Welcome to 2023

Dear colleagues,

I hope that many of you had the opportunity for a restful and enjoyable seasonal break. I appreciate that some of our colleagues worked through the shutdown period to support our operations and research, as well as those assisting our commencing students who will shortly begin their lifelong journey with the University of Sydney. Our particular thanks go to them.

After a few years of uncertainty due to the pandemic, we begin 2023 with considerable optimism. This month, we’ve supported an impressive line-up of Western Sydney events as part of the 2023 Sydney Festival, and celebrated Yabun Festival on Gadigal Land in Victoria Park. And we’re celebrating Lunar New Year and welcoming the longevity, peace, and prosperity brought by the Year of the Rabbit and the Year of the Cat. 

Campus is already brimming with life and full of happy faces – and preparations are well underway for Welcome celebrations with even more of our international students back in person with us. 

Among the students joining us at Sydney in a few weeks are the first recipients of the new MySydney Entry and Scholarship program we announced in our 2032 Strategy – an early manifestation of our commitment to deliver on our aspiration for a community of staff and students that thrives through its diversity. 

As of end-December, the number of places we offered to school leavers from low socio-economic areas increased by 18.5 per cent on last year for Semester 1, 2023.

This is a robust demonstration of what is possible when we work together with a shared vision of what we want the University of Sydney to be. From announcing our 2032 Strategy last August, launching the scholarships to students and parents in September, to now be welcoming our first cohort of more than 500 students only a few months later is a remarkable achievement of which we can all feel very proud. Thank you to everyone involved in making this possible in such a short period.

Detailed planning is well underway to follow the success of the MySydney scholarships with the first set of initiatives we’re prioritising under the 2032 Strategy. We’ll be sharing more detail with you shortly.

I’m grateful to be working at an institution like ours with the scale and opportunity for innovation and evolution and to be part of such a talented and committed community of academic and professional colleagues. 

Our work now begins in earnest as together we lay the foundations on our road to 2032 and making Sydney a better place to work and a place that works better. 

So, welcome back. I look forward to seeing you on campus in the coming weeks.

Regards,

Mark

Mark Scott 
Vice-Chancellor and President