In this episode of the Broken Education Podcast, Vygo Co-Founder & Co-CEO Joel Di Trapani and Vygo’s Director of Sales Lyndin Smith-Francis sit down with Professor Nick Klomp, Vice-Chancellor and President of CQUniversity, for a candid conversation about the realities, responsibilities, and untapped potential of regional higher education.

With more than five years at the helm of one of Australia’s largest regional universities, Professor Klomp has led CQUniversity with a clear and consistent mission: to unlock the potential of regional Australia through equitable access to world-class education and training. His leadership reflects a deep belief that universities are not just places of learning, but critical infrastructure for social mobility, workforce development, and long-term community prosperity.

Together, Joel, Lyndin, and Professor Klomp explore how regional universities like CQUniversity play a transformative role far beyond the classroom supplying skilled workforces for critical industries, driving applied and community-focused research, fueling local economies, and acting as anchor institutions in regions often overlooked by traditional education models.

This episode is a powerful reminder that fixing education doesn’t always start in capital cities—and that regional universities may be some of the most important engines of change in the future of learning.

In this episode of the Broken Education Podcast, host Joel Di Trapani, Co-Founder of Vygo, sits down with Professor Pascale Quester, Vice-Chancellor and President of Swinburne University of Technology, for a refreshingly direct conversation about leadership, strategy, and why higher education must let go of nostalgia if it wants to remain relevant.

Pascale is one of Australia’s most distinctive higher education leaders. A globally recognised scholar in consumer behaviour and marketing, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean at the University of Adelaide, and a recipient of France’s National Order of Merit (twice), she brings an uncommon mix of academic credibility, commercial thinking, and fearless clarity to university leadership.

From the outset, Pascale challenges the idea of universities as “vanilla” institutions trying to be everything to everyone. She explains how Swinburne deliberately reclaimed its identity as a university of technology, built around a unifying vision: where people and technology work together for a better world. What followed was not incremental change, but strategic focus—four bold “moonshots,” the courage to say no, and a refusal to invest in work that doesn’t align with Swinburne’s purpose.

In this episode of the Broken Education Podcast, host Joel Di Trapani, Co-Founder of Vygo, sits down with Renee Leon, Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University, for a candid and deeply grounded conversation about equity, regional education, and what it truly means for universities to serve the public good.

Renee brings an extraordinary perspective to higher education leadership. A first-in-family university graduate, she has built a distinguished career across senior roles in Commonwealth and state government, including CEO of the Departments of Human Services and Employment. A Menzies Foundation Law Scholar with degrees from ANU and Cambridge, and a recipient of the Public Service Medal, Renee’s journey is a living example of the transformative power of education.

From the outset, Renee reframes the role of a regional university as something far bigger than student enrolments or rankings. Under her leadership, Charles Sturt University positions itself as an anchor institution for regional Australia—educating the nurses, teachers, vets, health professionals, and agricultural leaders who sustain regional communities and largely stay to serve them.

Joel and Renee explore how CSU’s mission extends beyond individual students to the economic, social, and health outcomes of entire regions. From agriculture and climate resilience to regional health equity, Renee explains how CSU deliberately focuses its research on problems that matter—locally grounded, yet nationally and globally relevant.