Dr. Peter Waters

Dr. Peter Waters, a lecturer in the Orientation Program Unit, (Foundation Programme) and in the Academic English Department, gave a seminar entitled “The Idea of a University- A Revisit” on the 6th of May, 2007. He began his seminar stating that over the last two years, the prestigious University of Oxford has been the subject of controversy. For the first time in its 900 year history, an industrialist chosen from outside the university’s academic body had been appointed Vice-Chancellor. He was considered to be the most appropriately skilled to reform the university and to save it from being too esoteric. The controversy provoked public debate about the key issue of what a university was meant to be. A tug-of-war developed between the protagonists of a university being a community of scholars who are passionate about scholarship, and those who view a university as a corporate enterprise where, to cite the words of one Oxford professor, “we are all disposable units of production in an integrated academic factory.”
By contrast and on the local scene, the process of initiating a new university, deriving its style and purpose through affiliation with an older university, itself drawing on the tertiary traditions of the USA, is in progress. Accordingly, it is opportune to revisit the “idea” of a university.  What do educational authorities have in mind when endeavoring to attain recognition for new kinds of institutions as universities? What do students expect when they enter a university? What do professors understand as their roles and responsibilities in the scheme of things? How realistic is it today to consider a university as a community of scholars? To this end, Dr. Waters’ paper explored the origins of university education in the mediaeval period as well as the “ideas” of John Henry Newman and his contemporary, John Woolley, the first Principal of the University of Sydney.
Among the people present at the seminar were Prof. Muhammad Faour, DU’s Vice Chancellor, Ms. Anne Lajinian, Director of the OPU, Dr Yaghi, Dean of the College of the Arts and Applied Sciences, Dr. Carol Stewart, Chair of the Department of Languages and Translation, and a number of faculty members and administrators. They all expressed interest in the subject since Dhofar University is on its way towards becoming a well-recognized university. They discussed the University of Melbourne, which was mentioned as one example of a university which is planning to introduce landmark educational reforms known as the ‘Melbourne Model’ in 2008. These reforms are designed to create an outstanding and distinctive ‘Melbourne Experience’ for all students. In moving to the new model, the University is responding to the challenges of today’s changing environment as well as aligning itself with the best of European and Asian practice and North American traditions.
The Melbourne Model is based on six broad undergraduate programs followed by a professional graduate degree, research higher degree or entry directly into employment. The emphasis on academic breadth as well as disciplinary depth in the new degrees ensures that as graduates, students will have the capacity to negotiate their ways successfully in a world where knowledge boundaries are shifting and reforming to create new frontiers and challenges almost daily. The Melbourne Model is the cornerstone of the University’s broader strategic vision for future development known as ‘Growing Esteem’. In February 2006, the University established the Curriculum Commission to review its academic programs and light the way forward to the new model.
There will be much interest in watching Melbourne University’s new developments in the summer of 2008. Their forward thinking ideas are a bold step in the field of higher education, and may well pave the way for changes in many universities worldwide, depending on their success.