My Story and My Vision of China: Interview with Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University Professor Barney Glover

The interview with Professor Barney Glover was arranged at Whitlam Institute, a special place at Western Sydney University with many historical traces since the 19th century.

Professor Barney Glover, Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University, has worked in research management at universities for over 20 years. He started his academic career in mathematics before moving into research management at Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Newcastle University in Newcastle, Curtin University in Perth and currently, Western Sydney University in Sydney. Professor Glover is also Chair of Universities Australia and the Australian Government representative on the University of the South Pacific Grants Committee.

Professor Glover’s fields of expertise include mineral processing, energy, telecommunications and medical research and he has worked quite extensively in building research partnerships in collaborations between universities and publicly funded research agencies.

The most common forms of academic cooperation with Chinese partners include joint research projects and teaching opportunities.

The first time Professor Glover went to China was in the late 1990s where he developed research partners between Curtin University and partners in China.

Since then, he has been travelling to China at least two or three times a year. Currently, he has more than 100 partners in China alone.

One of their most significant partnerships with China is with the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

In 2014, when President Xi Jinping visited Australia to sign the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Professor Glover “had the opportunity to sign an agreement with the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine under the free trade agreement umbrella, to enhance research and development in traditional Chinese medicine.”

Western Sydney University is noted for one of the most important traditional Chinese medicine programs outside of China.

Western Sydney University also has an interpreting and translation program which illustrates the strong bilateral relationships between Australia and China.

“With China’s economy continuing to grow so strongly, [this] illustrates the importance of having people with strong language skills, strong cross-cultural understanding, and the ability to participate in interpreting and translating broadly,” said Professor Glover.

“It illustrates a growing area of need in cross-cultural understanding that we ensure that we have language skills that avoid misunderstandings and focus on quality understanding both in business and everyday life.”

Professor Glover’s visits to China for the past 20 years have allowed him to witness the dramatic changes in development since China’s reform and opening up.

“China has continued to grow from strength to strength economically and to be a powerhouse in the world economically, you see that in the development of the universities in China for example,” Professor Glover noted.

Established 2 years ago, the university’s Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture (ACIAC) is positioning itself as a hub and national resource centre for cultural exchange between Australia, China and the Sinosphere.

Professor Glover emphasises that the Chinese government's support for the establishment of high-quality projects by universities at national and provincial levels is very mature. What impressed him most was that when he participated in the projects by cooperative universities in China, the scientific capabilities of the scientists he met had reached international standards.

Professor Glover mentions that China is a very influential country in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world today. For Australia, a G20 nation, establishing close ties with China and mutual benefit is extremely important.

“I find the warmth of the welcome in China one of the most attractive parts of visiting China as I do so often.”(People’s Daily Online/ Tingting Yan)