and its component GPO Box 2334 Communication sections, can be downloaded for Brisbane Qld 4001 printing from www.qut.edu.au/ Australia about/university/annrep.jsp Design and production by QUT Visual Communication Phone +61 7 3138 2000 Services ISSN 0819-209X Website qut.edu.au PAGE 1 | QUT ANNUAL REPORT 2010 REPORT OF THE QUT COUNCil FOR 2010 Professor PeterMajor Coaldrake General Vice-Chancellor Peter Arnison I have great pleasure in presenting this report for the year ending December 31, 2010 to the Hon Cameron Dick MP, Minister for Education, and Industrial Relations, as required by the Financial Accountability Act 2009, the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009 and the Annual Report Requirements for Queensland Government Agencies. The report also addresses the requirements of the Australian Government’s Financial Statement Guidelines for Australian Higher Education Providers for the 2010 Reporting Period. A checklist outlining the annual reporting requirements can be accessed at www.qut.edu.au/about/university/ annrep.jsp. In 2010, QUT performed well in a strengthening market across a wide range of courses. International student enrolment growth continued, but was slowed by sectoral and economic conditions. QUT’s focus on quality teaching and innovation was acknowledged by wide-ranging success again in national teaching awards and grants. Supporting this success were strategic investments in teaching and research staff, through the appointment of further key professorial staff and the recruitment and development of a growing cohort of early- to mid-career academics. Initiatives to create challenging and collaborative environments for students to prosper through social learning were boosted by an extensive renovation program of libraries, student spaces and laboratories. The launch of a major new administrative and academic management system, and its integration into an increasingly complex systems environment in late 2010, provided students with a technologically advanced platform for enhanced online services. Solid performance in the major national competitive grant rounds, where QUT dominated the fields of education and creative industries, helped the University build upon its reputation as a selectively intensive research university. Developing research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields became a priority in 2010, with plans announced to establish a major themed institute in the new $230 million Science and Technology Precinct, which is being developed at QUT’s Gardens Point campus and due to open in 2012. These notable ambitions and achievements were underpinned by the University’s strong financial performance and a commitment to best practice in governance and management, for which I acknowledge the contribution of QUT Council members. With diligence and openness, Council has worked with the Vice-Chancellor and University staff to further QUT’s outstanding higher education and research agenda, and I thank Council members for their efforts. I commend this report to all our partners and stakeholders, including staff, students, alumni, donors, the professions, the business community, government, the media, and colleagues in the education and research sectors. Major General (Ret’d) Peter Arnison AC, CVO Chancellor PAGE 2 | QUT ANNUAL REPORT 2010 INTRODUCTION FROM THE VICE-CHANCellOR Professor Peter Coaldrake Vice-Chancellor Over the course of 2010, the aftermath of the global financial crisis was felt both positively and negatively by universities, with increased demand for undergraduate education in the first part of 2010 but lower than expected postgraduate demand, subdued investment returns and slowing of international student demand. During the year, the international student situation deteriorated further as a result of a rising Australian dollar, continued wide reporting of attacks on Indian students, and abrupt and significant changes to Australian policy on skilled migration and the issuing of visas. The Federal Government continued to work on the implementation of its reforms to the higher education sector, a task not advanced by the intervention of a Federal election. Throughout the year, universities individually and collectively worked to inform and respond to the process of policy development while preparing for the transition to a new environment which promised greater deregulation of student numbers alongside new expectations of performance and accountability. This period of change and transition was an opportune one for the University to review and renew its strategic directions in the form of the third QUT Blueprint. The path mapped out by Blueprint 3 extends and refines the trajectory on which QUT has embarked since 2004, and on which significant progress was made during 2010. A key feature of this path is the renewal of the underlying capacity of the University to prepare for a more competitive and challenging future and to provide the staff, resources and facilities needed to lift academic quality, responsiveness and performance. This process of renewal is evident in a number of significant developments during 2010, notably the commencement of the Science and Technology Precinct and Community Hub on our Gardens Point campus, the implementation of a major new Student and Academic Management System, and in the ongoing regeneration of the academic workforce at various levels. With uncertain prospects for economic recovery, continuing evolution of Federal Government policy, and ongoing difficulties in international student markets, it is essential that QUT is able to deploy resources to the best effect, and so close attention was paid during the year to the systems, processes, finances and people needed to support our academic endeavours. While the institution prepared itself for the future, people across the board continued their excellent work. In addition to QUT’s dominance in national awards for teaching, major advances were achieved in research activity, including a record number of competitively awarded fellowships for QUT researchers. Dr Clinton Fookes, from the School of Engineering Systems, was awarded the People’s Choice Award in this year’s prestigious science awards, the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, for his work on biometrics and computer vision. Particular congratulations must also go to James Tilbury, the 2011 Queensland Rhodes Scholar, who will take up study in climate change and development at Oxford University in 2011. These achievements are merely the tip of an iceberg, with the University contributing in a myriad of ways to the development of students, the advancement of knowledge and to the benefit of the community. In a volatile and uncertain climate, QUT remains in a strong, stable and strategically focused position. Our strength, as always, rests on the commitment and performance of the students, staff and alumni of the University and the positive leadership and governance provided by QUT Council. Professor Peter Coaldrake Vice-Chancellor PAGE 3 | QUT ANNUAL REPORT 2010 QUT’S viSION AND valUES The QUT Blueprint is the University’s institutional strategic • a safe, supportive and healthy working environment plan. It stands at the centre of a planning process that is which supports work/life balance underpinned by the QUT Quality Framework and based on • honesty, integrity and ethical behaviour and practices a continuous cycle of Plan/Implement/Review/Improve. The • a spirit of experimentation, innovation, entrepreneurialism QUT Blueprint, initially revised in 2008 to reflect changes in and responsive and reliable client service. the higher education environment, specifies QUT’s vision and values. QUT has been guided by a Reconciliation Statement adopted in 2001 and an Indigenous Education Strategy to make QUT undertook a process to renew the QUT Blueprint in explicit our commitment to improving educational outcomes 2010. This process resulted