Swinburne University of Technology’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), Douglas Proctor, will leave Australia later this year to take up the Senior International Officer role at York University in Canada.
Dr Proctor has served at Swinburne since 2021, bringing more than two decades’ experience in global strategy across higher education institutions in France, New Caledonia, Australia and Ireland. His career has spanned both academic and professional leadership roles, overseeing the full gamut of international recruitment, mobility, transnational education, research collaborations, and international partnerships.
Holding a PhD in international higher education from the University of Melbourne, Dr Proctor is also an honorary fellow at the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education and a senior fellow of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). He co-edited The Future Agenda for Internationalization in Higher Education (Routledge, 2018) and is a widely published commentator on global engagement.
In addition to his new role at York University, he serves as a global board director for the Climate Action Network for International Educators (CANIE) and will continue his work as program faculty for NAFSA’s Executive Internationalization Leadership e-Institute, as well as delivering training for the European Association for International Education (EAIE).
On speaking with The Koala and reflecting on the move, Dr Proctor noted strong parallels between the Canadian and Australian higher education landscapes.
“At a macro level, universities in both countries face reduced government funding and questions around social licence. For international educators, we’re seeing student caps, accommodation pressures, and in some cases, significant drops in interest and applications. While the policy settings differ, the experience on the ground is strikingly similar,” he said.
He added that Australian expertise in international education policy and practice is widely valued overseas. “Earlier in my career in Ireland, I saw first-hand the interest in the Australian perspective. The challenge in Australia is that we don’t encourage mobility in international education careers in the same way we do for students. Other countries see real value in global insights – and from my conversations so far, I believe Canada does too.”
York University described Dr Proctor’s appointment as coming at a “pivotal moment” for strengthening research collaborations, expanding transnational education, and supporting international students.
