Newcastle has a sense of community – Melbourne doesn’t.

This was one of the points hotly debated with a packed audience as part of the inaugural Melbourne Alumni Chapter Debate, held at Melbourne’s National Gallery on Friday 21 June.

Following an hour of networking, five of our alumni thought leaders took to a panel to discuss the topics:
– Bricks and mortar education is the past – online learning on a smart phone is the way of the future
– True or false: Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t
– Newcastle has a sense of community – Melbourne doesn’t

Joining former ABC presenter and facilitator for the night, Madeleine Randall, was the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Caroline McMillen; multiple award-winning author, editor and critic, Dr Janeen Webb; the 13th Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop Philip Freier; the winner of 11 gold medals for Australia in three Paralympics, IPC World Championships and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Heath Francis OAM; and Director of Propeller Studio, Ewan McEoin.

We were happy that so many alumni were able to join us to share their views and we’ll look at holding a similar event again soon.

If you would like more information or to attend the next alumni event in Melbourne, contact the Alumni Relations Office at alumni@newcastle.edu.au or update your details here.

Check out some photos from the debate on our Facebook page.