Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President Research Professor Edwina Cornish will share her expertise in research, biochemistry, microbiology and genetics.
9 April 2008
9 April 2008
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Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President Research Professor Edwina Cornish will share her expertise in research, biochemistry, microbiology and genetics. |
Eighteen Monash University leaders and more than 40 alumni will be among 1000 people attending the Australia 2020 Summit later this month.
The group, chosen from around 8000 nominations from the nation's cultural, intellectual, business and sporting arenas, will debate and develop ideas under ten key themes in the forum created by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to shape a long-term strategy for the nation.
The Monash representatives are:
More than 40 prominent alumni will also be attending, including 2007 Australian of the Year Tim Flannery (MSc 1981), Margaret Jackson AC (BEc 1973, HonLLD 2002), Julian Burnside QC (BEc 1972, LLB 1973), MLC principal Rosa Storelli (MEdSt 1992) and demographer Bernard Salt (MA 1985).
Four Monash students will participate in the 2020 Youth Summit.
Naomi Godden who is studying Bachelor of Arts (Australian Indigenous Studies) / Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) will advocate for the issues and rights of rural young people accessing tertiary education.
Medicine students Susan Harch, Michael Loftus and Daniel Yore will also attend.
The appointed Chair of the 2020 Youth Summit is Hugh Evans, a Law/Science graduate from Monash University.
In announcing the participants, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "I would like to personally congratulate those invited to participate in this national debate about Australia's long term future. I look forward to hearing your ideas for Australia's future."
The Australia 2020 Summit will take place in Canberra on the weekend of 19 and 20 April 2008.
9 April 2008
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To be part of the new service students and staff will need to allow their mobile phone number to be securely recorded on their staff or student records. |
Students and staff at Monash campuses in Australia will soon be able to receive campus emergency alerts via their mobile phones.
The new service will help provide important information particularly in cases where a danger may exist, campus access becomes restricted, or essential services are interrupted.
To be part of the service students and staff will need to allow their mobile phone number to be securely recorded on their staff or student records.
Facilities and services communications coordinator Graham Keen said Monash was one of the first universities in Australia to implement the new system.
"We encourage everyone with a mobile phone to participate in this important safety initiative," Mr Keen said.
"We're making use of the latest technology in an effort to get information to students and staff quickly when it's needed most."
Mr Keen said the alert system would be tested in the coming weeks and staff and students would be advised prior.
"If you would like to sign up for the alert system, please log on to either ESS for staff or my.monash portal for students and make sure we have your up-to-date contact details on file," Mr Keen said.
"Staff with university-owned mobile phones are also requested to access the online "eservice" and confirm or input their current mobile number into the data field."
For further information on the service contact Ian Henderson on Ian.Henderson@adm.monash.edu.au.
9 April 2008
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The RAVI solar generator could reduce the amount of non-renewable energy we need to use around the home. |
Monash Industrial Design graduate Leigh Ryan has developed a novel way to make the reduction of greenhouse emissions achievable for individuals.
Named after the Hindu sun god and constructed to look like a flower, the RAVI solar generator absorbs energy through its petals during the day, storing it in an internal battery. At night, you can remove the battery pack to power small electronic goods and home appliances.
Mr Ryan said he wanted to design a product that people could connect with.
"Although the technology in RAVI is nothing new, it's a product that you want to engage with; it has an emotional connection with the user," Mr Ryan said.
Mr Ryan said the RAVI could reduce the amount of non-renewable energy we need to use around the home.
"Even though the energy required to power items like mobile phones and mp3 players is quite minimal on an individual level, when you take into consideration how many users there are world-wide the figures start to add up," Mr Ryan said.
"Initially I looked into kinetic powered products, but I wanted to make the product easy for people to adopt into their daily routines, hence opting for solar power."
Mr Ryan completed his four year degree in 2007 and is now employed in his dream job at Dyson in the UK.
"Towards the end of my degree I thought if I could have any job in the world what it be? My answer was Dyson, as I've always been a fan not only of their design and innovation but more importantly their philosophy," Mr Ryan said.
"Before I had even put pen to paper for the RAVI I knew that whatever the design, I needed to make a working prototype. I felt it was a necessary step to bridge the gap between my current skill set and where I wanted to be in the professional world.
"I also thought it would impress Dyson … which it did."
And where to now for the RAVI?
"The concept and design has enough validation behind it, but realistically to get something like RAVI off the ground and into production would require a huge investment," Mr Ryan said.
"I guess where I am now at Dyson provides the best opportunity for me to progress the concept into further development."
9 April 2008
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Monash students have been put to work on a "real-life" advertising campaign promoting the Honda Civic Hybrid vehicle.
The Bachelor of Communications and Bachelor of Business and Commerce students worked on the campaign as part of their Advertising Campaigns unit.
Staff from advertising firm DraftFCB and Honda developed a brief for the advertising campaign and DraftFCB Managing Director Christine Barnes presented the brief to the students.
The students were split up into agency teams which competed to prepare the best advertising campaign for the Honda Civic Hybrid.
Students in each team assumed roles including Account Manager, Strategic Planner, Media Director and Creative Director.
The teams then spent about six weeks researching and developing a full advertising campaign. Each team presented its campaign to a panel comprising management from Honda and DraftFCB.
The team selected as the winner produced a campaign centred on the theme "Hybridging the Gap". The campaign aimed to promote the Honda Civic Hybrid as being a high performance vehicle, as well as being environmentally friendly.
Monash senior marketing lecturer Sandra Luxton said students worked on many "real-life" advertising campaigns through the Advertising Campaigns unit in recent years. She described the experience as a powerful introduction to the world of advertising.
"The unit gives them a chance to put all their marketing studies into practice, developing a strategic mindset to campaign planning and evaluation," Ms Luxton said.
"They also get to experience the buzz of being part of an industry team."
Ms Luxton said that for students wanting to work in the advertising industry, the unit was a great kick start to their experience and CV.
For more information on the unit email Sandra Luxton at Sandra.Luxton@buseco.monash.edu.au.
9 April 2008
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More than 6000 students and 150 employers participated in the 2008 Monash Graduate Careers Fair. |
The 2008 Monash Graduate Careers Fair in March was the biggest Monash has hosted to date, with 150 employers and more than 6000 students attending through the day.
Employers offered a range of graduate positions to students in Business, Commerce, Economics, Arts, Law, Engineering, Computing/IT and Science at the fair at the Clayton campus.
Employer Relations Consultants Tracie Cox and Csilla Papp said the feedback from both employers and students was very positive.
"Employers said the fair helped raise their company profile, meet quality potential recruits and network with other employers and Monash staff," they said.
"Face-to-face interaction between employers and students helps both parties gain insight about future career opportunities and employment prospects."
Monash Employment and Career Development will also be hosting several other Careers Fairs and Expos in 2008.
These include:
9 April 2008
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Scientists with PhDs can enter Fresh Science 2008 and experience a science communication boot camp. |
Sea slug love drug … brains learn better at night… tuna research in 350-tonne waterbed… slime wars… female mice turn male… orchids' sneaky sex tricks …
These were some of the stories of fresh science we heard about in 2007.
Are you a scientist who was awarded a PhD less than five years ago? Do you have interesting results that have not received any publicity? Why not enter Fresh Science and tell your story?
Fresh Science is a national competition that identifies new and interesting research by early-career scientists around the country. The stories are released to the media before, during, and after National Science Week in August.
Sixteen scientists are selected from more than 80 nominations. Fresh Science will take place between Monday 16 June and Thursday 19 June.
Finalists receive a day of media training in Melbourne after which they present their work to the media, school students, scientists, government and industry over three days in what's described by some as a boot camp in science communication.
Previous Fresh Scientists have attracted national and international interest resulting in hundreds of media stories. The Fresh Scientists will also have the chance to win a one-year subscription to NewScientist magazine and a one-week internship with The Australian newspaper.
Nominations close on 1 May 2008. For more information visit the Fresh Science website.
National Science Week runs from Saturday 16 August to Sunday 24 August 2008.
9 April 2008
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Shae McGregor of the Equity and Diversity Centre leads co-workers Matthew Salas, Cynthia Tat and Kerrie Keleher on a scooter convoy to the station. |
A $150,000 scooter station has opened at Clayton to help mobility-impaired staff and students get around the campus.
The new station, which will house six electrically operated scooters, is located on the ground floor of the North One multi-storey car park beside the disabled parking bays.
The Equity and Diversity Centre's Senior Disability Liaison Officer Shae McGregor said the new scooter station was an exciting addition to the Clayton campus.
"People will be able to park in a disabled bay then use a swipe card to gain access to the station," Ms McGregor said.
"Then they can then come straight down the spine of the campus.
"Taxis will also be able to pull up outside the station."
Students will need to register with the Disabled Liaison Unit (DLU) to be eligible for a swipe card and staff will be required to contact the unit directly for a card.
The scooters will be available to all students and staff with either a temporary or long-term mobility disabling condition.
For further information contact the DLU on +61 3 9905 5704 or visit Level 1 Gallery, Building 55, Clayton campus.
9 April 2008
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Birds are already taking up residence in the boxes. |
Students from the School of Applied Sciences and Engineering at the Gippsland campus will get hands-on experience monitoring the nesting habits of local wildlife thanks to a unique collaboration with Facilities and Services.
In the past few weeks staff from Facilities and Services have installed 48 nesting boxes in various wooded areas.
The boxes have been specifically designed to suit various bird and mammal species such as bats, bush-tailed and ring-tailed possums, sugar gliders, owls, lorikeets, rosellas, large parrots and smaller birds such as pardalotes.
The students will establish records of the use of the nesting boxes. A purpose built inspection camera will help with the monitoring.
Senior Lecturer in Biological and Environmental Sciences Dr Wendy Wright said many native Australian birds and mammals were dependant on hollows in trees for shelter and for rearing their young.
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Students try out the purpose built inspection camera. |
"Unlike the woodpeckers of Europe and America, our native animals do not create their own hollows," Dr Wright said.
"Instead, the hollows form naturally as trees age and are exposed to extremes of temperature, wetting and drying cycles, wind, fire and lightning.
"However, hollows take time to form and so they only really occur in older trees. This means that recently revegetated areas, even those designed for conservation of biodiversity, are often lacking in this important resource for wildlife."
Dr Wright said the joint project was a great opportunity for students in the Environmental Management program to be involved in a long-term ecological monitoring project.
"This is a collaborative project between an academic unit and Facilities and Services and will allow students to get hands-on experience," Dr Wright said.
"While nesting boxes are no substitute for old growth vegetation, it's great to see some provision being made for wildlife on our regional campus."
9 April 2008
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Herding Cats is one of Forbes' paintings currently on display at the Australian Galleries until 20 April. |
Art and Design lecturer Rodney Forbes' solo exhibition, Slow Painting, is currently on show at Australian Galleries in Melbourne.
Forbes believes that in an age when many of the images we see are big and fast, there is a virtue in painting at an unhurried pace -- which is ironic considering he began his working life as a guided missile systems technician.
At the age of 30 he decided to become a painter and is now presenting his 20th solo exhibition, in which he muses on the pros and cons of slowness, in both painting and life.
Forbes describes himself as a storyteller painter. In this project he examines the relationship of time, storytelling and painting. He is interested in the way that the layering of painting echoes the layering of stories and how a group of paintings slowly bred together creates a larger meta-narrative about ways of telling.
Rodney Forbes is the acting Head at the Gippsland Centre for Art and Design and teaches in the Faculty of Art and Design's coursework and Research Masters programs. This project has been assisted by a grant from the faculty.
Slow Painting is on display until 20 April, 2008. Australian Galleries Painting and Sculpture is located at 35 Derby Street Collingwood. For more information visit the Australian Galleries website.
2 April 2008
The Senior Management Summit and the Council Summit were held in February. These meetings concentrated on identifying the priorities for Monash University over the next five years. This month's report will summarise these priorities.
The ten values listed in the Strategic Framework 2004-2008 will continue to underpin the activities of Monash University for the next five years. Thus, although the University has made great progress towards achieving excellence in education, research and management, much remains to be done. The University will continue to have a strong international focus. It will continue to value fairness, innovation and creativity, diversity and integrity and to strive for increased engagement with governments, industry and the community and for a greater degree of financial self-reliance.
The recruitment, retention and development of the best possible staff and students will therefore remain absolute priorities because ultimately the University will only be as good as its human capital. Similarly, equity objectives and, particularly, strategies to increase the number and educational outcomes of Indigenous students will continue.
But within this framework a number of specific priorities can be identified for the next five years which if realised will help us to become one of the world's great universities.
The Priorities:
1. Develop and badge an innovative approach to learning and teaching
A lot of time and effort has been invested in reviewing our coursework structure. We must now put this together to develop an innovative educational program built around the principles agreed during the review. We must be able to describe the principles on which our programs are based in terms which are simple and persuasive so that Monash degrees become synonymous with innovation and educational excellence. New educational technologies will be incorporated into all programs and will facilitate intercampus educational programs and a virtual international experience for all students.
2. Engage more effectively with business and industry
In both education and research, it is essential that Monash University enhances its relations with business and industry. In education, periods of work experience in relevant business and industry environments enable students to become more focused on their studies and to recognise the relevance of what they are learning. In research, Monash must become the most successful university at developing partnerships with industry that lead to substantial industry-funded research.
3. Develop the Clayton precinct around Monash, CSIRO and the Australian Synchrotron as a key centre for innovation
The Clayton campus of Monash University is strategically located adjacent to the largest division of CSIRO and the Australian Synchrotron in the heart of the light-manufacturing sector of Victoria. A nanofabrication facility is to be constructed adjoining the Synchrotron. This precinct should gradually be transformed by research and innovation emanating from Monash University and CSIRO and by investment by government and industry into an innovation precinct driving the economy of Victoria and Australia.
4. Consolidate the biomedical and health research being undertaken in Monash University, affiliated institutes and hospitals
Monash University now has the top-ranking biomedical research departments in the country and also houses the world-ranking Monash Institute of Medical Research, the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, clinical departments with diverse research interests and one of the leading public health and epidemiology departments in the country. Extensive research relevant to health also takes place in the faculties of Pharmacy, Science, Engineering, Arts, Law, IT and Business and Economics. There are a number of medical research institutes and teaching hospitals affiliated with Monash University. We must develop a governance structure that encourages sharing of research platforms, optimal research collaboration and effective translation of basic research into new approaches to disease prevention and treatment.
5. Develop research themes for all campuses
Monash University has a complex multi-campus structure. This provides opportunities to engage with local industries and communities taking advantage of the geographic location, while also being able to tap the research expertise of all of Monash University. We should not try to create eight campuses with identical research strengths. Each campus must conduct excellent research, taking advantage of its particular opportunities. A similar differentiation is occurring or has occurred in educational programs, responding to local needs.
6. Achieve university status for Monash South Africa with student numbers greater than 5000, a better than break-even budget and a strong research focus
Monash South Africa has made stunning progress over the last four years with the number of students quadrupling to over 2100 and the budget deficit halving. New academic programs have been developed although emphasis has been placed on strengthening the existing disciplines rather than developing extensive new programs. The next five years are crucial for the campus. The growth in student numbers must be maintained, with a larger proportion of students from South Africa. Corporate support for student bursaries must be increased to ensure that able students from disadvantaged backgrounds continue to increase in number and the academic programs should diversify to include aspects of health sciences, education and science at undergraduate and graduate levels. The campus must develop a strong research program, relevant to the needs of Africa and building on the strengths at Monash in Australia.
7. Increase student numbers at Monash University Sunway to greater than 6000, complete stage 2 of campus development and create strong research and research training programs
The new campus of Monash University at Sunway provides a wonderful underpinning for the next phase of this exciting university. The campus must become a real flagship for Monash University, located strategically in South East Asia. The growth in student numbers must continue and the research program should be expanded so that Monash University at Sunway will be recognised as one of the research power houses of South East Asia with extensive collaborations with the leading research universities in Malaysia and Singapore and substantial support for research from industry and the Malaysian government.
8. Further develop our international strategy in India, China, Europe and North America
The proposed research academy with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) must be successful in recruiting high quality PhD students and attracting sufficient industry support for research and PhD scholarships.
Over the next five years we must take advantage of our opportunities in China by developing extensive student exchange and research collaborations with Sichuan University and other Chinese partner universities as well as developing industry-funded research with China.
Monash University's Prato Centre has raised the profile of Monash University in Europe. We must continue to develop our academic programs at Prato so that it truly becomes a venue for international education and an avenue for research collaboration in Europe. We must also take advantage of Australia's associate membership of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory to develop the major node of an EMBL partner laboratory at Monash.
We must leverage our international partnerships in North America and Europe to obtain more international research funding and international experience for our students.
9. Continue our capital development program and renewal of our facilities
Although the last decade has seen a major renewal of physical facilities at our campuses, much remains to be done. Priorities in our capital program for the next five years will be completion of the Menzies refurbishment, the Caulfield Western Precinct redevelopment including a new Law faculty building, refurbishment and remodelling of the Matheson and Caulfield libraries and a major redevelopment of the science and engineering precincts at Clayton. There will also need to be further capital development to cope with increasing student numbers at Monash University Sunway and Monash South Africa. We have also made a commitment to reduce energy use and to work towards carbon neutrality for our campuses. This will require a major program of retrofitting existing buildings and of course ensuring that new buildings are built to the most demanding environmental standards.
These developments will require major additional income and in some cases external funding schemes. They emphasise the need to increase the degree of philanthropic support, and the need to be successful in acquiring funds through the Higher Education Endowment Fund and other government sources.
10. Increase operating dollars per student in real terms
There has been a decrease in the funding available per Commonwealth Supported Place of about $1200 per student in 2008 terms since the early 1990s. To be internationally competitive in terms of the quality of our education and research we must increase the funding per student. We must continue to attract international students, increase the number of Australian postgraduate students and ensure that our fees represent the true cost of delivering world quality degrees. We must also ensure we are successful in the new funding environment of the "Education Revolution" of the Rudd Labor Government.
Conclusion:
Monash University has been very successful in its first fifty years. It is well-placed to become one of the world's great universities. This is not an end in its own right. Its importance lies in the benefits that will come to the Australian and international community from having the outcomes of principled, quality education and outstanding research addressing problems of national and global significance.
9 April 2008
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Name: Naomi Godden
Course: Bachelor of Arts (Australian Indigenous Studies) / Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)
Year Level: Final year
Mode: Off-campus
What is it about your course and the University that helped you to choose Monash?
The Monash course provides flexible learning through distance education. I was able to study my degree while living, working and volunteering throughout rural Australia, practically applying my social work studies everyday as a community worker.
What is your favourite subject and why?
Community development. This subject gave me ideas and strategies for working with communities doing what I love!
What exciting challenges are ahead for you this year?
I will attend the Australia 2020 Youth Summit in April, continue to advocate for the issues and rights of rural young people accessing tertiary education (following on from some research I published in 2007), finally finish my degree, and intend to leave Australia to do social work in developing countries.
What will be your ideal career (and what will it involve) when you graduate?
Working with rural communities in Australia and internationally to support social change and address human rights and social justice issues.
What is it about your course that holds your interest or is particularly satisfying?
It gives me the tools and critical theoretical reflection to do the work I believe in.
Of all the places in the world you would like to visit/re-visit, where is your favourite destination and why?
My favourite place in the world is India - I love the food, colour, vibrancy, music, spirit, and kind-hearted people.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Do it!
What is something about yourself that most of your fellow students wouldn't know?
Give me a 35 degree day and a surfboard, and I'm as happy as can be.
9 April 2008
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Minimum message length (MML) inference technology was developed at Monash by Professor Chris Wallace in 1968.
MML is at the forefront of artificial intelligence technology and has been widely applied in areas such as machine learning, statistics, econometrics and data mining. Data mining involves looking for hidden patterns in data that can be used to predict future behaviour such as retail software that finds customers with common interests.