Symposium: World War 1, the Universities and the Professions

The symposium, World War One, Universities and the Professions, was held on 12 & 13 October 2017  at the University of Melbourne.

Bringing together a group of academics, each examining a different profession.

Presentations were grouped into five sessions:

• The Arts: Design, Music and Writing
• Teaching, Languages and the Law
• Medical Sciences
• Science and Technology
• Government, Accounting and Anthropology

Themes explored included:

• the impact of World War I on professional training and practice, including developments as a result of wartime research, interruption to and changes in training and university instruction, and accreditation, during and after the war
• the post-war development of the professions, including the emergence of ‘new’ occupations, the formation and development of professional associations, the changing status of professional groups, shifts in professional membership (in terms of gender, age etc.)
• how wartime mobility for those in the military and on other war work contributed to the development of the professions, including through enhanced national and international networks
• how the role of the university as a place of research, and the scope of professional training, was understood and contributed to expertise

For more information please contact expert.nation@sydney.edu.au

IMAGE: 1916 Science graduates – University of Sydney Archives M253 papers of Vera Adelaide Irwin-Smith