Features

Spreading the news

As a business analyst with satellite TV network Al Jazeera, Abdurahman Warsame (BInfoSys 2003) uses the latest technology to expand the reach of the network's global news service. Mr Warsame is a specialist in social media within Al Jazeera's New Media Department based in Doha, Qatar.

"Social media is a relatively new field and a very exciting one," Mr Warsame said.

"My job is to make Al Jazeera's content available to a wider audience through the internet and mobile technology. One aim is to bring the audience closer to the news-making process through online participation."

Mr Warsame helped develop Al Jazeera's YouTube channels and a podcasting service, both launched last year. Viewers can now watch Al Jazeera on the internet or their iPod. The network also offers Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and mobile (real-time) television services.

Mr Warsame, himself an active blogger, said blogs were a powerful tool that gave people a chance to make their voices heard.

"In the Middle East we saw how blogging led to massive demonstrations in Egypt. Iraqis have also used blogs to tell the world what is happening in their country," he said.

An education in culture

A Monash University degree has provided a passport to a rich and satisfying career for primary school teacher Rebecca Alush (BEarlyChildEd 2004).

Since 2006 she has taught literacy and numeracy to students aged seven to nine at Alekarenge School in Warrabri, Northern Territory. An Indigenous teaching assistant works with Ms Alush and translates English into local languages.

"This year I have introduced weekly language and culture sessions whereby community elders visit the school to teach children their language.

"This has been very interesting and exciting," she said.

Her favourite aspect of the role is its unpredictable nature.

"You never know what you will be faced with when you get to school. The average attendance in my class each day is 15 students but this can fluctuate from five to 30 students," Ms Alush said.

Over the past two years Ms Alush has had the opportunity to teach children of all ages from pre-school to senior secondary, and has taken on leadership positions such as the accelerated literacy coordinator role.

When choosing an education course Ms Alush felt it was important to keep her career options open and said Monash prepared her for a highly flexible career.

"I chose to study at Monash because the course qualified me for work with children from birth to 12 years of age, offering a wider scope of employment opportunities," she said.

"Studying at the Monash Peninsula campus also appealed to me because I grew up in the country and the Peninsula campus appeared less daunting than the University's larger campuses."

A dose of inspiration

A renowned researcher and educator, Valentino (Val) Stella (BPharm 1968, HonLLD 1997) is a distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at The University of Kansas (KU) in the USA. He is also a Victorian professor at Monash University's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Professor Stella's research focuses on the application of chemistry to the study of factors affecting drug delivery. He is best known for his work to improve the way medicines are absorbed by the body. This includes the pre-formulation of drugs to treat conditions such as cancer, AIDS, epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis.

He has also helped to develop 'prodrugs', which break down and release active drugs once they are delivered to the body.

Professor Stella holds more than 34 patents and is the inventor or co-inventor of several drugs including: the anti-seizure drug Fosphenytoin; the anti-AIDS drug Viread; and Captisol which is used to dissolve drugs for injection. He is also completing clinical trials for a new anaesthetic drug called Aquavan.

During his time as director of KU's Center for Drug Delivery Research from 1989 to 2000, Professor Stella co-founded three pharmaceutical companies: CyDex, CritiTech and ProQuest. He has published more than 300 papers and authored or co-authored six books, his most recent being Prodrugs: Challenges and Rewards (Springer/AAPS Press, 2007).

To share your news, career changes or achievements with fellow alumni, contact Alumni Relations at monashalumni@adm.monash.edu.au.