Macquarie University, established in 1964 and located in the metropolitan area of Sydney, offers courses to 15,500 students in Arts, Economics, Education, Law and Science, actively encouraging an interdisciplinary approach. In 1995, 1,434 international students made up 8.3% of the total student population.

Macquarie's reputation for research attracts substantial funding from Government and private sources. Macquarie relies less on Government funding than many universities in Australia, with nearly half its income from other sources.

Macquarie's mission is to be an exemplary provider of modern education, based on research and innovative teaching, and designed for graduates of the 21st century.

The University delivers its programs by way of face to face teaching in Sydney and from locations in Asia, and by open learning in selected fields throughout Australia.

While Monash University has been selected as the Case Study site for the program strategy Internationalisation of Teaching - Curriculum, an innovation at Macquarie University warrants inclusion in any study of internationalisation of the curriculum in higher education in Australia.

The initiative, Political Science Simulations by Computer Networks, was the subject of a separate Case Study in 1995 when IDP Education Australia, on behalf of the Department of Employment, Education and Training, prepared a report to OECD on Curriculum Development for Internationalisation (IDP 1995).

The content of two undergraduate Middle East Politics courses has remained conventional, but the form of the curriculum has been internationalised. Students use the Internet to simulate international diplomatic negotiations with universities in the US, Egypt and New Zealand, plus other universities in Australia.

University Strategy

Macquarie's Teaching and Learning Management Plan indicates that the university 'has always been an innovative university' and notes in its 'Vision' statement the continuing endorsement of the original (1967) aim, 'an innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum was to be the feature of curriculum design'. The current Mission Statement promotes 'innovative use of technology in pedagogy and research'.

As evidence of this commitment, Macquarie cites establishment of the Technology Aided Teaching Consortium [TATCon], a 'strategic alliance between the Centre for Higher Education Professional Development, the Library and the Office of Computing Services to provide coordinated training, technical support and infrastructure for TAT initiatives'.

The University's 1994 Quality Portfolio lists the 'international on-line link-ups for simulated 'peace conferences' in Middle East Studies' as a specific instance of innovation in technology aided teaching. The CQAHE commented that the University 'has a strong tradition of concern for teaching and has a commitment to support innovation. Several of these innovations are achieving national and international attention' (CQAHE 1995 Vol 1, p. 153).

Political Science Simulations

The Political Science Simulations were initiated at the University of Melbourne in 1990 by a Middle East specialist, Dr Andrew Vincent, and Dr John Shepherd, responsible for software development and hardware accessibility. The simulations moved to Macquarie University when Dr Vincent was appointed Senior Lecturer in 1993. There have been 13 simulations since 1990, six at Melbourne and seven at Macquarie.

Key characteristics of the initiative are:

• two undergraduate Middle East Politics units at Macquarie University are taught with conventional curriculum content;
• the form of the curriculum is internationalised through the use of simulations;
• students research roles, respond to scenarios and use international computer networks to simulate international diplomatic negotiations with universities overseas;
• the simulations are an optional part of the curriculum; and
• simulations are assessed on a study team basis.

Simulations are organised around groups of students who:

• are allocated roles of a prominent political, religious or social leader in the Middle East, Europe or the United States;
• research and develop a role profile of background, interests, political agenda and connections;
• a scenario detailing a hypothetical situation occurring in the Middle East in the near future (such as an assassination or an invasion); and
• communicate with each other using electronic mail and teleconferencing in order to develop the political situation to their advantage.

A teleconference among the participating universities, prepared and staged by the students, concludes the simulation. In effect the students are mounting an international conference.

Development

The innovation is acknowledged as having been developed 'bottom-up' but facilitated by the supportive environment at Macquarie. The computer simulation initiative both reflects and is facilitated by the value placed on innovative practices at the university.

The simulation project received a grant from the Australian Government through the Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching and a Teaching Development Grant from Macquarie University. These grants have enabled documentation and streamlining of the software in order to make the simulation technology more accessible for other potential users.

Macquarie University has created a Home Page for its political science simulations.

The Home Page includes role profiles, the scenario launching each simulation, hints for participation and links to information sources such as the Home Page of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Arab Students Organisation Page and CNN Interactive.

Benefits

There has been a range of positive outcomes from the development of these political science simulations. The innovation:

• has been seen by bodies such as Australia's Committee for Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Committee for Advancement of University Teaching as exemplifying innovation in teaching and learning in Australian higher education;
• has attracted students to the two units Middle East Politics and International Relations of the Middle East; enrolments in the second year course Middle East politics have increased 41% in three years; International Relations of the Middle East, a second year course in 1993 and 1994, became a third year course in 1995 and 1996, with numbers now back up to 1993 levels;
• is in demand from Middle East Politics Departments in Universities in other countries, including the United States; and
• has served as a model for a simulation in Mass Communication at Macquarie University, and is becoming a catalyst for the integration of technology in similar ways into courses in history, politics and languages.