On Campus blog: Daily news updates from the tertiary education sector

Explaining the impact of a water treatment plant that fits into a shipping container may win an Australian engineer international recognition.

Aurecon CEO William Cox's video about a solar-powered water treatment plant that can fit into a shipping container — Project Gilghi — is up for an international prize.

On Campus daily blog: Higher education news as it happens

–Friday 9 July

-solar Solar powered communication

Alleviating the scarcity of fresh water in remote communities is a laudable aim in itself, but it is the video explaining the impact of that piece of technology — a solar-powered water treatment plant that can fit into a shipping container — that might score William Cox an international prize.

The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering has nominated the presentation about Project Gilghi by engineering and design company Aurecon’s chief executive for a communications prize from the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences.

Project Gilghi has been underway since 2019 and provides clean drinking water for the Northern Territory community of Gillen Bore. The treatment plant is easy to transport and set up and can be made be operational within three days.

It also provides employment opportunities through a program training community members to operate and maintain the unit.

“Together with our partner Ampcontrol, our hope for Project Gilghi is to be a catalyst that would bridge the water inequality gap on remote communities not only in Australia, but across the globe,” Mr Cox said.

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Vale TEQSA commissioner Cliff Walsh

Distinguished economist Cliff Walsh, who was a commissioner of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, passed away on Thursday at the age of 75.

Professor Cliff Walsh.

Professor Walsh, was appointed to TEQSA over seven years ago and was previously a professor at the University of Adelaide and the Australian National University.

He was principal economic adviser to Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser from 1981 to 1983.

He also previously served on the Australian Competition Tribunal which hears appeals to decisions made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and was an associate commissioner on several Productivity Commission inquiries.

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Thursday 8 July

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Top five entry-level graduate jobs revealed

Graphic designer, teacher, sales specialist, product manager and electrician are the fastest growing entry-level jobs for graduates in Australia according to LinkIn.

After analysing its data the social media company said that jobs in these five roles grew fastest year on year than other jobs for newly qualified graduates, Clearly the date is picking graduates from all university courses, not just higher education graduates.

LinkedIn also identified the five industries which were hiring the most graduates. These are software and IT services, construction, sorporate services, manufacturing and health care.

It also found that, with the pandemic, entry-level jobs are increasingly being performed remotely. “From 2020 to 2021, the percentage of entry-level remote jobs posted between January 1 and March 31 in Australia increased by a factor of 10.2, from 0.4 per cent to 4.1 per cent,” LinkedIn said.

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Wednesday 7 July

–17 new 17 17 new Australian Laureate Fellows announced

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has announced the Australian Research Council 2021 Australian Laureate Fellows. The 17 professors are in diverse fields ranging from materials chemistry to international law.

They are the Australian National University’s Yun Liu, Naomi McClure-Griffiths and Sharon Friel; the University of Wollongong’s Zaiping Guo; the University of Sydney’s Alexander McBratney, Jeffery Errington and Helen Byrne; the University of Technology Sydney’s Dayong Jin; the University of Queensland’s Andrew White and Robert Parton; Queensland University of Technology’s Axel Bruns and Michael Milford; the University of Adelaide’s Kishan Dholakia; the University of Melbourne’s Sundhya Pahuja; Deakin University’s Matthew Barnett; Monash University’s Dena Lyras; and Curtin University’s Kliti Grice. They will receive a total of $53.7 million in research funding over five years.

The scheme provides financial assistance through project funding, salary supplement and salary-related costs. See more details here.

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Cancer chief’s new role at UOW

The University of Wollongong’s new vice chancellor Patricia Davidson has made her first senior appointments, naming David Currow, currently CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW to a new role of deputy vice-chancellor (health and sustainable futures).

David Currow, incoming DVC at UOW.

Professor Davidson said that Professor Currow, who starts in his new role in November, would lead the university’s health and wellbeing precinct.

“As the world recalibrates after the seismic impact of Covid-19, UOW is committed to leading collaborative solutions to improve health, wellbeing and sustainability strategies,” she said.

Professor Currow is a researcher who also holds the chair of palliative medicine at UTS and is a former president of the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia.

UOW has also appointed Eileen McLaughlin as its new executive dean of science, medicine and health starting in September. She is currently dean of science at Western Sydney University.

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Tuesday 6 July

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Another decade for La Trobe and Navitas

La Trobe University has renewed its pathways provision deal with global education provider Navitas for 10 years.

More than 5000 students from 42 countries have made the transition to degree programs via La Trobe College Australia on its Bundoora campus since 2010. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic it admitted about 1000 students a year.

Its diploma programs include information technology, engineering, business, health sciences, bioscience, media and communications, and psychology and it also offers foundation studies, postgraduate pathway programs and English language programs.

“Our impressive pass rates speak to the quality of our teaching as well as the potential of our students who benefit from tailored academic and pastoral support while also having access to all of the university resources and feeling part of the wider campus community,” college director, Andrew Foley, said.

According to Nativas chief executive officer Scott Jones diversity — both in students and in programs — was the strength of the collaboration.

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Cyber security opportunity at UOW

A $500,000 grant from the NSW government has brought the NSW Cyber Academy a step closer to offering a pathway for TAFE students to study at the University of Wollongong while also working for industry or the public sector.

The academy, a partnership between UOW, Deloitte and TAFE NSW, was established in 2020 with support from the state and federal governments, as well as schools, industry, InvestmentNSW, CyberNSW and AusCyber.

The plan is to create a Professional Cyber Security Program (Higher Education), a post-school cyber security training program aimed to draw in a wide range of students including those from equity groups.

“UOW is delighted by our partnership with Deloitte and TAFE NSW, resulting in this highly innovative cybersecurity program that will create exciting career opportunities for our students,” deputy vice-chancellor (education) Theo Farrell, said.

“The NSW Cyber Academy will address a critical workforce need and make an important contribution to this vital area of Australian resilience and security,” Professor Farrell said.

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Monday 5 July

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Curtin academic rocks physics

Exploration of how sound waves spread through various underground rocks is the basis for decades of research that has led to Curtin University’s Boris Gurevich being awarded the Society of Exploration Geophysicists’ Reginald Fessenden Award for major contributors to exploration geophysics.

“This subject is vital for understanding geophysical signatures of rock and fluid properties and can thus have a significant impact on exploration, characterisation and monitoring of energy and groundwater resources, and geological storage of CO2,” Professor Gurevich said.

“I always strive to bring rock physics research closer to real world applications and to this end, founded Curtin’s rock physics laboratory, which has gained a global reputation for developing new, efficient ways of measuring rock properties.”

Curtin vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne said Professor Gurevich had been among the most prominent and innovative rock physicists in the world for many years.

“Among his many achievements, he is recognised for his work to improve seismic survey methods, which are primarily used for oil and gas exploration but can also help locate groundwater, sites for landfills and carbon sequestration,” Professor Hayne said.

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Sheep-led discoveries in reproduction

The University of Western Australia’s Graeme Martin has won the 2021 Marshall Medal from the UK-based Society for Reproduction and Fertility.

The retired emeritus professor, who grew up on a sheep and cereal farm in Western Australia, said his research focused on analysing how sheep recognise and measure the environment around them, and how this information influences their reproductive system.

“The sheep represents a valuable experimental model for human medicine research,” Professor Martin said. “By closely studying sheep, we can develop a better understanding of how the human reproductive system is influenced by environmental factors.”

His chief contribution had been in studying the interaction between factors that the reproductive control systems in the brain measured – such as the length of the night and the body reserves of energy – to assess socio-sexual surroundings, before opting on a strategy for successful reproduction.

“A sheep can recognise more than 50 individual sheep faces for at least two years, with female sheep possessing the ability to recognise the distinct smell of an individual male and ovulating within days if the male is new to her,” Professor Martin said.

Ultimately this line of research would allow farmers “to use the environment to influence and control the animal, which is the foundation of clean, green, and ethical management.”

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Events coming up

‘No Frills’, the 30th National VET Research Conference (7-9 July). Online

The annual mid year conference of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. This year’s theme is “Past informing the future”. It will be held online due to uncertainty about Covid restrictions.

Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia Annual Conference (8-10 September) RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast

The conference theme is Global Partnerships and Commercialisation themes. It also features the annual KCA awards that celebrate the achievements of members, and highlight “top tier work” in Australasian tech transfer.

Quantum Australia 2021 (8-10 September) Doltone House, Sydney and online

Sydney Quantum Academy’s conference and careers fair for the rapidly growing quantum technology industry. It’s for researchers, businesses, government decision makers, start-ups and big tech.

Australian International Education Conference (5-8 October) Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and online

AIEC 2021 will explore new horizons for international education with five key subthemes: global challenges, digital innovation, life and learning, policy and politics, and strategic insights.

Collaborate Innovate 2021 (New date of 18-20 October, instead of 9-11 August). Hotel QT, Canberra

The Cooperative Research Centre Association conference will feature an early career researchers competition, the annual Ralph Slatyer address, and the 30th anniversary of the CRC Innovation Showcase at Parliament House.

5th Annual TEQSA Conference (24-26 November)

Save the date, more information is coming.

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