Students and staff at Adelaide University are set to stage a sit-in style protest on campus, in response to the uni’s cancellation of most in-person lectures starting next year.
ICYMI, the University of Adelaide last year announced that it would be amalgamating with the University of South Australia, with the merger to be officially launched in January, 2026.
One byproduct of the merger was the uni’s announcement that most face-to-face lectures would be dumped in favour of “rich digital learning activities”, according to a document sent to staff last September (per The Guardian).
The transition was heavily criticised at the time, with the campaign against the move now escalating to the point of a planned sit-in to take place outside the office of the vice-chancellor later today.
The protest was arranged by the student-led Save Our Lectures campaign, whose organiser, Poppy Pilmore, told The Guardian that the loss of in-person lectures outlines “worrying trend of students losing choice”.
“Many students learn best through face-to-face classes,” Poppy said.
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“Removing in-person lectures disadvantages those who need structure, community and direct engagement with teaching staff.”
Before the sit-in, some 550 people had signed a petition by Save Our Lectures to oppose the cancellation of face-to-face lectures.
For its part, Adelaide University said it is not completely wiping in-person lectures, but is instead “offer[ing] both on-campus and online lectures to enable the best mode of delivery, which will vary by course and discipline”, per The Guardian.
Adelaide University is one of multiple Aussie institutions to have moved away from traditional lectures, with Curtin University and Murdoch University both announcing plans for fewer face-to-face lectures in 2020.
The University of the Sunshine Coast and the University of Tasmania followed suit in 2021.
More recently, the University of Technology, Sydney, announced earlier this month that it had temporarily suspended new student enrolments for more than 100 courses for the 2026 school year.
Lead images: Adelaide University/Instagram
