Staff and students enjoying the new Ubar space for Melbourne Cup
The Campus Common opens!
Frocked up staff and students gathered in front of the big screens at Ubar on Melbourne Cup day in what was the first big event held at the new Campus Common. Pool tables, ping pong and pizza were a hit with the Cup Day crowd which enjoyed music and hosted Spring Carnival-inspired games in the indoor-outdoor space.
If you are yet to visit the impressive new food and beverage precinct why not drop in this Friday between 4pm and 6pm for weekly happy hour and enjoy $10 pizza, discounted drinks and live entertainment.
University Medal winners
Macquarie has a new group of University medallists who were recommended for honours by the committee in their mid-year awards. The five high achievers came from across the disciplines, representing law, science and engineering and human sciences. Find a list of the winners and details of their research here.
Graduations
More than 2280 graduates received their degrees, diplomas and certificates in our September graduation series. Of the degrees conferred, 87 went to Doctoral candidates and for the first time the largest cohort of 67 graduates – from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences – crossed the stage.
Macquarie also awarded honorary doctorates to members of the community who have made an exceptional contribution to their field. The Hon Docs were awarded to Richard Glover, Ronald Ridley, Stuart Clark, Glenn Stevens and Dennis Altman.
ARC Laureate Workshop: Creating a Sense of Auditory Space
In late October, Macquarie University’s Director of Hearing Research, Professor David McAlpine, hosted an ARC Laureate Workshop titled Creating a Sense of Auditory Space at the Australian Hearing Hub. The two-day event brought together global leaders in binaural hearing – the ability to detect small differences and timing of sounds in order to localise where a sound came from – and included presentations by 13 international speakers and seven speakers from Macquarie University which explored new research findings and future directions in the field.
Announcement of the Cochlear Chair in Hearing and Healthy Ageing at Macquarie University
Last month, Macquarie University and Cochlear announced the establishment of the co-funded Cochlear Chair in Hearing and Healthy Ageing at Macquarie University, a role that will strengthen and formalise the strategic collaboration between the organisations. The announcement was made at a formal event at Cochlear headquarters by Vice-Chancellor Professor S. Bruce Dowton (pictured left) and Cochlear’s President Dig Howittt (pictured right).
Your Say staff survey award
The University has received an award from the Voice Project, who conduct the Your Say staff survey, and the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA) for the second largest improvement by an Australian university in the survey results.
Nicole Gower, Director of Human Resources, said: “I am delighted to see Macquarie University recognised as a leader in staff engagement and satisfaction. Our results show significant improvement on previous years and this award is a strong signal that we are moving in the right direction.
“It is important to also acknowledge that there is more work to do and I look forward to sharing our progress report in coming weeks – there are exciting initiatives to report at both the University and local level thanks to the great work of the Survey Champions and our network of supporters”
Stay tuned for an update on some of the actions that have been taken to address staff feedback from the Your Say survey in next week’s edition of This Week.
Macquarie University Incubator honoured at design awards
The Macquarie University Incubator was celebrated last month in Melbourne at the annual Australian Timber Design Awards, created to recognise award-winning timber designs and wood products. The Incubator was recognised in the following categories: Innovative Structural Design, Engineered Timber, Timber Panels and Timber Windows and Doors. Learn more about the innovative design and construction of the Incubator here. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Widening Participation Symposium
The University’s Widening Participation Unit (WPU) recently hosted a highly successful inaugural symposium, Towards an Inclusive University. Guests engaged in dynamic discussions around research, best practice and collaborative initiatives aimed at supporting students from broadly disadvantaged backgrounds, to access and succeed in higher education. The symposium showcased the University’s initiatives and commitments to achieve the inclusiveness of students from low socio-economic status and underrepresented backgrounds, as outlined in the University’s strategic priority number 3 (Our University: A Framing of Futures). It also provided a platform for deeper and more collaborative partnerships, in order to amplify the impact and outcomes of our efforts.
Kevin Newport completes Nepal charity cycle
Faculty Research Officer from the Faculty of Business and Economics Kevin Newport took on an epic 400 kilometre group charity cycle through Nepal in October , visiting six different towns in six days. The group raised more than $25,000 as part of a Trek for Change program designed to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of disadvantaged people all over the world. He is pictured here some of the children who are the beneficiaries of the fund-raising adventure. “Without a doubt it was the best thing I have ever done, a truly life-changing experience,” said Kevin. Check out our feature from September.
Annual Moyal Medal presentation
The Moyal Medal committee was pleased to welcome the 2017 award winner, Professor Hinke Osinga, from the University of Auckland to Macquarie in early November. Professor David Coutts (Associate Dean Research, FSE) presented the prize to Professor Osinga, who was awarded the Moyal Medal for her work on computing global manifolds. The Moyal Medal is awarded annually by Macquarie University for research contributions to mathematics, physics or statistics, the areas of research of the late Professor José Enrique Moyal who was Professor of Mathematics at Macquarie University from 1973 to 1977.
International delegation visits campus
On 20 October Macquarie University hosted a delegation of 18 visiting Vice-Chancellors and Senior Executives from the Brazilian Association of Deans of Vice-Chancellors and Municipal Universities (ABRUEM), as well as guests from the Australian Embassy, Brazil, and the NSW State Government.
As well as being a great opportunity to showcase Macquarie to the visiting Vice-Chancellors, the group also visited some of our leading facilities such as the Simulation Hub, Anechoic Chamber and the Australian Hearing Hub and the Library/ASRS.
Find out more about collaborating with Brazilian Institutions here (Portuguese) or for news on the Department of Education and Training’s International Education News website.
Croatian studies host high profile guests
A high profile Croatian delegation from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, were our guests at Macquarie University on Thursday 2 November 2017. The delegation was led by His Excellency Dr Dragan Čović, the President of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dr Neveneko Herceg and included President of the Government of Croatian/Neretva Canton and Professor Zoran Tomić, Rector of Mostar University.
The group was here to explore possible areas of cooperation with some of Macquarie’s areas of excellent achievements, and a return delegation to Mostar University is on the cards for the near future.
Mostar University is the only Croatian university in Bosnia and Herzegovina at which the Croatian language, culture and traditions of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina is being taught, researched and preserved. The delegation wanted to learn more about research, teaching and other activities at Macquarie University, and there were discussions of possible future joint projects in Croatian Studies as well as in ancient history, particularly archaeology.
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