Issue 13 - 13 May 2001

International degrees for the new generation

Professor Gill Palmer.

The new generation of business graduates needs a firm grasp of global economic patterns as well as strong domestic business knowledge, according to Business and Economics dean Professor Gill Palmer.

She said that while an international perspective already applied to postgraduate programs, the faculty was currently boosting the global relevance of its undergraduate degrees.

"This makes a great deal of sense, given the university is now a multi-campus environment. Our faculty operates on both our overseas campuses, and we have 48 per cent of Monash's international student load," she said.

"Graduates are going to be part of an international labour force and must understand the wider economic environment."

The Bachelor of Business and Commerce is the faculty's new international undergraduate degree, which is offered on three Australian and two overseas campuses.

"Because we are teaching this degree in very varied environments, both academics and students demand material that is relevant to varied and fast-changing situations," she said.

"The faculty intends to invest considerable resources in flexible delivery materials to support these demands, using all the talents that exist among its large, highly qualified staff."

She said the new generation of students would need to not only have a firm grasp of business principles but also be able to understand business systems in different countries.

"I think they are going to expect to be part of an international workforce. They think in quite short time frames and won't expect to stay with a single organisation or profession for life," she said.

"They will work in a different economic environment, and they will need good social skills to negotiate their way around as well as the technical information we give them."

Professor Palmer said the emphasis at postgraduate level was on developing the MBA with cross-disciplinary programs - particularly in information technology - that would equip students for the business world of the future.

"In spite of the 'tech wreck', technology is still relatively new and any student who wants a job knows they have to be competent in IT," she said.

Monash's new MBA will also be offered at the Malaysia and South Africa campuses.

She also envisioned the time when postgraduate students would choose to complete not one but two masters degrees.

"Therefore, we want students to have a long-term relationship with us starting at undergraduate level so they will come back when they need reskilling," she said.

Professor Palmer said the faculty was also planning to inject funds into redesigning and refurbishing its Caulfield facilities for postgraduates.

Perl expert finds his oyster

Monash academic Dr Damian Conway is spending this year developing the Perl programming language with the help of a $150,000 commercial grant.

The grant has enabled the Perl whiz to take a year's sabbatical from his position as a senior lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering.

Perl can run on a vast range of machines and operating systems and is widely used in internet programming. It is also an Open Source technology, which means it is non-proprietary and freely available to all.

Dr Conway, also a Monash graduate, will use the time to develop Perl software, work on the next release of the language and travel the world giving talks and training.

He also wants to show the business world that funding individuals makes good financial sense.

"If businesses give back to the Open Source community, it will allow creators of free software to work at that task full-time, leading to more and better software that companies don't have to pay for but can profit from."

Dr Conway's sabbatical is funded by Yet Another Society (YAS), let up to promote grassroots Open Source-related activities.

YAS raised the $150,000 within two weeks from six commercial sponsors and 130 private individuals.

Dr Conway's Perl achievements include contributing more than a dozen software modules, now used everywhere from Wall Steet to the International Space Station project.

Last year he agreed never again to enter the Larry Wall Award for Practical Utility, the Perl community's highest programming honour, after winning it for the third year in the row.

In recognition of his achievement, the Perl Conference's Best Technical Paper has been renamed the 'Damian Conway Award'.

For more information, visit http://yetanother.org/damian/

Academic Board elections Election of Academic Board members by professors of the university The members elected shall hold office from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2003. The qualifications of candidates, nominators and voters are that they are professors of the same faculty ie persons holding chairs and personal chairs, fixed-term professors, acting professors, professorial fellows and conjoint professors. Those who are not eligible include non-teaching professors, associate professors, clinical associate professors, emeritus professors, visiting professors, honorary professors or adjunct professors. Election of Academic Board members by academic staff (other than professors) of the university The members elected shall hold office from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2003. The qualifications of nominators and voters are that they are members of the academic staff (other than the professors). These members include those members of the staff of the university holding appointments, whether full-time or part-time, as are appointed by the Council to be members of the teaching staff (other than professors). To be eligible for election as a member of the academic staff (other than professors), a person must hold either a full-time appointment or a fractional appointment of not less than 0.4 and must have held that appointment for a period of more than six months. Nominations Nominations must be lodged with the returning offices/assistant returning officers by 12 noon on Thursday 3 May 2001. Nomination forms may be obtained from and returned to the returning officer or assistant returning officers. Assistant returning officers Berwick campus - Mrs Marlene Mannays Caulfield campus - Ms Doris Casse Clayton campus - Mr Tony Calder Gippsland campus - Ms Chris Body Malaysia campus - Dr Cheong Siew Yoong Peninsula campus - Mr Steven Lind Pharmacy College - Ms Margaret Duncan Please direct inquiries to Mr Tony Calder on extn 59004. Voting arrangements Voting papers will be posted to electors on Thursday 24 May if nominations exceed the number of vacancies. In making nominations and voting for Academic Board members in this current election, staff are asked to take into account the need to have men and women represented. Phillip Siggins Returning Officer

Travelling fellowships for general staff

Monash general staff are invited to apply for the 2001 Caroline Chisholm and R.L. Martin travelling fellowships.

The fellowships provide excellent professional development opportunities and are open to general staff as follows:

• Caroline Chisholm fellowship available to staff up to and including HEW level 7;
• R.L. Martin fellowship available to staff at HEW level 8 and above.

Successful applicants will undertake an identified program of professional development relevant to their position, which could include one of or a combination of the following:

• attending a training course or workshop in Australia or overseas;
• attending a course in Australia or overseas with work experience at one or several universities;
• visits to universities, colleges or private and government organisations within Australia or overseas;

For 2001, additional funding for domestic and international travel, where appropriate, will be made available from the Vice-Chancellor's Qantas Promotional Fund.

For this year, three Caroline Chisholm and two R.L. Martin fellowships are available, with each consisting of paid time off work and reimbursement of expenses such as travel costs, accommodation, and conference attendance to a maximum of $6000.

Submissions close on Thursday 31 May and should include a written proposal clearly addressing the selection criteria.

Supporting documentation from the applicant's branch or department head should also be supplied with the application.

For detailed information on eligibility, selection criteria and application procedures, intending applicants should first check www.monash.edu.au/personnel/sdu/awards

For further inquiries, contact Ms Karen Pedrotti on extn 56825.

Introducing Monash New Monash staff members are invited to the next 'Introducing Monash' session on Thursday 17 May. The half-day orientation program, which runs from 9 am to 12.30 pm, is designed to welcome new staff and assist their induction by providing an introduction to Monash from several perspectives. Presenters, including senior management, will speak on topics such as the university's strategic plan Leading the Way: Monash 2020 and the current services and facilities available to staff and students. During morning tea, staff will be able to speak with key service providers, put names to faces and start developing their own Monash network. The session will be held at the Staff Development Unit, 700 Blackburn Road, Clayton. To register, contact Staff Development on extn 56800 or download application forms from www.monash.edu.au/personnel/sdu/

Events promotion Don't forget you can promote your event on the Monash website. Lectures, concerts, seminars, exhibitions and other activities of interest to those within and outside the university are welcome for inclusion on the events page at www.monash.edu.au/news/events.html Please email details including date, time, location and a contact number to Derek.Brown@adm.monash.edu.au Did you know? Of the Monash students who were HECS liable in 2000, 78.3% opted to defer their liability through the taxation system (up from 76.8 in 1999) and 21.7% paid up-front (down from 23.2% in 1999).

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