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Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Australia shape the country's economic, social, and political landscape and equip students with the skills they need to succeed in ever-changing work environments. Embedded within Australian HEIs are sets of values that reflect and reinforce collective Australian values, which describe the shared beliefs of the leadership, academic staff, students, and the local community. These shared values then direct all members of the university community. Using a top-tier university in Melbourne, Australia, as a case study, this chapter explores how the values of accessibility, inclusion, and collaboration are embedded into the curriculum, teaching, and assessment practices. Relationship-building and positive student interaction within learning contexts are also crucial to learning contexts in higher education (HE) and are essentially driven by values in HE. Furthermore, values identified in this chapter align with broader Australian values relating to fairness, equity, cooperation, and support. Utilizing the experience and reflection of four contributing academics in HE, this chapter offers ideas and strategies on how these values can be fundamentally rooted within learning and teaching programs, thereby increasing student engagement, interaction, and success. This chapter acknowledges that the needs of contemporary education have changed, as the HE sector now accommodates students from all walks of life. Additionally, a fundamental premise of the discourse is that learner diversity can be accommodated more effectively if it is spurred by values that respect and appreciate learner diversity.

The struggle for racial justice has always faced significant challenges and controversies across interpersonal, intergroup and structural levels. As racism continues to evolve and adapt to new social, political and technological developments, researchers, activists and practitioners grapple with complex and intersecting issues. This chapter discusses some of the ongoing challenges anti-racist endeavours face today. It engages with contemporary global issues, such as international migration, globalisation and the digital revolution that have implications on the fight against racism. The chapter covers topics such as the recent backlashes against anti-racism, the emergence of the ‘colour-blind’ ideology and the challenges anti-racism faces in the realm of technological advance and digital spaces. Additionally, this chapter explores the discourse of decolonisation as a radical approach to anti-racism. It concludes with a critical discussion of the idea that mainstreaming and expanding anti-racism to include racial majorities may enhance its effectiveness.

In this chapter, the authors envision a new framework for technology-enabled local engagement. This framework would exploit web-based collaboration technology in order to create local engagement panels that represent a cross section of ordinary residents. For concreteness, the authors illustrate the framework in a proposed study called “Clearing the Air” would enable residents in the areas of Southern California that are most impacted by the logistics industry to have substantive and constructive opportunities to engage local officials on the complex economic and environmental matters related to logistics and emissions in the Southern California region. The authors propose methods to evaluate best practices in the use of collaboration technology, in particular, to learn whether the technology enables and empowers the engagement panels to participate in air quality governance at a high level and helps local officials better understand the considered opinions of residents on these important matters. If successful, this framework would integrate the policy views of individual residents alongside those of organized stakeholders, experts, and agency officials in the policy process.

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to identify various factors that may influence the adoption of online education by students in higher education institutions (HEIs) and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) post-COVID-19.

Need for the Study: The study addresses the need to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, as emphasised by SDG4. It focuses on lifelong learning opportunities and aims to understand the impact of online education on students in HEIs. By identifying the factors that influence adoption, the study aims to contribute to the development of effective strategies for promoting online education.

Methodology: The study utilises a framework incorporating the use of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software. The framework allows for the analysis of the collected data’s reliability, validity and adequacy.

Findings: The study’s findings indicate that providing students with affordable online higher education can facilitate skill enhancement and create job opportunities. These findings highlight the potential of online education in contributing to the achievement of SDGs, particularly SDG4.

Practical Implications: The practical implications of the study suggest that promoting affordable online higher Education can have a positive impact on students, enabling them to acquire new skills and access job opportunities. By embracing online education, institutions can contribute to the advancement of SDGs and ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.