Words from James A. McWha, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide

It's probably not the best time to be travelling in the world, but as I mentioned in my last column there are some important events that deserve attention: our graduation ceremonies in Malaysia and Singapore, and a meeting of the International Association of University Presidents in Portugal.

While division among world leaders is deepening and tensions are growing, I firmly believe that people all around the world have a unique capacity to come together in difficult times. This is why attending these events is now more important than ever. The ability to develop knowledge and to use that knowledge for the betterment of our communities is something that we all share.

The late Ong Teng Cheong, former President of Singapore and a graduate of the University of Adelaide, believed very strongly that education was not only of great benefit to individuals, but that it could be utilised for the benefit of society in general. This is something that I want all of our graduates to reflect in one way or another as they use their new-found knowledge in their lives and go about their careers.

The graduations in Malaysia and Singapore reinforce the long-lasting ties that exist between these countries and Adelaide, and enable graduates to look back on their experiences (educational and otherwise) of Adelaide. They should also be a reminder of the shared responsibility we have as citizens of our own countries and citizens of the world to work together to achieve a desired outcome.

On the subject of Singapore, I congratulate the Singapore Government for formally recognising our medical students' qualifications. Our Medical School has been working very hard to achieve this, and I believe it will result in some very strong benefits-both for Singaporean students wanting to study medicine at Adelaide, and for the medical institutions in Singapore who wish to hire our graduates. We are, after all, working together to achieve a desired outcome.

From Singapore we headed to Portugal.

The International Association of University Presidents, of which I am the Secretary-General, is a UNESCO accredited organisation. One of our tenets is that education can serve to promote understanding and to resolve conflict in the world, and so our gathering in Portugal comes at an opportune time to contemplate these and other issues.

JAMES A. McWHA
Vice-Chancellor