1 July 2009
|
| Chancellor Dr Alan Finkel and incoming Vice-Chancellor Professor Ed Byrne with outgoing Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins. |
Monash Chancellor Dr Alan Finkel has paid tribute to the contribution of Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins who this month concludes his six-year tenure at the helm of Australia’s largest university.
Dr Finkel said Professor Larkins helped build the University into a thriving centre for innovative thinking and that was widely-recognised as a "wonderful international university."
"Under Richard's innovative approach, which has built on Monash's unique presence across four continents, the University's education and research agenda has flourished," Dr Finkel said.
"We've seen the creation of new facilities such as the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute and the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy that will enable leading investigators to perform research at Monash that they could not easily conduct elsewhere.
"The launch last year of the Monash Passport articulated a vision of university education committed to excellence and the production of graduates engaged with communities both at home and around the world.
"Of course, all of these achievements have been group efforts. This is absolutely true, but nevertheless I give credit to Richard for deliberately surrounding himself with a highly talented, independently motivated group of executive and academic leaders."
Dr Finkel thanked Professor Larkins for this vision of Monash as a university that is distinct and charts its own course.
"On behalf of staff and students I wish Richard the fondest of farewells - I have little doubt that in retirement he will continue to exhibit all of those qualities that have marked his successful term as vice-chancellor," Dr Finkel said.
Read Dr Finkel's full tribute to Professor Larkins at the Alumni E-News website.
1 July 2009
 |
| Professor Richard Larkins |
This week Monash Memo caught up with outgoing Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins to ask him about his time at Monash.
Looking back what are your favourite recollections of your time at Monash?
I have had so many wonderful experiences at Monash that it is hard to single out one. Getting to know so many committed students and staff, learning about the diverse contributions of our different campuses in their different locations and hearing of the appreciation of so many students past and present for their time at Monash and the difference it has made to their lives are amongst my favourite recollections. But I have also enjoyed the interactions with our wonderful researchers and working with our external partners to increase the impact that Monash can have on solving the problems facing the planet.
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the collegiality of working as part of the best senior management team in the country - all committed to their jobs but also enjoying working together in the interests of the University. And I will miss the students - there are so many who are doing fantastic things in addition to their university studies whether in community development and other forms of aid, student advocacy, elite sport, the environment and countless other areas - they are truly inspirational.
What achievement are you most proud of?
Helping to re-establish at Monash a positive feeling about itself with the realisation that it is uniquely placed to be one of the world's great universities because of its international footprint, the location of its Clayton campus in the heart of what will become the leading innovation precinct in the Southern Hemisphere and the quality and innovation of its education, research and scholarship. I am also proud of any role I might have played in helping Monash to value the diversity that comes from its multi-campus structure and the unique role and value of each of the campuses.
What is your next challenge?
I am taking on a variety of mostly pro-bono positions relating to medicine and medical research, education, Australian University Sport and international university education. Despite advice that one should not take up new positions until after a break, I have already committed to 12 positions of one sort or another when I return from holiday at the end of August. I will stay out of the new VC's way, but will be happy to help Monash in any way that I can when requested.
What is your parting message to staff and to students?
For staff - whether you are a member of the professional staff or academic staff - when you are feeling weighed down by work or frustration, remember that you are involved in the most important task that anyone could do contributing to the education of the leaders of the future, and to research and scholarship that will help enhance sustainable economic development, and will contribute to solving the problems facing the planet and to enriching lives.
For students, whenever you are daunted by the problems confronting the planet - whether its global warming, the global financial crisis, wars or disease - remember that the world has always faced problems and that you are better equipped than we were to make a real difference. Your lives will be more fulfilling if you use your talent and training to help others. I can't really do better than to quote Sir John Monash's words "Adopt as your fundamental creed that you equip yourself for life, not solely for your own benefit but for the benefit of the whole community".
My final message to the whole Monash community is to thank you most warmly for the exhilarating experience you have given me. It has been an honour and privilege to have been vice-chancellor of such a great institution. I know that under Ed Byrne it will continue to go from strength to strength and I am sure he will find his time at Monash as fulfilling as I have found mine.
For more from Professor Larkins visit the Monash Magazine website.
1 July 2009
 |
| Victor Finkel |
More than 400 students from 55 universities across 12 countries will arrive in Melbourne this week for the 35th Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship (Australs).
Monash University's Association of Debaters (MAD) is playing a key role in hosting the international students from 2 to 10 July 2009. The event hasn't been held in Australia since 2001.
MAD president Victor Finkel said the Australs were the most prestigious debating tournament in the Asia-Pacific region, and he encouraged students and staff to come along.
"University-level debating is seen as the highest level of organised debating in the world and students will have spent months preparing for the chance to compete against the world's best," Mr Finkel said.
"MAD is proud to be hosting this event and looks forward to some excellent competition."
Preliminary rounds will be held at Monash University's Caulfield campus. The semi-finals will be held in the upper and lower houses of the Victorian Parliament, and the grand final will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The 400 students will compete in eight preliminary rounds, after which time the top 16 teams will be "seeded" and participate in knock-out finals rounds.
"Topics cover all areas of society including controversial and emotive topics like banning abortion, gay marriage, human rights and euthanasia, to more mainstream political and social issues such as the need for carbon emissions trading schemes and global warming," Mr Finkel said
"Monash came second last year so we are keen to take out the top prize this year.
"We're also hoping for some great debate and exchange of ideas and above all, to develop international friendships that will last a lifetime."
Grand-finalists at the previous two World University Debating championships, MAD has won the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships four times in the past eight years and is one of the most successful debating clubs in the world.
1 July 2009
 |
One of the most advanced science laboratories in Australia was officially launched last week by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator Kim Carr.
The $1 million Earth Sciences Teaching Laboratory will provide students with the latest in high-tech learning, giving them access to next-generation computer modelling and microscope technology.
Geosciences Head of School Professor Ray Cas said the new teaching facilities were an exciting development in education with students being able to learn in laboratories that provide them with close to first-hand experience in mining and other geological settings.
"The laboratory is the most advanced facility of its kind in Australia and the technology it employs is at the cutting-edge internationally," Professor Cas said.
Professor Cas said the laboratory also had the capacity to teach at a microscopic scale via the linking of microscopes with smart screens.
"This will enable students to have elite training in mineralogy and mineral optics and allow academic staff to demonstrate linkages between processes at the micro-scale with progressively larger scale processes, right up to the scale of the solar system," Professor Cas said.
"Geosciences is a rapidly-changing area of expertise.
"By bringing the skill set of the next generation of geoscientists up to the level currently practiced in the industry, the laboratory will ultimately facilitate improved collaboration between academic geoscientists and industry."
Monash Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Adam Shoemaker said the Earth Sciences Teaching Laboratory exemplified the University's strong commitment to innovative e-Education as part of the Monash Passport.
"It will contribute to the vitality of earth sciences in the higher education sector through the provision of highly-trained undergraduate students qualified to pursue research careers, and equip our minerals and resources industries with a new generation of innovative, technology-literate earth science professionals," Professor Shoemaker said.
1 July 2009
 |
| MSA's Jacob Matlala, Chriscelia Pienaar and Craig Rowe with Dr Ian Rowe and Faculty of Education associate dean (Development) Associate Professor Len Cairns. |
The Faculty of Education has hosted a workshop in South Africa to improve the understanding of mathematics among teachers from secondary schools near the University's South African campus.
The three-day workshop aimed to help participants learn new, simple, hands-on activities they could apply in the classroom to stimulate learning and motivate students to enjoy the study of mathematics.
In total 30 teachers, from disadvantaged schools, took part.
Dr Ian Lowe, who presented the workshop with MSA's Jacob Matlala and Chriscelia Pienaar, said it was clear teachers had never previously seen activities like those presented, and they responded enthusiastically.
"Teacher support and an emphasis on good learning strategies will eventually have the effect of improving teaching methods and, as a consequence, improve student learning," Dr Lowe said.
Teachers were encouraged to engage in follow-up strategies including sharing new methods with others, developing a network with other teachers, and having cluster meetings with teachers from other schools.
Five teachers were also chosen to lead the process into the future. Together with Monash staff members, they will plan and run a follow-up workshop, support the development of a teacher network and encourage participants to use what they have experienced.
They will also plan a similar three-day workshop for a new group of teachers at Monash South Africa in September.
The workshop was made possible through a Strategic Initiatives Grant from the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International).
For more information about the workshop visit the Monash South Africa website.
1 July 2009
 |
| Associate Professor Maryanne Dever |
Associate Professor Maryanne Dever from the Centre for Women's Studies and Gender Research in the Faculty of Arts has received the 2009 Manning Clark House/Copyright Agency of Australia Fellowship.
The fellowships, now in their third year, enable researchers to stay in the home of the celebrated historian while conducting research in Canberra.
Manning Clark House, designed by Robin Boyd in 1952, is where Manning and Dymphna Clark lived and worked from 1953 until their deaths in 1991 and 2000 respectively.
Manning Clark's roof top study, where the six volumes of A History of Australia and his other works were written, remains much as it was when the Clarks lived in the house.
While in Canberra, Associate Professor Dever is working on an edition of letters from the writer, Marjorie Barnard, to the influential critic Nettie Palmer.
Barnard is perhaps best-known for her collaborative novels written with Flora Eldershaw and her collection of short stories, The Persimmon Tree (1943).
The letters, held in the National Library, date from the 1930s to the 1960s and are valuable for the insights they offer into the negotiations and compromises that single, university-educated women of that day were required to make in pursuit of their professional ambitions.
Associate Professor Dever said the research would build upon her work on intimate correspondence and the dilemmas researchers face delving into writers’ personal lives through private collections.
"It's quite uncanny to be staying in Manning and Dymphna Clark's home and to see their private papers in situ, even making cups of tea in their tea pots," Associate Professor Dever said.
1 July 2009
 |
Students from around the world will converge on Monash this month as part of the International Future Energy Challenge.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering will host the seven finalist student teams as they battle it out in the Wind Turbine Power Maximiser portion of the challenge, which aims to promote student interest in power electronic converters, wind and power engineering.
The three days of finals, from 15 to 17 July, will be the culmination of 18 months work to design and build an electronic circuit that maximises the power from a wind turbine.
The teams' designs, which have been developed within tight constraints, will be tested in the Monash wind tunnel and laboratories to ascertain their ability to function well.
Research fellow Dr Peter Freere said it was an honour for Monash to host the challenge – the first time it has been held outside the US.
"The Wind Turbine challenge offers the chance for students to work on a serious design and construction project; many of the students arguably learn more working on this project than they do in any other part of their undergraduate degree," Dr Freere said.
"They often apply unusual technologies to find a design solution. The results may not always work as well as hoped, but in the process the students learn how to evaluate and improve on the technology.
"It helps turn them into engineers."
The International Future Energy Challenge is a student competition run biannually by the US-based IEEE Power Electronics Society and the Power Sources Manufacturers Association to promote the design and practical construction of leading edge electrical energy technologies.
Monash teams have finished first and second in the previous two challenges. As host this year, the University is unable to field a team.
For more information on the competition, contact Dr Freere peter.freere@eng.monash.edu.au.
1 July 2009
 |
| Richard Lewer, True stories – Australian crime 2008 (detail). |
Richard Lewer: Nobody Likes a Show Off will open today at the Monash University Museum of Art, continuing MUMA's series of exhibitions focusing upon the work of significant artists at mid-career.
Originally from New Zealand, Lewer moved to Australia in 1996. His work is marked by a sceptical humour and a focus upon the darker sides of human behaviour, place and social identity.
The exhibition features key works from public and private collections in Australia and New Zealand including Lewer's epic 'True stories – Australian crime series', painted on acoustic tiles sourced from police interrogation rooms, and documenting some of Australia's most notorious perpetrators of crime and their subjects.
Lewer's major Stations of the Cross series, recently acquired for the Monash University collection, will also feature.
Curator Kirrily Hammond said the exhibition covered the scope of the artist's practice, from painting, drawing and animation to performance and installation.
"His diverse practice involves close observation and highly-subjective encounters with family, sport, religious and criminal subjects, leading to insightful and absurd narrative reflections on good and evil, confession and redemption and life and mortality," Ms Hammond said.
Monash staff and students are invited to attend the exhibition's opening celebration to be held at the Museum on Saturday 18 July, from 2-5 pm.
A number of public programs will coincide with the exhibition.
Richard Lewer: Nobody Likes a Show Off runs from 1 July to 5 September at the Monash University Museum of Art, Ground Floor, Building 55, Clayton campus.
For further information visit the MUMA website or telephone +61 3 9905 4217.
1 July 2009
 |
| Stephanie Rep |
When Stephanie Rep was offered the opportunity to work as a marketing assistant with internationally-recognised company PZ Cussons as part of her coursework, she jumped at the chance.
Ms Rep, a marketing major at the Berwick campus, is part of the first group of Bachelor of Business and Commerce students transferring their studies in the classroom to the workplace in a bid to further strengthen their employability on graduation.
The Work-Integrated Learning Program was launched earlier this year for students to develop work skills and enhance their practical knowledge in a business environment. Students spend 40 working days with their host organisation familiarising themselves with the work environment and the practical application of theories learnt at university.
Working closely with her mentor and colleagues at PZ Cussons has proved invaluable for Ms Rep's transition from university to work at the end of the year.
"I was treated as an important member of the team and my work was regarded just as importantly as everyone else's,” Ms Rep said.
"This boosted my confidence and gave me the opportunity to work to the best of my ability."
The program has also forged a strong relationship between Monash, its students and local businesses and industry.
Both students and organisations have benefited from the program with many students finding part-time work in their chosen fields before they finish their courses.
Ms Rep continues to work at PZ Cussons after impressing senior management with her website branding work for three well-known care products, Radiant, Duo and Morning Fresh.
For more information visit the Work-Integrated Learning website.
1 July 2009
 |
Name: Eileen Bell
Course: Bachelor of Business Studies
Year level: First year
Mode: Off-campus
What helped you to choose Monash?
The flexibility of off-campus study as well as its good reputation.
What challenges are ahead for you this year?
Trying to juggle my career, travel and study.
What will be your ideal career (and what will it involve) when you graduate?
My ideal career would be working in intelligence for the government.
What is your favourite place in the world and why?
The United States as I have a lot of friends over there from my involvement in gaming. I would also love to visit Germany - I have relatives there and everyone that has been has said it's fantastic.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Everything happens for a reason, so don't stress over things you have no control over.
We understand you are the first female professional gamer in Australia.
That's right – It's pretty awesome. As you can imagine getting paid to play video games is nice! I've been into video games since I was little and I had some friends competing who got me into the whole pro side of things. My favourite games are first-person shooter (eg. counter strike) and role-playing games.
Can you tell us about your role at the International Simulation and Gaming Association conference?
I'm presenting a paper on the future of e-Sports, and providing a woman's perspective on professional gaming, as well as outlining some of the educational benefits of gaming. I will also be on a discussion panel.
What is something about yourself that most of your fellow students wouldn't know?
I have been on a television show for professional gaming called 'Championship Gaming Series', which was televised worldwide.
1 July 2009
 Upgrade / install Flash player for optimum video viewing or refer to the alternative versions below. Speed building videoAlternative versions: |
More than three years' work has been condensed into less than two minutes to provide a spectacular bird's eye view of the construction of the STRIP 2 building at the Clayton campus.
A computerised camera was placed above the construction site and took an image of the work every day at midday.
When the building was finally completed earlier this year Sydney-based Bob Peters Imaging, who installed the camera on the roof of Building 17 in March 2007, had amassed 787 photographs.
These images were turned into a 1min 47sec film showing the Science Technology Research and Innovation Precinct building rising up from the foundations in ultra quick time.