Why global connection matters for local impact

From student mobility and research collaboration to global campuses and local impact, the latest ‘In Conversation with VC’ explored how international connection strengthens opportunity at UOW and in our region. Read Professor Max Lu’s recent Illawarra Mercury opinion piece and watch the event recording.

---

Why global connection matters for local impact

Last week we hosted the second in our new series 'In Conversation with VC', the event sparked an energising discussion about UOW’s global outlook and the role international connection plays in strengthening opportunity, impact and resilience here at home.

Joined by Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Growth and Global) Professor Joe Chicharo OM and Group CEO and Managing Director of UOW Global Enterprises, Marisa Mastroianni, Vice-Chancellor Professor Max Lu explored UOW’s internationalisation priorities, global partnerships and the opportunities ahead for our students, staff and region.

More than 60 staff joined in person, with over 530 tuning in online from across our campuses and locations worldwide making it one of the strongest engagements in the series so far.

Professor Max Lu explored this idea further in his Illawarra Mercury opinion piece on Saturday, which he shared on Linked In with a post sharing “Over the past decade, UOW's offshore operations have returned more than 188 million dollars in net surplus to the University. This is not money diverted from Australian students, nor a subsidy from the Illawarra. It is surplus generated offshore and reinvested locally, into mobility scholarships, laboratory and facility upgrades, community programs, research, and the people who make this university what it is. Growing offshore contributions will allow us to do more of this in the years ahead. 

In a hyperconnected world, the choice is not between serving the Illawarra or engaging globally. The real choice is whether we use global connection to strengthen local opportunity. That is firmly one of the four pillars of UOW Vision 2035. UOW's history, like Wollongong's, shows that when we look outward with purpose, we bring something valuable back home.”

 

To watch the recording of "In Conversation with the VC" visit: 

https://www.youtube.com/live/QbT2uJz2lk8?i=QVicAYlH_0EAUvUx

 

To read the published article visit:

2026 | Why offshore campuses are good for the Illawarra - University of Wollongong – UOW