Issue 27 - 9 August 2000

The sun shines on Monash Open Day

Fine weather drew thousands of prospective students and their families to Monash Open Day at the university's six Victorian campuses last weekend.

Delighted by the strong turn-out on both days, Open Day director Associate Professor Naomi White (pictured right) said she was also very impressed by the energy and level of involvement of so many Monash staff.

"Academics and students who acted as guides and participated in various demonstrations again showed their enthusiasm for the day and were absolutely essential to its success," she said.

"They provided visitors with the information they needed, while at the same time creating a welcoming atmosphere and a sense of fun with the occasional quirky demonstration or activity."

At Gippsland, taste buds were tested as marketing staff challenged people to pick the difference between Pepsi and Coke, while nursing staff and students tested blood pressure and offered massages to willing 'patients'.

Parkville had a special focus on postgraduate research opportunities and students performed their own musical compositions live all day in the courtyard.

There was no need to dial 000 at Peninsula as there was an ambulance on-hand ready for inspection by aspiring paramedics, while the 'Grapes, wine and disease' display was on offer for those interested in wine technology

At Berwick, the mercenaries had a chance to try their luck on the stock exchange in the Faculty of Business, while IT buffs investigated the new Bachelor of Multimedia Computing.

The Faculty of Engineering at Caulfield tried out their industrial engineering concepts with an ice-cream making contest called 'Sundae on Sunday', while some famous psychologists, notably Freud and Jung, were seen around the Faculty of Arts.

At Clayton, Aboriginal dancing was on in the Faculty of Arts, the more adventurous tested their skiing skills in the Faculty of Education's simulated environment, and prospective engineering students saw artificial bolts of lightning being generated.

Thanking the organisers of the two-day event, Dr White acknowledged the outstanding work of Monash Open Day coordinator Ms Adriana Frescura from University Marketing, all members of the Monash Open Day Committee, the campus coordinators and committees, as well as University Marketing manager Ms Cathy Kirkham and the faculty marketing staff.

"I was very pleased with the advertising campaign, featuring the slogan 'Your next step' and a bright orange footprint, which seemed to work well in all media," Dr White said.

"It was also a good idea to assign colour codes to each faculty to help visitors find their way around the campuses, and to replace academic gowns with white windcheaters for student guides to make them more visible and approachable."

Dr White said a new Open Day website listed activities across the six Monash campuses and recorded 6673 hits to the top-level page in its first year.

"It's a very encouraging start, and we can anticipate the website will become a key source of information about Monash Open Day in future," she said.

Visiting a number of campuses over the weekend, vice-chancellor Professor David Robinson said Open Day was one of the most important events in the university's calendar.

"It's a marvellous opportunity to showcase the astonishing breadth of activities in this great university," he said.

"This year's event was an obvious success and a great credit to all involved."

Telling tales about children Curators Katarina Paseta and Samantha Vawdrey with 'The Chimerical Daughter' by Kate Butler. Monash University Gallery's latest exhibition featuring child photography is more than just happy snaps. Telling Tales: The Child in Contemporary Photography explores representations of children and childhood. While examining the traditional ideas of childhood such as purity, innocence and potential, the exhibition also provides more sinister contrasts by expressing or suggesting child sexuality, dysfunctional environments and isolation. The works of 11 artists are included in the show: Di Barrett, Pat Brassington, Kate Butler, Anne Ferran, Bill Henson, Nicola Loder, Mark McDean, Tracey Moffat, Deborah Paauwe, Polixeni Papapetrou and Ronnie van Hout. Telling Tales is on in the Gallery building (55) until 9 September. Entry is free. For inquiries, contact Ms Sara Kelly on extn 54217.

 

Associate Professor Baikunth Nath (GSCIT deputy head) and Dr Guojun Lu are working towards offering new multimedia courses.

New multimedia technology courses from Gippsland

Gippsland School of Computing and Information Technology (GSCIT) will next year offer two new courses focusing on multimedia computing and associated technologies.

The Bachelor of Computing (with a multimedia technology major) will be offered at Gippsland campus and the Bachelor of Multimedia Computing at Berwick campus.

Both courses, which will also be available through distance education, will cover subjects including multimedia and computer technology, multimedia programming, multimedia development and advanced multimedia technology.

GSCIT senior lecturer Dr Guojun Lu said the two courses were introduced after the Faculty of Information Technology conducted a review of the school last year.

"It has also evolved as a direct consequence of the campus review, which made clear the need for the Gippsland campus to have a distinct focus on multimedia technology."

He said focusing on multimedia technology was obvious in the light of the school's research strength in this area and the appointment of the chair of multimedia technology, Professor Laurence Dooley.

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