Annual report

Vice-Chancellor’s Report

2025 has been another outstanding year for Flinders University, with impressive progress made in education, research and industry engagement.

A defining feature of the year has been our deep and ongoing commitment to equity, inclusion and opportunity, not as a mere claim or future aspiration, but through delivering results via deliberate action.

Nowhere is this more evident than at Flinders City Campus, which has made Flinders University more accessible to a wider group of students, who are choosing us in growing numbers. More than half our students at the City Campus are the first in their families to attend university, with many coming from Adelaide’s northern suburbs – where participation in higher education has historically been among the lowest in the nation. This success reflects Flinders’ enduring mission to expand access and opportunity, and to change lives.

Equity and opportunity come in many forms and I am pleased to say that Flinders achieved global recognition in the 2025 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. We were ranked fifth in the world for gender equity and second in the world for reducing inequalities.

This has also been a year of significant investment in our future. A landmark partnership between the Australian Government and Flinders University will deliver the $300 million Flinders HealthCARE Centre. This investment will expand clinical placement opportunities for our students, provide 10,000 additional allied health appointments to our community each year, and help address critical workforce shortages.

Our research performance continues to accelerate, further cementing Flinders as one of Australia’s fastest-growing universities for research impact. This year, we launched the inaugural Wicked Problems Report, engaging 30,000 Australians to better understand the challenges that matter most to them and ensuring our research is guided by the voices and priorities of Australians themselves.

None of this would be possible without the extraordinary dedication of our staff, whose commitment to excellence continues to drive the University forward.

Finally, I thank our students. Your ambition, resilience and determination define Flinders University, and it is a privilege to support you as you pursue your goals and realise your ambitions.

Guided by the momentum of the past year and the direction set by our new strategic plan, Agenda 2035: Impact. With Purpose., we remain committed to deepening our contribution to the communities we exist to serve.

Professor Colin Stirling
President and Vice-Chancellor