PENINSULA ONLINE

Issue 10
Monday, 15 December 2008

A year of milestones for Peninsula

The Peninsula campus has experienced many significant milestones this year with the most recent being the graduation of its first group of Bachelor of Physiotherapy students.

This year the foundation group of Monash Physiotherapy students graduated from the degree, taking the campus, the Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences and Monash to a new level in health education excellence.

Head of Physiotherapy Professor Jenny Keating congratulated the students on their achievement of first Monash Physiotherapy graduates.

"Staff are proud of the achievements of our graduates," she said. "They have worked hard to develop extensive practice in musculoskeletal, neurological and cardiorespiratory sciences, at the same time engaging in interprofessional learning, paediatric and rural practice.

"As well as their theoretical and practical skills, students have gained enabling research skills that position them for best practice across the spectrum of workplace challenges they will face as qualified physiotherapists.

"While the development and concurrent roll-out of a progressive Bachelor of Physiotherapy with an embedded Honours option has been challenging, the determination and hard work by staff, students and clinical educators has resulted in outcomes that make us all feel proud," Professor Keating added.

This month the program also achieved the important award of course accreditation from the Australian Physiotherapy Council, a recognition that enables full primary practitioner rights for Monash graduates.

"We celebrate as our students become our professional colleagues and take their carefully nurtured skills into the workplace, flying the flag of our innovative Monash curriculum."

The educational heights reached by all graduating students have been reflected in the campus's commemoration in reaching its 50th year of providing quality education.

Peninsula's history sealed in stone

The historical commemoration of the Peninsula campus has been set in stone with the recent sealing of the campus's time capsule.

The capsule plinth weighs 250kg and is made of black granite, with a plaque on top stating "the capsule presents a way of capturing the rich sense of community that encompasses the Peninsula Campus and preserving a slice of this for future generations". It is due to be opened in the centenary year of 2058.

The Library was deemed the most obvious location for the time capsule as historically it represents the recorded history of the Peninsula campus.

The Peninsula campus was established in 1958 as the Frankston Teachers’ College with 109 students and one original building, Struan House.Three decades later in 1990, the college, which had already experienced mergers, became the Peninsula campus of Monash University with courses from its historic roots in Early Childhood and Primary Education being the main stay.

To celebrate the campus’s 50th anniversary, past and present staff and students were asked to contribute mementos to a time capsule.A range of items have been added including a letter from the Vice Chancellor, a copy of the campus history Still Learning that was commissioned to coincide with the campus celebrations, a USB stick, DVDs, course guides and photographs. The full manifest if items is available.

Revamped Work Integrated Learning Program launched

The Faculty of Business and Economics has recently launched its revamped industry based learning program at the campus.

The program allows final year Bachelor of Business and Commerce students to undertake relevant professional work for a range of businesses as part of their degree in a choice of two elective units that combine a work placement of four to eight weeks, together with research projects and other assessment tasks.

Monash's Employment and Career development has also provided a special series of seminars and workshops aimed at increasing participants' job-search skills.

Sixty people attended this launch, including student participants from peninsula and Berwick campuses, academic staff and representatives from host businesses.

The program's academic coordinator Dr Jennifer O'Reilly said the faculty has been delighted by the support from local businesses, local government and Business Chamber.

"We are in now the process of finalising the internship placements for the final couple of applicants. Willing internships hosts have come from all areas of business in the private and public sectors, from accounting firms, health organisations, and tourism & leisure organisations, to manufacturing companies, transport businesses and local government," Dr O'Reilly explained.

"While we have several multinational corporations on board, local business organisations have also been keen to support the faculty and obtain student interns in a relationship that involves benefits for all parties involved."

She added that the involvement and support by Monash Employment and Career development has also been a bonus for the faculty as well as the students, and has greatly helped the students integrate important career-readiness skills into the students’ academic program.

Campus close down procedures

Mail

The Peninsula campus mailroom will close Tuesday 23 December at midday. An internal and external mail pick-up and delivery will take place once only in the morning.

The last lodgement of external mail with our various providers will be early afternoon Tuesday, so please organise for all urgent mail (which has missed the final pick-up) to be delivered to the mailroom by 11 am. To ensure delivery of internal mail on Tuesday it is requested that departments get their internal mail out during the normal pick-ups on Monday. Internal mail picked up during the only run on Tuesday will not be delivered before Monday 5 January 2009.

For further information please contact Mr Michael Mirra on extn 44212 or Mr Wayne Dawson on extn 44392. All mailrooms will recommence full operation from Monday 5 January 2009. 

Reminder

A reminder to all staff that there is no internal mail service to the Gippsland campus. If you require mail to be sent to Gippsland it will need to be placed inside external envelopes and posted. If required, we can arrange for it to be couriered at the faculty/department expense.

Deliveries

The storeroom will close Tuesday 23 December at midday. Anyone expecting a delivery on this day please arrange to have it delivered directly to your faculty/department reception. If you require an urgent courier on the Tuesday please contact Wayne Dawson on extn 44392 or Michael Mirra on extn 44212 before 11 am.

Pool vehicles

Any vehicle booked on Tuesday 23 December must be returned by 11 am on that day.

Security

To assist Security with the protection of the Peninsula campus during the university closure, all faculties and departments are requested to ensure that at the completion of normal working hours on Tuesday 23 December 2008 the following procedures take place:

• All doors and windows are properly secured;
• All lights and electrical appliances not required are switched off;
• If equipment in offices is visible from the outside, ensure blinds are drawn;
• All monies are deposited in a bank account. Under no circumstances should money be left in drawers or filing cabinets;
• All keys are secure and not accessible to unauthorised  persons.

Security will still be on campus 24 hours, seven days a week during this period and can be contacted on extn 44318 or externally on 9904 4318.

If you any queries regarding security or after hours access during this period then contact the Security and Traffic Operations Coordinator, John Dillon on extn 44080.

Portsea swim classic

Staff and students looking for something to do over the summer period could put on the wetsuits and join TeamMONASH™ in the Portsea Swim Classic on Saturday 17 January.

This swim covers 1.2km and is being held at the Portsea Front Beach, Nepean Highway, Portsea. The event attracts up to 2500 swimmers in age groups from 12 to 17 right through to 60 plus with past winners including some of the greats of Australian swimming.

Anyone interested in joing TeamMONASH™ can register through the Monash Sport Portsea Swim Classic website