Established in 1991, the Menzies Oration on Higher Education at the University of Melbourne honours the late Sir Robert Menzies, whose contribution to the development of universities is among his most remembered achievements as Australian Prime Minister.

It is especially fitting that the annual Menzies Orations are held in partnership with the University of Melbourne, where Robert Menzies, as a leading law student, was President of the Students Representative Council in 1916, and where he served as University Chancellor in later life.

In line with the Foundations new focus areas, the Oration will now provide an opportunity to invest in initiatives of high national importance, exploring Entrepreneurship in science, Leadership in schools and Australia’s response to complex global legal issues.