Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins said the Rudd Government honoured a number of election commitments in its first budget.
21 May 2008
21 May 2008
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Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins said the Rudd Government honoured a number of election commitments in its first budget. |
Monash will receive a one-off payment of A$29.6 million from a pool of A$500 million in this financial year for improvements to campus infrastructure.
This immediate funding boost, announced as part of the 2008-2009 Federal Budget, will be directed towards five identified priority areas: laboratories, teaching facilities, libraries, student amenities and ICT facilities.
Last week's Federal Budget contained several initiatives for the higher education sector and Australian universities.
The Federal Government also announced a new Education Investment fund of A$5 billion which will also incorporate the existing A$6 billion Higher Education Endowment fund.
This fund will be available to universities as well as Vocational Education and Training (TAFE) institutions and research institutes.
It is intended that this fund be supplemented by future budget surpluses.
Monash University Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins said the Rudd Government had honoured a number of election commitments in the budget.
"Commonwealth scholarships for undergraduates will be doubled over the next four years and fees for new students commencing maths and science will be cut," Professor Larkins said.
"Commitments to fund 1000 Future Fellowships for mid-career researchers and to double the number of Australian Postgraduate Awards were also honoured."
However, Professor Larkins said there were a number of areas of importance overlooked in the budget.
"As expected, there was no increase in funding per student for Commonwealth Supported Places and no full-funding of research," Professor Larkins said.
"These are hoped for as outcomes of the Higher Education and the Innovation Reviews.
"The proposed replacement of full-fee domestic undergraduate places by Commonwealth Supported Places will not compensate for the loss of income from these places. If this is confirmed it will provide an additional financial challenge for the University.
"There was also no attention paid to replacing compulsory amenities fees (VSU Legislation) and no additional income support for economically disadvantaged students."
21 May 2008
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Professor Leon Piterman and Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews officially opened the new premises for the School of Primary Health Care. |
Monash University's School of Primary Health Care, the first of its kind in Australia, officially opened its new premises last week.
The School, located in Ferntree Gully Road at Notting Hill, adjacent to Monash University's Clayton campus, was the first of its kind to combine a range of primary health care disciplines when it was established in 2001.
The School was officially opened by Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews.
Head of the School Professor Leon Piterman said the aim of creating the school was to integrate a group of disciplines that shared the common purpose of providing teaching, training and research to support professional development, and to create a training environment that reflected the changing needs of society.
"Health care today is very different to decades ago when the GP was a one-stop-shop for most patients. Today, healthcare professionals are skilled in a range of services and patients' illness is better able to be managed by a range of specialists," Professor Piterman said.
"The strength of any health system is judged by the effectiveness of its delivery of primary care. That delivery is not vested with a single discipline, but rather with a number of disciplines working together with the common aim of effectively treating and supporting individuals, families and communities with their medical, psychological and social needs.
"This is particularly important in our ageing society in which chronic disease provides the predominant burden of illness and where most of the care for people with chronic disease is community-based."
The School of Primary Health Care is home to a range of Monash University Departments including General Practice, Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Health Science, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy and Social Work. It is also home to the Primary Care Research Unit, Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria, Centre for Child Abuse Research Australia, Collaborative Centre for Gambling Research, Multicultural Health Unit and Primary Care Obesity Research Unit.
21 May 2008
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Thom Woodroofe with primatologist Dr Jane Goodall at the Global Youth Summit. |
Monash undergraduate student Thom Woodroofe recently returned from a five-day trip to Florida where he took part in the Jane Goodall Global Youth Summit.
Mr Woodroofe was one of 100 young people (and one of only two Australians) from 28 countries brought together by British primatologist Dr Jane Goodall to discuss the critical issues facing the planet including poverty alleviation, environmental protections, wildlife preservation, water security and youth empowerment.
Dr Goodall is well known for her 45-year study of chimpanzee social and family interactions in Tanzania.
Currently studying a Bachelor of Arts (Global) and majoring in International Affairs, Politics and French, Mr Woodroofe was handpicked by Dr Goodall, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and partner organisations on the basis of his strong history of community service.
Over the course of the summit, participants worked with a panel of experts to identity key issues and ways to tackle the topics that concerned them. They left the summit with individual action plans.
Mr Woodroofe's action plan centred around an organisation called Left Right Think-Tank which he has been developing for several months.
Left Right aims to be Australia's first think-tank of young minds dedicated to the advancement of progressive ideas, discussion and policy. Mr Woodroofe will travel overseas during June and July this year to discuss the initiative with some of the major think-tanks of the world, ahead of a public launch in early 2009.
"Young people have always been a catalyst for phenomenal change within society," Mr Woodroofe said. "This summit allowed these passions and projects to transcend sovereign borders to take a more global, networked and resourceful approach to the major issues facing our generation."
Dr Goodall said the time she spent with summit participants was incredibly stimulating and moving.
"I know I speak for everyone involved when I say we left the summit energised, inspired and filled with a new hope for the future and new ideas for encouraging others to bring about a more peaceful world," Dr Goodall said.
For more information on Left Right email Thom at thom@leftright.org.au or visit the Left Right website.
For more information about Jane Goodall's Global Youth Summit, visit the summit website.
21 May 2008
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TeamMONASH™ will enter more than 450 athletes in the games which are expected to attract nearly 7000 participants. |
The Australian University Games is heading to Melbourne in September and TeamMONASH™ is hoping to shine, with Monash announced as the principal partner for the event.
TeamMONASH™ will enter more than 450 athletes in the games which are expected to attract nearly 7000 participants.
Monash will also host five events -- touch football, badminton, squash, hockey and handball -- at the Clayton campus, and provide staff and logistical support.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins encouraged the Monash community to embrace the games, as participants, volunteers or spectators.
"I congratulate Monash Sport on their winning submission to become Principal Partner University for the 2008 University Games," Professor Larkins said.
"The games will be a highlight of the University calendar in our 50th year and I encourage staff and students to get involved."
Monash Sport Director Martin Doulton said the partnership was a big win for Monash with the event drawing national attention.
"The games will be one of the biggest TeamMONASH™ events for the year and will showcase some of our brightest young athletes," Mr Doulton said.
"We hope to improve on our second placing at last year's games and retain our position as overall university champion for 2008 university sport events.
"Talent scouts will also be on the lookout for future sporting champions so it will be a great opportunity for our athletes to get noticed."
The 2008 University Games will be held from 28 September to 3 October. More than 350 volunteers will assist in the running of the games, from media coordination to umpiring and first aid. Volunteer positions are still available.
For further information, visit the TeamMONASH™ Australian University Games site.
21 May 2008
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Victorian College of Pharmacy Dean Professor Bill Charman and University of London Pharmacy Dean Professor Anthony Smith have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. |
The Victorian College of Pharmacy has signed an agreement with the University of London that will see collaboration on research projects, the sharing of ideas and student and staff exchanges.
Pharmacy Dean Professor Bill Charman met with representatives from the University of London recently to discuss potential collaborations in the areas of education and research.
The three-day visit by University of London Pharmacy Dean Professor Anthony Smith and Head of Educational Development Professor Ian Bates culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two faculties.
Professor Charman said the VCP and University of London shared a strong relationship encompassing education, curriculum development and common research activities.
"The signing of this MoU will encourage best practice in education, research and aspects of pharmacy and provides our staff and students with further opportunity to expand their professional and personal development," Professor Charman said.
21 May 2008
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Monash University’s netball team took home gold in the final against AUT University. |
Monash has made a splash at the New Zealand Uni Games taking home three gold and one silver medal over the three-day event.
Forty Monash students and staff attended the games held in Rotorua, New Zealand last month.
The games attracted more than 2000 students from 30 universities across New Zealand. Monash was one of only two Australian universities to take part.
Monash's netball team dominated the competition, beating some teams in their pool by more than 80 goals to take home gold in the final against AUT University.
Coach Gillian Lee said the team had depth and experience on its side but faced some new challenges adapting to the NZ playing style.
"The biggest thing is the difficult style of play," Ms Lee said.
"The Kiwis play more area defence; we play more one on one."
The men's and women's badminton teams also brought home gold, dropping only one match for the entire competition.
The men's basketball team faced a tough challenge in its final, coming up against a quick Victoria University (NZ) side.
After letting the locals get out to an early lead, Monash stepped up the pace and the game went down to the wire for a heartbreaking 55-54 loss and subsequent silver medal.
Monash Sport Director Martin Doulton said he was extremely proud of TeamMONASH's achievements.
"Three gold and one silver is a great outcome for our first outing in NZ," Mr Doulton said.
"The team's professional approach was also well received and we look forward to returning again next year."
21 May 2008
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Presbyterian Ladies College Year 12 student Michelle Choy and Monash student Julia Szabo. |
The Clayton School of Information Technology is working with Presbyterian Ladies College, one of Australia's leading girls' schools, to increase the number of females interested in IT as a career.
Even though some of the top IT students from Monash are female, the number of women enrolling in IT has dropped each year since 2002.
A similar trend is happening across girls' schools in Melbourne.
Monash is collaborating with Dr John Turner, Head of Information Technology at Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC), on the Women4IT program to encourage more young women to study IT.
The program includes recognition, career promotion, mentoring and work experience.
A recent PLC school assembly included presentations on the career opportunities available for women in IT. Third-year Business Information Systems student Julia Szabo also presented eight students from the Women4IT program with new laptops.
Already, the program has had some success with three PLC students set to complete work experience at the ANZ Bank, IBM and National Australia Bank next month.
To find out more about the Clayton School of Information Technology, visit the faculty website.
21 May 2008
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Using alternative transport can make a big difference in our efforts to reduce carbon emissions and our impact on the environment. |
The free shuttle-bus services running between Monash campuses have massively reduced carbon emissions over the past 12 months, statistics reveal.
The calculations are based on the total emissions the bus passengers would have built up if each had used a car for the same journey.
Monash's Director of the Office of Environmental Sustainability Paul Barton said: "My main message is 'use it.' It makes a difference."
The statistics show that the buses emitted 208 tonnes of carbon over the 12 month period.
If each person who took the bus had used a car for the same journey the total emissions would have been 1121 tonnes - a difference of 912 tonnes.
"These results tell us that by using alternative transport we can make a big difference in our efforts to reduce carbon emissions and reduce our impact on the environment," Mr Barton said.
"I encourage all students and staff to consider these inter-campus bus services when making their way around the Monash network and help us reduce our carbon footprint."
The services currently run between Clayton and Caulfield, Clayton and Berwick and Clayton and Peninsula.
In the first semester this year the buses have carried a total of 132,000 passengers.
The Peninsula link carried a total of 10,498 while the service to and from Berwick logged 6620 passengers.
Mr Barton said the Office of Environmental Sustainability was currently investigating the use of solar-powered buses for some of the services.
"This would bring our carbon emissions on the buses to nil which would be an even greater step in reducing our footprint," Mr Barton said.
21 May 2008
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Award-winning MUARC postgraduate student Lyndal Bugeja. |
Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) postgraduate student Lyndal Bugeja has won a major award at an international injury prevention conference in Mexico.
Ms Bugeja won the award for her paper, The role of the coroners' recommendations in injury prevention in Victoria, Australia.
The paper outlined Ms Bugeja's ongoing postgraduate research into how effectively coroners' recommendations are implemented in public health and safety interventions in Victoria.
"The Victorian coronial system is world-renowned for its contribution to injury prevention but up until now the coroner's role in injury prevention is unqualified, not necessarily systematic, and driven mostly by individual coroners," she said.
Ms Bugeja's work is being used by the Victorian Parliamentary Law Reform Committee in its review of Victoria's Coroners Act.
Lyndal's supervisor at MUARC Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith said it was terrific to see Ms Bugeja's research recognised on the world stage.
"Just as importantly, the research will make a very practical and valuable contribution to future injury prevention policy in Victoria," Professor Ozanne-Smith said.
To learn more about accident research at Monash, visit the MUARC website.
7 May 2008
Two recent events that have attracted a lot of attention in the media in the last month raise fundamental questions for universities of the modern era.
In the first, a senior lecturer in general practice at the University of Queensland gave a radio interview. He was identified at the beginning of the program by his professional title. During the interview, he raised some concerns about level of protection afforded by the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, and about its expense. The vaccine had been developed by researchers at the University of Queensland in partnership with CSL. CSL wrote to the University of Queensland expressing disappointment with the comments by the staff member and refuting what CSL regarded as his misleading remarks. The Registrar of the University then wrote to the doctor urging him to provide a written apology to CSL in which he should make it clear that the comments were made by him in his personal capacity and were not endorsed or authorised by the university.
Questions were raised in the media about the extent to which accepting funds from corporate entities make universities beholden to those companies and whether it is good for universities to accept such funds. Secondly, the rights of individual academic staff members to speak publicly stating their views and the extent of control that the university might have over individual staff members were questioned.
The principles in relation to each of these matters are reasonably clear. Of course universities should collaborate with business and industry. This is necessary so that university research can help industries to become internationally competitive and industry can help universities and researchers to take their discoveries through to commercial development. This is not merely a matter of financial opportunism. In many cases, if a discovery is not commercialised, it will not be able to be produced or distributed in sufficient quantity to benefit the community, the environment or the economy, depending on the nature of the discovery. Gardasil is a wonderful success story arising from an appropriate partnership between an Australian company, CSL, and the University of Queensland.
University academic staff certainly have the right to speak publicly on matters within their field of expertise using their university status to enhance their credibility. Indeed, it can reasonably be argued that this is a responsibility. Of course, university staff are able to comment more broadly in areas of public interest, but if it is not in the area of their recognised academic expertise they should do this in a private capacity without referring to their academic affiliation.
Of course, the interpretation of "area of expertise" is often difficult as evidenced in the case described. The doctor may well claim that as a practising general practitioner employed by the university, he did have the expertise to draw attention to what he identified to be shortcomings of the vaccine. CSL considered his remarks to be outside his field of expertise and the letter from the university also suggested this interpretation. Perhaps it would have been simpler for CSL and the university to put out a statement correcting any misleading content by the staff member rather than requesting that an apology for his views should be sent to the company. By and large the public is sophisticated enough to recognise that there will be divergent views even amongst experts within an institution as large and diverse as a university.
The second issue related to Griffith University receiving funding from the Saudi Embassy to provide some additional funding for its Government-sponsored Centre for Islamic studies. There was a journalistic attempt to link the Centre and the funding to radical Islamic groups with exuberant references to Griffith University being akin to a madrassah.
Education and research about religions and cultures different from our own is an important role for universities. Studies of this kind do not imply a blind acceptance of the fundamentals of any faith. Far from the madrassahs which seek to close minds to alternative views, universities by their nature train students to open their minds. Mutual respect through shared understanding, even if beliefs are different, is an essential step in the quest for a more peaceful world. The fact that The Saudi Embassy provided some modest funding support does not subvert the objectives of the Centre. As for other forms of funding, the essential criterion relating to the acceptability of the funding is the constraints accompanying the funding. Any constraints limiting proper and unbiased scholarship or education are unacceptable. There is no evidence that such constraints operated in this case.
We live in complex and difficult times. Moral dilemmas do arise. We must respect academic freedom but this comes with its obligations. The two examples cited demonstrate the interest of the media in the relationships between universities and funding sources and demonstrate the need for policies to be clearly understood.
21 May 2008
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Name: Justin Oakley
Org. Unit: Centre for Human Bioethics, School of Philosophy and Bioethics
Title: Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Human Bioethics
Dept: Centre for Human Bioethics
How long have you been with Monash University?
18 years.
Prior to working at Monash, where were you located and what was your role?
I was a tutor in the Language and Academic Skills Unit of Latrobe University's School of Social Sciences and a casual tutor in their philosophy department.
What challenges are ahead in your current role?
Pursuing collaborative grant-funded research on emerging issues in bioethics, strengthening the Centre's links with similar centres internationally and developing the Centre's postgraduate and undergraduate bioethics programs - we have recently started teaching a Minor in Bioethics, which is proving to be popular. I am also looking forward to a sustained period of research from July-December for a proposed book on virtue ethics and reproductive issues.
What is it about your job that holds your interest or is particularly satisfying?
I love developing new ideas through research in bioethics and philosophy. I am particularly keen to bring out the full relevance of Aristotle's ethics to contemporary issues. I also really enjoy teaching experienced health professionals in the Master of Bioethics program. It is wonderful to teach such motivated students, and their stories of the ethical dilemmas they have encountered never cease to amaze me.
What is your favourite place in the world and why?
Venice during a winter fog, when its mystique returns.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
A secondary school teacher who strongly influenced the direction of my life said, follow your passion where it leads you. She gave me her books on Western philosophy as she'd become more interested in Eastern philosophy.
What is something about yourself that most of your colleagues wouldn't know?
I once drove a QJ class steam locomotive through Inner Mongolia, under instruction from the engine driver in sign language.
21 May 2008
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The Louis Matheson Pipe Organ, located in the Robert Blackwood Hall, is the first example seen in the Southern Hemisphere of the work of Jurgen Ahrend, widely recognised as one of the finest organ builders and restorers of the present era.
It took Ahrend more than two years to build the organ in his German studio before it was transported and installed in Robert Blackwood Hall in 1980.
The case and other woodwork are made from oak, selected and seasoned by the builder for over ten years. The pipes are made from tin, lead and oak and the keyboards of boxwood and ebony.