Rick Morton and the spreadsheet of secrets
Oct 2, 2025 •
Rick Morton was writing about the restructures happening at several universities earlier this year when documents from the University of Technology Sydney caught his eye.
UTS had hired KPMG to help it save $100 million through a restructure. That restructure has now led to the announcement of 400 job losses, with the entire School of Education gone.
Rick noticed that UTS had asked KPMG to provide a spreadsheet ranking researchers by how much money they were bringing in, which raised the questions – were they using this to inform their restructure? And if they were, what does that say about how Australian universities are grappling with the pressure to be profitable at a time when research and learning is under threat?
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.
Rick Morton and the spreadsheet of secrets
1679 • Oct 2, 2025
Rick Morton and the spreadsheet of secrets
Rick Morton was writing about the restructures happening at several universities earlier this year when documents from the University of Technology Sydney caught his eye.
UTS had hired KPMG to help it save $100 million through a restructure. That restructure has now led to the announcement of 400 job losses, with the entire School of Education gone.
Rick noticed that UTS had asked KPMG to provide a spreadsheet ranking researchers by how much money they were bringing in, which raised the questions – were they using this to inform their restructure? And if they were, what does that say about how Australian universities are grappling with the pressure to be profitable at a time when research and learning is under threat?
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.
Guest: Journalist Rick Morton
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7am is a daily show from Solstice Media.
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