Monash University > News and Events > Monash Memo

Ancora Imparo, April 2006

The State Government announced on 4 April that it will contribute $35 million over the next three years to the development of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute. This is a very exciting development, as it builds on the strength we have in stem cell research and particularly on the success of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories. It will be extending the dimensions of the work to emphasise tissue repair after injury and in degenerative conditions, and it will integrate work in biomedicine, materials, nanoscience and biomedical engineering. We will be recruiting a high-profile international regenerative medicine researcher to head the institute. This is clearly an exciting development and will be incorporated into the next stages of the development of the STRIP program with new buildings adjacent to the current STRIP 1 building.

To balance the excitement of this new development, we have ongoing concerns about the state of some of our ageing buildings. In particular, recent industrial disputes in the escalator industry have exacerbated ongoing problems with access and egress from the Menzies building. The building is showing its age in other ways and is not ideal for either teaching or research. On the other hand, it is a large building housing many academic staff and would cost something of the order of $150 million to replace, even if heritage-listing conditions could be overcome. There has been a program of ongoing refurbishment of the building, floor by floor. We need to take stock to consider whether the best option is to continue this refurbishment with space continuing to be used for teaching and research, whether to relocate teaching to other spaces, how the access can be improved and potential alternative uses of the building which could free up resources to allow relocation of academic staff and activities to new facilities. A committee chaired by the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen Parker, and including representatives from academic and general staff and students will make recommendations about the appropriate future plan for the building, and a definitive plan and timetable for implementation will be finalised by the end of the year.

There is much else to occupy all of us.

We are having meetings with the student associations and campus service providers to decide on the best way of delivering student services and ensuring continuing support for sporting facilities and teams, clubs and societies and other student activities in the face of the abolition of the compulsory amenities fee. The use made of the wonderful facilities at Clayton by the English Commonwealth Games team is a reflection of the quality and value of our sporting and recreational resources. As a passionate believer in the enormous value of campus-based activities outside the lecture theatres and tutorial rooms in the overall educational experience at university, we will do everything we can to preserve and improve access to such experiences and activities.

The Minister for Education, The Honorable Julie Bishop, has indicated that the Research Quality Framework process will continue, albeit delayed by three months. A Research Quality Framework Development Advisory Group has been established to plan and oversee implementation of the process. It is not clear what aspects of the model developed by the Expert Advisory Group will be adopted, and the time scale of implementation still seems optimistic. We must continue to emphasise the highest quality in all our research and ensure that we are prepared for the RQF in whatever form it is finally implemented.

Professor Richard Larkins
Vice-Chancellor