There’s more in the Mail

In Campus Morning Mail for Friday

Merlin Crossley on science comms and getting the good word out.

And Amani Bell on  why students like work integrated learning on-line. This week’s addition to Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s celebrated series, Needed now in teaching and learning.

Plus Garry Carnegie (RMIT) questions the way universities rate rankings, “the notion of elitism and the spirit of competition, both between and within universities, appear to be dominant in our universities,” he suggests.

More pages for researchers to write

Publishing giant John Wiley has settled on terms to increase access

 Researchers at 52 ANZ institutions will be able to open access publish over 6000 extra accepted articles a year in the publisher’s 1400 hybrid journals. These generally run content variously pay to read or pay to publish, however neither will apply – with both paid for by institutions subscription fees.

The agreed annual hikes to these are said to be in-line with sub increases in recent years.

Which makes this close to appearing a very good deal for institutions and the taxpayers that fund much of their work.

It is the core part of a deal struck with the Council of Australian University Librarians, which negotiates with publishers for member institutions.

This is the fourth OA arrangement CAUL has reached this year and, according to the Council, “will dramatically increase open access output in the region.”

Is this shape of open access to come? Scroll down

New NHMRC success rate could be worse

The National Health and Medical Research Council announces Ideas Grants

The programme is the council’s second largest scheme, funding research across health and medical disciplines. Just not much of it, with 248 (9.9 per cent) of applications successful in yesterday’s announcement.

This looks marginally better than last year’s 9.8 per cent – it isn’t.  283 of 2889 applicants were successful last year, compared to 248 of 2503 this.

However, this isn’t the overall issue the NHMRC is most anxious to address. There is a push in the medical research community for the council to do something about the gender imbalance in grants across career stages and the NHMRC now highlights the most positive stats it has in any announcement on success rates for women.

As it did yesterday, pointing out that the difference in funded rates between men and women chief investigators in the new Ideas round is 0.1 per cent.

Plus, the council, “has identified research led by women as an area of structural priority and has funded an additional five applications led by female CIAs using structural priority funding.”

Problem is that senior research is still mainly a bloke’s business, with 1407 men leading teams, compared to 1071 women. While the funding  per centage rate is level, the proportion of grants awarded is 57 per cent men and 43 per cent (rounded) women.

Open research access: change could be coming

With the NHMRC bailing on immediate OA on publication starting next year (CMM November 2 ) a national scheme depends on the Chief Scientist

Dr Foley raised a national OA scheme in March (CMM March 18) and got from the Industry Minister? a big tick to get on with it in (CMM August 31). However, the last CMM heard she is still talking to stakeholders and considering what needs be done.

There was an indication of what she is thinking during the week when she described an article in Nature as a “quality read.” “Great to see synergies with my message that opening access to research literature will benefit the broader community. It’s not just about researchers,” she wrote (via Twitter).

The read she rates is by Nick Campbell VP for academic affairs at journal giant Springer-Nature, who referred to Dr Foley’s work towards “an Australian model”, “moving beyond the currently fragmented and uneven approach to open access in Australia by seeking to implement an overarching national strategy through a comprehensive nationwide agreement that champions the quality-assured, value-added version of record.”

And he pointed to his company’s recent deal with the Council of Australian University Librarians. The Springer-CAUL deal includes reading-access to 2000 journals for researchers at 47 participating universities (plus seven other institutions)  and 3300 articles to be published by them in hybrid journals, which carry paywalled and pay to publish content. The cost to CAUL members is their subscription. (CMM October 21).

This looks like the same deal CAUL has done with Wiley (above), which leaves CMM wondering, what, if anything is afoot with Elsevier?

 

Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science

Edward Holmes (Uni Sydney) takes the top award (CMM yesterday). Other winners are,

* Innovation: Anthony Weiss (Uni Sydney) * New innovator: Michael Bowen (Uni Sydney) * Physical scientist: Keith Bannister (CSIRO) * Life Scientist: Sherene Loi (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre) * Primary school science: Megan Hayes (Mudgeeraba Creek School, Queensland) * Secondary school science: Scott Graham (Barker College, NSW)

Dolt of the day

Is CMM who got wrong the surname of Universities Australia’s next comms chief who is Jenny Clark.

Appointments, achievements

Of the day

 CSL Centenary Fellowships are announced. The $1.25m over five-year awards go to,  Stephin Vervoort (the MRI formally known as Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre) and Daniel Watterson (Uni Queensland).

Simon Evans will leave La Trobe U to become a DVC at Uni New England. Professor Evans is now provost of LTU’s College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce. The  LT U colleges are being abolished in the new year. He follows Birgit Loch, formerly deputy provost in La Trobe’s College of Science, Health and Engineering, who moved to UNE in October, to be a faculty dean.

David Harrison will join University of Notre Dame Australia as PVC Engagement and Comms. He moves from chief of staff in the VC’s office at Murdoch U. Prior to Murdoch U he managed government and corporate comms at UWA.

Stephan Tillmann becomes ED of the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute in the new year. He moves from Uni Sydney’s school of maths and stats.

Of the week

The Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association announces two new joint editors of its Journal of Industrial RelationsAmanda Pyman (Deakin U) and Lucy Taksa (Macquarie U). They replace Marian Baird and Bradon Ellem (University of Sydney).

John Bertram (Monash U) receives the Presidents Medal from the ANZ Society for Cell and Development Biology.

Jacquie Bowden is to join Flinders U as director of the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction. She moves from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.

Julia Carlomagno joins Monash (U) Publishing as publisher.

Universities Australia announces Jenny Clark will be comms director. Ms Clark will join from the Business Council of Australia. Previous roles include advising PM Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Joe Hockey.

Curtin U announces new John Curtin Distinguished Professors. In Business and Law Fran AckermannAlan Duncan, Marylene Gagne, Mark GriffinSharon Parker and Ian Phau. In Health SciencesDonna ChungPhill DellaJohn Mamo and Zhonghua Sun. In HumanitiesRod Ellis. In Science and Engineering, Craig BuckleyBoris GurevichIain MurrayAndrew RohlTele TanKate Trinajstic.

Nadia Davidson will lead a bioinformatics research group at the MRI formerly known as Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. She will move from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Peter Ebeling (Monash U) becomes president-elect of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research.

Ceridwen Dovey wins the UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing. Ms Dovey’s award is for a forthcoming essay on “the little-known threat of orbital overcrowding.” She has now won the Bragg Prize twice.

Neeraja Krishnan is appointed director of IDP’s digital campus in Chennai. She will lead all IDP tech operations in India.

Erik Lithander starts at Uni Auckland as DVC Strategic Engagement, moving from Uni Bristol. “What, the Erik Lithander who was PVC International at ANU in the time of Ian “the gent” Young?” you ask. That’s the one.

At Australian Catholic U, Phil Parker is appointed dean for Graduate Research. He steps up from deputy director of the Institute of Positive Psychology and Education.

Carole Propper becomes an adjunct professor in Monash U’s Centre for Health Economics. She is a past president of the (UK) Royal Economic Society.

Mary Ryan is incoming executive dean, Arts and Education at Australian Catholic U. She moves from Macquarie U.

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency has a fourth commissioner, with the appointment of veteran higher education finance analyst Stephen Somogyi. He joins Chief Commissioner Peter Coaldrake, Joan Cooper and the recently appointed Adrienne Nieuwenhuis (CMM October 5).

Uni Queensland’s teaching and learning awards were announced last nightTeaching excellenceTaylor Dick (Biomedical Sciences), Poh Wah Hillock (Maths and Physics), Deanne Gannaway (Teaching and Learning Innovation), Allison Mandrusiak (Health and Rehabilitation Sciences), Kevin Welsh (Earth and Environmental Sciences) Citations for student learning: Michaela Kelly and team (Vulnerability in Medicine Tutorial Programme), Rachel Allavena (Vet Science), Karen Hughes (Business School), Hassan Khosravi (Teaching and Learning Innovation), Stuart Middleton (Business School) and Mark Tanner (Business School).

The WA Cancer Council 2021 research awards go to, Henry Hui – UWA, (early career researcher), Christobel Saunders – UWA (career achievement), Jason Waithman – Telethon Kids Institute (researcher of the year).  

 Mark Young leaves La Trobe U this week. He moves to Uni Tasmania to be Director, Future Student Journey.