Recording: World Access to Higher Education Day 2021

WAHED is an annual event, raising worldwide awareness around inequalities in access and success in higher education and acting as a catalyst for international, regional and local action.

The theme for 2021 was Equitable access and success through and post the pandemic.

The NCSEHE and Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Australasia (EPHEA) welcomed nearly 200 participants from Australia and New Zealand for World Access to Higher Education Day (WAHED) Australasia 2021.

This year’s event featured a keynote from Professor Maria Raciti (USC), who tackled the question, What’s the next step to help low SES students navigate perceived risk during these volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times?

We also heard from a disability practitioner and student panel, discussing important accessibility considerations when returning to an on-campus learning model.

Following an overwhelming response in 2020, we were thrilled to celebrate our 2021 WAHED Champions for Change (more details below). Nearly 150 Champions were announced at this year’s WAHED event, recognising and celebrating their outstanding work in supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

WAHED 2021 also marked the introduction of the Australasian Spotlight on Equity: Grants for recognition of impact. EPHEA and NCSEHE value the efforts of equity-focused researchers and practitioners across the sector and wish to support our colleagues to raise the profile of their work, as well as supporting their continued professional development. These grants reward the outstanding contributions of practitioners and researchers in delivering social justice, fairness and inclusion initiatives for both staff and students.

November 2021