Monash Memo - 8 August 2001

Back to this edition's story list

Crowds flock to Monash Open Day

Monash's six Victorian campuses welcomed thousands of prospective students and their families during Monash Open Day 2001 last weekend.

University Marketing manager Ms Cathy Kirkham described the event as an overwhelming success, largely due to the commitment and energy of so many Monash staff and students.

"None of this would have been possible without the time and effort put in by academics and students, who offered prospective students, their parents and the public such a wide range of information, displays and demonstrations," she said.

Student guides at all campuses helped visitors with inquiries.

At Gippsland, visitors to the Centre for Indigenous Studies were able to chat with staff and students over a lunch of damper and barbecued kangaroo, crocodile and emu, before heading off to the Engineering faculty to see a Ferrari 308Gt4 balancing on four glasses.

Visitors to Parkville campus toured research and teaching labs, the computer centre and library.

At Peninsula, those who had the stomach for it were invited to view the 'Scalpel please' display, where visitors could view 'major surgery' being performed on a patient's abdomen in an operating room simulation.

IT buffs were treated to interactive animation and 3D computer programs at Berwick, while the spin doctors of the future were able to gain an insight in the world of public relations.

Faculty of Arts at Caulfield offered visitors a fascinating insight into behavioural studies, showing just how we are affected by birth order, and the Faculty of Art and Design provided a display of hot glass blowing.

Footy tipping was raised to the level of science at the Clayton campus, where the Faculty of Information Technology showed how picking the week's winners has a sound mathematical basis, and Earth Sciences students built and destroyed mountains by erupting a volcano and triggering a tsunami in the epsilon lab.

Thanking the organisers of the two-day event, Ms Kirkham acknowledged the work of the Monash Open Day Committee, the campus coordinators and committees, the faculty marketing staff, and Monash Open Day coordinator Ms Adriana Frescura, events assistant Ms Kirsty Baxter.