The University of Southern Queensland announces a “full relaunch of the brand”

This includes a new logo with, “a refreshed colour palette” and a new acronym, “UniSQ”. The university’s “strong track record of success has evolved into a confident new commitment by the university to firmly stake its claim as the university of choice for people who think big and put ambition into action, with a full relaunch of the brand,” is the message.

“Over the past 55 years, our educational institution has been known by different names and had four different logos, but at the core, our values have remained the same,” PVC Engagement Shawn Walker says. Having survived all that UniSQ will surely survive all this.

People get research can help everybody – the pandemic delivered that

But popularity does not make policy and researchers face new challenges of purpose and priorities. Join research policy makers and opinion shapers at CMM-Twig Marketing’s on-line conference, “What’s next for the people who can save the world.”  Details  HERE.

In Features this morning

Marnie Hughes-Warrington (Uni SA) on a partnership approach to research creation, and translation, HERE. “Realistically, you are going to need a chain, band or cluster of skills to land a change,” she writes. The university announces its new “enterprise hub” this morning, (scroll down).

plus Angel Calderon (RMIT) (critically) reviews two big-name rankings, U-Multirank and Nature Index, HERE

with Cathy Xu, Brian Stoddart and Keith Houghton on what’s next for digital delivery in education. It won’t be for everybody but digital will deliver for plenty of people, starting with tech-lit coursework graduate students. “Studying when and where they want and at a pace of their choosing, will be key drivers of demand.” HERE

and Dawn Gilmore (RMIT) and Chin Nguyen (Curio) set out pros and cons to make on-line learning partnerships work. This week’s excellent selection in Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s celebrated series, Needed now in learning and teaching.

In Expert Opinion

Dawn Gilmore and Chin Nguyen extend their suggestions for what can work in on-line learning partnerships

as well as Angel Calderon (RMIT) on the new Leiden research rankings – why it’s the one the experts rate and what the new edition means for Aus unis.

Both are  HERE

Australian Catholic University sets up in Townsville

It will open an information centre for serving members of the Defence Forces and families to advise on education options  after enlistment and study assistance. It extends resources for the ACU’s veterans entry programme, that enrols former ADF personnel on the basis of service experience.

Uni South Australia announces its “enterprise hub” which connects to “a range of services that can help you achieve your business goals”

“We’ll work with you to create solutions, explore ideas or build connections,” the site states, with connections for 13 industry categories.

It looks like an answer to the perennial complaint that entrepreneurs with a problem are never pointed towards an academic with an answer when they ask a university.

But it is also based on a research culture shift, set out by DVC Research and Enterprise Marnie Hughes-Warrington, in CMM this morning, there is “no point inventing something if there is not someone to engage with it”, she writes.

And she also deftly dismisses assumptions underpinning research funding models, suggesting the UniSA approach “ means unravelling some of the logic that places discovery before translation, research before education—or the other way around.

“Frankly, all of those linear technological readiness diagrams aren’t the world we live in.”

 

The university will pay up to $2500 for reports of “security vulnerabilities”

A learned reader reports that the offer is not new but Monash U has now opened it to all comers, with a bounty on bugs of the cyber kind.   The university has paid an average of $970 in the last three months, with rewards to cyber sleuth  for identifying 27 problems.

The previous one referred to “equality”

The National Health and Medical Research Council’s vision is for “a gender diverse and inclusive health and medical research workforce to take advantage of the full range of talent needed to build a healthy Australia.”

How this will happen is set out in 13 actions split among three priorities.

But there are no specifics, in terms of programme budgets and quantified outcomes required, with the NHMRC setting three KPIs,

* “gender inequities in NHMRC funding outcomes are reduced. Support is available for non-binary health and medical researchers”

* “transparent data are available to the sector and used by NHMRC to design interventions that foster gender equity in research as needed”

* “NHMRC policies promote gender equity and inclusion in the health and medical research sector.”

The new strategy replaces that for 2018-21, which was described as an “equality strategy,” “underpinned by the central principle of ‘50:50—if not, why not?’ “

 

by a special correspondent

More than 70 educational research leaders met at Uni SA this week 

Convened by the Australian Council of Deans of Education and the Australian Association for Research in Education, the summit addressed the challenges of post-COVID recovery across all education sectors, from early years to higher education.

As a multi-disciplinary field of study, researchers in education are working to address challenges including education in a COVID recovering world, digital transformation, climate change, sustainability and how education might work to support communities to thrive and change.

COVID has shown the importance of social cohesion and engagement with expertise. The fields of health, child-care and early learning, schooling, and universities were devastated by the impacts on their workforce and learning over the last two years.

“The resilience of these fields cannot be underestimated as they continue to carry the burden for the public good in a democracy,” summit coordinator Anna Sullivan (Uni SA) says.

“We are at a critical point, post-COVID, where education systems are re-thinking the challenges and opportunities for different sectors to consult with peak organisations and research leaders.”

“AARE and ACDE have the expertise and capacity to take up the opportunities to work with state and federal governments to address common concerns and to lead to active engagement and action that will make a difference.”

 

Of the day

Peter Dean joins the United States Studies Centre as director of foreign policy and defence. He was previously chair of defence studies at UWA. The USSC is based at Uni Sydney.

Andrew Gissing is in-coming CEO of Natural Hazards Research, which is the Commonwealth funded successor to the two bushfire CRCS, of fond memory

Optica (the Optical Society of America as was) announces its 2022 senior members, who “have demonstrated exemplary professional accomplishments in optics and photonics,” ANZ additions include, * Andreas Boes (RMIT) *Bill Corcoran (Monash U)  * Christopher Perrella, (Uni Adelaide) * David Ottaway (Uni Adelaide) * Cather Simpson (Uni Auckland) * Harold Schwefel (Uni Otago) * Withawat Withayachumnankul (Uni Adelaide).

Leisa Sargent will become dean of Uni Sydney’s Business School, in December. She will move from UNSW where she is senior deputy dean in its biz school.

Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (as in wheat) announces its 2022 Women in Triticum (also as in wheat) Early Career Award winners include, Charlotte Rambla (Uni Queensland), Jianping Zhang (CSIRO).

of the week

UK based Advance HE (“promoting excellence in higher education”) announces three appointments to its Australasian Strategic Advisory Board,  Tracey Bunda (Uni Queensland),  Helen Huntly (CQU) and Susan Page (Western Sydney U).

Sue Barrell (fellow, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering) is laureate of the IMO Prize from the World Meteorological Organisation. Sbe is honoured for her leadership of the international weather, water and climate community.

Lise Barry is dean of the Macquarie U law school. She became interim dean when Marc De Vos left (CMM October 28 2021).

Michael Fay is appointed foundation chair and director of the Mark Hughes Foundation Centre for Brain Cancer Research at Uni Newcastle. He continues what the university describes as “connections” with the Hunter MRI.

Anna Grocholsky joins the Heart Research Institute next month as inaugural director of commercialisation. She moves from a similar role at Macquarie U.

Alistair Hick is Monash U’s inaugural chief commercialisation officer. It is an internal appointment.

Andy Hogg (ANU) is inaugural director of the new Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator.

Kudzai Kanhutu is appointed dean of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Tara Murphy (Uni Sydney) becomes the Australia Telescope National Facility steering committee chair.

In January Janine O’Flynn will become director of ANU’s Crawford  School of Public Policy. Sbe is now at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government

Kylie Readman will become DVC Education and Students at UTS in November. She moves from a similar role at Murdoch U.

Holly Seale (UNSW) receives an impact award from the NSW Public Health Association, for her COVID-19 “vaccination glossary and training program targeting people from diverse backgrounds.”

Penny Sweeting becomes Associate VC for Charles Darwin U’s Sydney campus. She moves from academic lead for the university’s NSW College of Nursing and Midwifery programme.

U Tas announces the short-list for the Dick and Joan Green history prize. * Alison Alexander, The Waking Dream of Art: Patricia Giles, Painter (Forty South) * Cassandra Pybus, Truganini: Journey through the apocalypse by (Allen and Unwin) * Jock Serong, The Burning Island  (Text).