W100 Representative
Kirsten AndrewsVice Principal, External Relations
Kirsten Andrews has worked at The University of Sydney since 2013, gaining the role of Vice Principal, External Relations in 2022. Prior to the role of Vice-Principal, Kirsten worked as Vice-Chancellor’s Chief of Staff and Director of Media and Government Relations at the university.
Among her many achievements, she is responsible for transforming the University’s media engagement approach and has been instrumental in ensuring a smooth leadership transition during a time of great complexity for the institution.
Prior to joining the University, she held senior positions in government and the not-for-profit sector, including at the National Heart Foundation, as Chief of Staff to a federal minister, and Deputy Director of Communications to the Premier of New South Wales.
The University of Sydney is one of the world’s leading, comprehensive research and teaching universities – consistently ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world. It is ranked in the top 50 engineering and technology universities in the world and consistently ranked in the world’s top 25 universities for humanities and social sciences by the Times Higher Education. Sydney Medical School is one of the highest-ranked medical schools in the Asia-Pacific region and our Business School’s Master of Management program is ranked number one in Australia by the Financial Times.
The University of Sydney is committed to the transformative power of education and to fostering greater knowledge and understanding of the world. Our aim is to make lives better not just by producing leaders of society, but by equipping our people with leadership qualities so they can serve all of our communities at every level.
As a leader in tertiary education, we have been challenging traditions for more than 160 years. We were one of the first universities in the world to admit students solely on academic merit and to open our doors to women on the same basis as men. In creating the first university in Australia in 1850, our founders recognized the power of education to change society. We hold that belief just as strongly today.
The Latest from The University of Sydney
Challenging traditions formore than 160 years
We work in collaboration with Australian and international partners to find solutions to some of the world’s most complex problems.
As a central part of its international strategy, the University is committed to fostering partnerships with other leading institutions and promoting mobility of students and staff. Our partners include some of the world’s leading universities, and with them, we take part in research collaborations and academic exchanges. These include more than 60 research collaborations and networks with partners in Asia and India.
We also have more than 280 student exchange partners in Asia, Canada, Israel, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Western Europe. In 2014, we signed a new partnership agreement with one of Europe’s leading humanities institutions, Sciences Po, which allows students to split four years of study between one of three Sciences Po campuses and Sydney.
Key values:
- Courage and creativity
- Respect and integrity
- Diversity and inclusion
- Openness and engagement
Regularly ranked in the world’s top 50 universities
90+
Research Centres
500+
Research partners
Our research strategy is to nurture disciplinary excellence while enabling delivery of solutions to real‑world 21st-century problems. Our research community includes more than 1300 research staff and almost 5000 research students. We are home to 75 research centres and three National Health and Medical Research Council Centres of Excellence, and a member of 10 Cooperative Research Centres.
In the Australian Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia benchmarking exercise, more than 75% of academic fields of research at the University performed above or well above world standard.
Our research is driven by the big picture. We take a problem and look at it from all angles by bringing together the world’s most talented researchers in multidisciplinary teams. We have committed substantial support and large‑scale investment to help them explore new frontiers of knowledge in areas of national and global importance. The work undertaken by a few of our multidisciplinary centres illustrates the potential of this approach.
The Charles Perkins Centre is tackling some of the greatest health challenges humanity has ever faced: obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions. The centre brings together outstanding minds to improve our understanding of the impact of diverse factors on these conditions, including psychological makeup, education, cultural norms, economic pressures, the built environment, and the agricultural and food industries.
The Brain and Mind Research Institute brings together patients, support groups and frontline carers with scientists and clinicians. The institute’s diverse research programs include healthy brain ageing, youth mental health and molecular neuroscience.
Become a Member
The World 100 Reputation Network is a group of the best universities in the world, delivering research that enhances reputation and offering leaders the chance to develop their own careers on a global stage. Members benefit from events and study tours, training, monthly media monitoring, and unique reputation research to provide institutional advantage.