Editorial

From the editor

Dear AAIR Members

It doesn’t feel that long ago that I opened this newsletter by announcing a new format and design. And yet, here I am again, welcoming in another new look. This time, embedded within a survey tool.

This edition is being shared through BlueX, a platform by Explorance, that I am repurposing for the AAIR newsletter. Given AAIR’s long-standing partnership with Explorance – and the fact that we are, after all, an organisation that appreciates a good survey – it felt like a natural fit. I am hopeful that BlueX will give us an easier way to host the newsletter, include media and links, explore more personalised content for SIGs, and even run in-newsletter surveys so we can keep improving what we offer.

What excites me most, though, is not simply the change in platform, but what that change might make possible.

When I joined AAIR as Newsletter Editor, I used InDesign, the industry standard for large newsletters, to give the publication a more polished and scalable format, while retaining the look and feel of a traditional newsletter. That shift was, I think, welcomed by many, and I was grateful for the kind feedback I received. But perhaps because I can’t sit still for long, I still felt something was missing.

The AAIR community is not simply a readership, it is a network of institutional research professionals who come together to share ideas, learn from one another, and support better practice across higher education. In that context, the idea that I alone was selecting and curating the articles for each edition began to feel increasingly uncomfortable. I wanted a format that made it easier to involve others – to invite collaboration, gather feedback, and create more of a conversation with readers rather than a publication delivered at them.

That is where BlueX seems to fit. It gives us a way to build a newsletter that is not only easier to collaborate on, but also more participatory in spirit. At least, that is the hope. And of course, that is only my view, so I would genuinely love to hear yours.

This also makes me think about the recently announced theme for the upcoming AAIR Annual Forum in New Zealand: ‘He ritenga pai, he mātauranga pai’. It is a phrase that resonates strongly with the direction I hope this newsletter is taking. At its heart is a simple but powerful idea: that good systems help create the conditions for good education. In a small way, this new format is an attempt to put that idea into practice by creating a better system for sharing, connecting, and learning together.

I hope you enjoy this winter edition of the The Institutional Researcher, and that you will explore some of what this new format makes possible. Most of all, I hope it continues to be a space where collegiality, curiosity, and shared purpose are easy to find.

Warm regards

Alexander Civil

Editor, The Institutional Researcher