Australian universities, expertise and internationalism after World War I

This article explores the impact of World War I on Australian university communities, its contribution to innovations and knowledge in some of the traditional professions, and influence on the interwar growth of national associations that regulated professional groups and sought to extend their influence. The experiences of World War I advanced professional expertise and vocational training, including through the AIF Education Scheme, and strengthened and initiated international networks for individuals and professional groups. This was to have an impact on the national development of traditional and modern professions, and on the role of universities. We discuss how these changes occurred in the context of a new sense of nationalism that was highly internationalist in outlook, as seen in relation to the support for the ideals of the League of Nations within university communities. In the interwar decades, Australian universities were essential in establishing new disciplines and qualifications, providing accreditation, transmitting advances in professional knowledge and supporting new forms of international mindedness for their students and the wider public.