18 February 2009
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| Monash staff member and Churchill CFA Captain Steve Barling is fighting bushfires in Gippsland. Photo courtesy Peter Ward, Herald Sun |
Staff at Monash University's Gippsland campus continue to work around the clock to provide accommodation and support to evacuees and firefighters with the campus operating as the main staging area for combating the fires that have killed 21 people and devastated huge areas of the Latrobe Valley.
The CFA and DSE have thanked Monash for its quick response in providing campus facilities and staff to support the effort over three weeks.
The campus is housing and feeding 120 fire crew members, plus other emergency services personnel.
Many Monash staff are also on the frontline, directly fighting the fires.
Among them is the Captain of the Churchill Fire Brigade, Steve Barling, from Monash Student and Administrative Services.
Mr Barling said adrenalin got him through a 20 hour shift on Saturday 7 February when the worst of the fires erupted.
"It's absolutely devastating to see the damage that has been done," Mr Barling said.
"I haven't seen anything like it in my 23 years with the CFA. That we've had 21 deaths and to see all the houses that have burnt down at the Churchill -Glendonald Road fire is very tough."
Gippsland Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Bartlett said the campus would continue to provide support through the coming weeks as the needs of local families are assessed and the fire crews continue to work to bring the fires under control.
"Our volunteers are only too willing to help, which shows what a great community spirit there is when it comes to an emergency," Professor Bartlett said.
Professor Bartlett said preparation for the intake of 2009 students had not been affected.
"All students and their families can be assured that the campus and student accommodation have not been under threat by the fires," Professor Bartlett said.
"Orientation Week started on Wednesday 18 February. Residential students will access their accommodation over the coming weekend."
18 February 2009
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| Mairi Rose McLeod with some of the many items donated by staff in the Medicine faculty. |
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| Shez Cantlie from Health Wellbeing and Development, Peninsula campus. |
The tragic events of the past two weeks have had a deep and lasting impact on the Monash community and staff and students have rallied around those affected.
Collection points were quickly set up on campuses for people to donate goods to the relief effort.
At the Berwick campus, the School of Information Technology set up a collection point to provide food, clothing, torches, batteries and toys to the fire victims.
After hearing of the fires student residential advisers and Monash Residential Services staff from Berwick, Caulfield, Gippsland and Peninsula abandoned their weekend workshop and volunteered at the Gippsland campus staging area, preparing meals and making beds.
Staff of the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and the Matheson Library at Clayton organised a collection for Animal Aid and the RSPCA.
Several tonnes of blankets, food, cat litter and bowls quickly piled up in the offices of Kane Simons and Mairi Rose McLeod (pictured top right) and have been delivered to the RSPCA and collection points in Whittlesea and Coldstream.
Pet food and blankets also came flooding in after a similar collection was organised by Health and Wellbeing at the Peninsula campus (pictured right).
Thousands of dollars have been raised through fundraising events and collections for the Red Cross and Salvation Army at all Monash campuses.
The University has also set up a website to provide staff and students with information about how they can help in the aftermath of the bushfires.
For more information visit the Bush Fire Response website.
A benefit concert will be held at the Gippsland campus on Saturday 21 February at 7 pm to raise money for the bush fire victims. The concert will include much-loved Australian country singer Sara Storer, US singer Tony Childs, Mia Dyson and Liz Stringer.
18 February 2009
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A new analysis of precipitation records from a long-term cloud seeding operation in Tasmania shows a promising increase in rainfall during periods of seeding.
A Monash University research team worked with Hydro Tasmania analysing the cloud seeding activity over the hydroelectric catchment area in central Tasmania for more than four decades -- from 1960 to 2005.
The analysis used monthly rainfall figures in the catchment area where the seeding took place and compared them with data from nearby control areas.
Associate Professor Steven Siems from the Faculty of Science said a number of independent statistical tests showed a consistent increase of at least five per cent in monthly rainfall over the catchment area.
"This is the first time an independent analysis of cloud seeding data over several decades has shown a statistically significant increase in rainfall," Associate Professor Siems said.
However the Monash team has also cautioned against becoming too excited by the results.
PhD candidate Anthony Morrison said clouds over the Southern Ocean and Tasmania are unique because they can contain vast amounts of supercooled liquid water and are unusually clean.
"Even though we suspect that cloud seeding has made a significant contribution, there could be other explanations for the increased rainfall," Mr Morrison said.
"Further field measurements of cloud microphysics over the region will provide a physical basis for these statistical results."
Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification where substances are dispersed into the air in an attempt to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds. The practice of cloud seeding remains a contentious issue in the scientific community with many attempts made since the beginning of cloud seeding programs in the 1940s to measure and explain rainfall levels.
Tasmania has long been a location for cloud seeding programs, following apparent success with the programs in the 1960s and 1970s when significant rainfall increases of more than 30 per cent were measured and reported by CSIRO scientists.
Find out more about Atmospheric Science at Monash.
18 February 2009
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| Dr Natalie de Morton |
Dr Natalie de Morton has devised a simple mobility test to quickly identify the patient's level of mobility and treatment options.
Mobility, like blood tests or blood pressure readings, is a very important indicator of health status.
With the DEMMI (De Morton Mobility Index) patients are asked a series of questions and then undergo some basic physical tasks. Medical staff can apply the same test to any age group and to any level of ability and health.
"We wanted it to be a quick and easy test to administer so it could be used where it will be most valuable, in the acute clinical setting, when instant diagnoses can be incredibly important to determining potential treatment options for a patient," Dr de Morton said.
"On average it takes just under nine minutes to administer."
The DEMMI uses a scorecard with 15 simple physical tests for assessing the mobility of elderly patients and includes questions such as: Can the patient stand for 10 seconds with one foot in front of the other, roll over in bed or walk unaided for 50 metres?
Less than a year after Dr de Morton became the first student to complete a doctorate at Monash University's new Department of Physiotherapy, many health services in Australia and overseas have applied her work.
Two Australian universities have added the DEMMI to their courses and European collaborators will soon translate it into Dutch and German. Health authorities in the US, Canada, Scandinavia and Europe have also expressed interest.
Dr de Morton said she was overwhelmed with the feedback.
"Clinicians like it because it's quick, has minimal equipment requirements, it's inexpensive and provides important information regarding patient mobility," Dr de Morton said.
18 February 2009
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| Professor Nadia Rosenthal |
Professor Nadia Rosenthal has been awarded a $4 million fellowship to investigate the heart's regenerative capacity in ageing and disease.
Professor Rosenthal is the founding director of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), a $153 million medical research centre due to open at the Clayton campus this year.
A joint venture between Monash University and the Victorian Government, ARMI will build on the University's existing strengths in biomedical research, and will support the next generation of discoveries in regenerative medicine.
Professor Rosenthal will use the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia fellowship to pave the way for innovation in the clinical treatment of some of the most devastating chronic health problems in Australia, such as coronary heart disease.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Edwina Cornish said Professor Rosenthal's fellowship was an exceptional achievement.
"Professor Rosenthal was one of twelve researchers to receive this prestigious fellowship," Professor Cornish said.
"We are thrilled that she and her team will be conducting such vital research here at Monash."
18 February 2009
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The library refurbishment marks a fifth milestone for the Monash University Library's efforts to provide library spaces that respond to changing teaching and learning styles.
Library users at Parkville now have a modern facility almost double the previous size, with 40 computers and a training room (making 67 computers in total).
The refurbished facility features new furniture and improved signage and wireless access, within an open plan layout.
The library has also been rearranged to better separate areas for quiet and collaborative group work. Monash University Librarian Ms Cathrine Harboe-Ree said she was extremely pleased with the resulting facility and the enthusiastic response of students.
The Pharmacy Library will continue its research focus as the premier source of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences information within Australia.
Services have expanded with information research and learning skills classes helping Monash students and staff to save time and be more effective in their learning, teaching and research.
The library, which originally opened in 1972 as part of the Victorian College of Pharmacy, traces its roots back to 1873 when the Pharmaceutical Society founded a library in Swanston Street, Melbourne.
It is named in memory of Charles Leslie Butchers, a pioneer who was a driving force in pharmacy for over 40 years and a generous library supporter.
18 February 2009
Bubbles on the Surface III is the culminating exhibition of a three year partnership between Indigenous artists and Monash University researchers focused on the Murray Darling Basin.
Visitors to the exhibition experience a sensory journey through water story places from the Narran Lake in north western NSW down the Darling River to the Murray River in Victoria.
Featured is the work of sculptor and printmaker Badger Bates who produces stunning carvings and prints that tell stories of water places in his country.
Artist in residence at the Gippsland Centre for Art and Design Treahna Hamm, who is known for the traditional possum skin cloaks she made for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, used Churchill reeds to construct woven works for the exhibition, as well as making works in a range of other media.
Bubbles on the Surface III is on display until 12 March 2009 at the Switchback Gallery, Building 6S, Gippsland Centre for Art and Design, Monash University Gippsland campus.
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| Yorta Yorta artist Treahna Hamm with one of her woven works. Photograph: Neale Stratford. | Chrissiejoy Marshall, 'Singing the Country' 2000 acrylic on canvas. |
18 February 2009
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| Victor Finkel |
Monash University's debating team has triumphed over defending champions the University of Sydney to take out the CIMB World Universities Peace Invitational Debate (WUPID) finals in Kuala Lumpur.
Held over four days, WUPID brought together 56 teams and 180 debaters from universities around the world to debate issues of peace.
With the topic Take Action Against Somalia Pirates, Monash debaters Victor Finkel and Amit Golder argued effectively for the need to involve a multinational force in curbing pirate activities and for peacekeeping operations to continue.
"The competition standard was very high, so to come away with the win was fantastic," Mr Finkel said.
Monash sent a total of four teams of two debaters each, plus three adjudicators to WUPID. Other participants from Monash were Andrew Black, Meredith Prior, Kiran Iyer, Nita Rao, Dom Guinane and Madeline Schultz.
After the event the Monash debaters visited the University's Sunway campus to share their experiences with its newly-established debate team.
In 2009 Monash will host the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships at the Caulfield campus.
Last year ended on a very positive note for Monash. We were awarded $89.9m from the Commonwealth Government's Higher Education Endowment Fund, the full amount we requested.
The first allocation from the fund was brought forward from July 2009 to December 2008 because of the global financial crisis as part of the package designed to stimulate the economy, and the sum dispensed was increased from $310m to $586m.
Our successful application was for the New Horizons Centre, a state of the art building to accommodate 300 of our academics from Science and Engineering and 150 CSIRO scientists. The main research themes in the centre will be materials, clean energy and simulation-directed smart manufacture. The approach will be multidisciplinary and will involve close partnerships with industry.
Monash will make a cash contribution of $56m to the project over four years and CSIRO will make a cash contribution of $14.9m.
In total, 11 universities received funding in this highly competitive initial round, with only four receiving $78m or more.
In addition to this allocation, the Government unexpectedly also distributed a further $500m as the Teaching and Learning Capital Fund. This was distributed on a formula basis related to the domestic student load. Monash received an additional $26m to use for capital works on teaching and learning facilities.
Taken together with the allocation of $500m as the Better Universities Renewal Fund in the May 2008 budget, it can be seen that the Government has acted on its stated commitment to address the neglect of universities over the last dozen years or so.
These substantial allocations will help universities to address their large backlogs of capital projects. From Monash's point of view it will allow identified priorities in relation to the science/engineering precinct to be addressed while maintaining our ongoing program of major refurbishment, including the high priority Menzies refurbishment program.
Of course, the allocations for capital refurbishment do nothing to address the inadequate recurrent funding for domestic undergraduate education and for the indirect costs of research. This means that the budget situation for 2009 remains tight.
2009 is likely to be the most significant year for Australia's universities for two decades. The Bradley Review of Higher Education was released in December 2008 and the Cutler Review of Innovation was released last September. The Government responses to these reviews will have a fundamental impact on our universities. Both recognise the significance of universities to Australia's future and outline how Australia has been falling behind with respect to public funding of its universities for education and for research compared with other countries and how this has impacted on student:staff ratios and some elements of the student experience.
The reviews also recognise that the failure to fund the full costs of research and domestic undergraduate students leads to universities having to cross-subsidise both the costs of research and the cost of education of domestic students from income from international students.
The Bradley Review makes many recommendations and I refer you to the Review of Australian Higher Education report.
Instead of attempting to cover the entire report, I will emphasise here only a few important recommendations.
The review recommended a 10 per cent increase in funding of education through the Commonwealth Grants Scheme, to be followed by a new indexation system which would ensure realistic increases in funding from year to year rather than the derisory increases that have been crippling the system.
In common with the Cutler Review of Innovation the Bradley Expert Panel argued for a move toward full-funding of the costs of research funded through national competitive grants, initially by increasing the value of the Research Infrastructure Block Grant to 50 cents for every dollar of project-based research grants, compared with its current value of just over 20 cents in the dollar.
It recommended negotiated targets for universities with respect to equity objectives with part of the funding being dependent on meeting those targets.
It also advocated for the establishment, under the aegis of the Commonwealth, of a national body to accredit universities that would also have oversight of vocational and tertiary education. This would involve a substantial transfer of responsibility for post-secondary education from the States to the Commonwealth and would allow better coordination of activities and transition pathways between the vocational education and training sector and the universities. It is not clear what the States' view will be on this.
The most controversial recommendation relates to the funding mechanism. The review suggested that all eligible students should be provided with learning entitlements or vouchers which they could choose to use to support their education at any public university and for any course to which they could gain admission. This system would apply only to public universities at first but could be extended to the private institutions and the Vocational Education and Training sector later.
Universities could admit as many students as they wished in the disciplines they chose. The panel hoped that better market information provided to students would ensure that the students' and universities' choices would match the nation's workforce needs, but the Panel recommended reserve powers for the Government to regulate numbers in disciplines judged to be national priorities.
Significantly the panel did not recommend deregulation of fees although it did suggest that by mutual agreement universities could charge full fees in courses for which they received no government-supported students.
Moving to a more deregulated and student-demand driven system rather than a regulated supply-driven system has attractions, but continuing to cap fees in the face of deregulation of load may have some unintended consequences.
It seems likely that if the only way that universities can increase teaching income from Australian students is by increasing intakes, the larger, more prestigious metropolitan universities may choose to do so, particularly in areas of relatively low cost and high demand.
Universities may also limit places in higher cost areas. I will leave it to your imagination to hypothesise on what these might be but it is unlikely that it will provide a good match for national workforce needs. Moreover the financial incentive for prestigious universities to increase numbers of students may be more damaging to smaller, less prestigious and regional universities than a system that allowed variation of fees. If deregulation of fees were to be introduced, equity concerns could be met by a requirement for a significant proportion of places to be offered as fee-remission scholarships to students from disadvantaged groups.
The point I wish to make relates not so much to the details of the model but rather to emphasise that the funding system has the potential to have a profound effect on the future of our universities as well as on our students and future generations of students. The details will be important and it will take time to work through them carefully.
In the meantime it is urgent that the funding recommendations of the reviews relating to support for education, research and financial support for students are enacted.
Taken together with the Cutler Review, the Bradley Review proposes many changes that will benefit the capacity of our universities to deliver the educational, research and research training outcomes that our nation needs if it is to be a significant player in the knowledge economy of the 21st century and if it is to play its part in solving some of the urgent problems facing the planet.
The Government's response to both reviews is therefore of fundamental importance in determining the future not only of our university system, but of our country.
18 February 2009
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Name: Sathi Gunasegaram
Organisational Unit: School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash Sunway, Malaysia
Title: School Manager, Clinical School Johor Bahru
How long have you been with Monash University?
I started with Monash on 20 May 2008. It's been an amazing nine months.
Prior to working at Monash, where were you located and what was your role?
I was attached to a government-linked company that dealt with property management and development. Before that I was a lawyer, so this new education role was indeed a challenge.
Tell us a bit about the Clinical School in Johor Bahru
CSJB was set up in January 2006 with only Years 3 and 4 running. We now also have the Year 5 (pre-intern year) batch of medical students. We are a small but fully utilised school with facilities that cater to the needs of the student population. We have a remarkable support staff that continue to enhance the image of CSJB with their undying and unique brand of team work.
What challenges are ahead in your current role?
To implement and successfully run Year 3, 4 and 5 programs and to further provide leadership to a range of school administrative and operational management matters.
What is it about your job that holds your interest or is particularly satisfying?
Working with a dedicated bunch of people that have shown me support and words of encouragement each time. Being with the Monash family in Malaysia has been an eye-opener in all senses.
What is your favourite place in the world and why?
Definitely Greece. Awesome islands, friendly people and great sun. I spent eight months after my degree backpacking in Greece -- an unforgettable experience.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
To be honest, straightforward and respectful, and to work the utmost to achieve the objectives on hand.
What is something about yourself that most of your colleagues wouldn't know?
That deep beneath that tough exterior is a simple, loving, charismatic guy.
18 February 2009
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Monash University will hold a graduation ceremony in Beijing, China for the first time on Saturday 21 February.
More than 100 students from across all Monash faculties will graduate. The ceremony will be held at the Grand Hyatt Beijing Hotel.