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Monash vice-chancellor Professor David Robinson exchanges a 'virtual handshake' with Lulea University of Technology president Professor Ingegerd Palmer. |
A successful relationship between the faculties of Engineering at Monash and the Lulea University of Technology in Sweden has been rewarded with a research grant from the Swedish Governmental Foundation, STINT.
During a videoconference last week, Monash vice-chancellor Professor David Robinson and Lulea president Professor Ingegerd Palmer exchanged a 'virtual handshake', agreeing that the grant said a great deal about the quality of the work relationships between the two universities.
"It's not just about collaboration, it's about researchers and teachers working together and achieving outstanding results," Professor Robinson said.
According to the associate dean (Research) in the Monash Engineering faculty, Professor John Sheridan, the grant of up to A$600,000 over a period of four years is an exciting and innovative grant which capitalises on Monash's reputation for excellence in international research and education.
"It will enable the faculty to identify and build upon areas of research strengths in all departments within Engineering as well as in the Mathematics department of the Science faculty," Professor Sheridan said.
"Areas already identified include intelligent robotics, computer communications, embedded Internet systems, geotechnics, hydrology structures, polymer and materials engineering, environmental engineering and mathematical modelling."
Professor Sheridan said the grant would also give the two universities the opportunity to collaborate in other areas, such as problem-based learning, distance education, flexible learning and videoconferencing.
Staff exchange between the two institutions has already commenced. Dr Sven Molin from Lulea is currently visiting Monash, and Mr Paul Wellington, a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering, is at Lulea.
Monash prepares for new finance/HR system
Monash staff who have been trained on SAP as part of the university's Integrated Administrative Systems (IAS) project are looking forward to putting into practice what they have learned. With staff receiving their first pay from SAP on 1 July, and the cutover for the new finance system scheduled for 5 July, the Human Resources and Finance project teams are starting to see the results of their long hours of work. The preparation for phasing out MARS and introducing SAP has seen hundreds of Monash staff involved in finance attending a number of training sessions over the last few months. Meeting last week to compare their experiences, Science faculty staff (pictured below) said they had had to rethink the way they do business. According to Mr Peter Moulder, it's been important not to try to relate the new system to the old one. "I've found it better not to worry about what I used to do," he said. "Now that I'm getting more used to the new system, it's taking less and less time to do things, although I thought at first that would never be the case." Ms Jill Crisfield said staff had appreciated the quality of the information and training sessions provided through the IAS project team. "Once people had done one course and become familiar with the system, they seemed to find the next lot of training much easier," she said. Ms Jana Teplik said she would be glad to have a bit more time to practise what she had learned. "It's a bit like the end of year close-down of accounts right now. When that's over in the next week or so, there'll be a few days before the cutover to SAP, when we can practise some more." "When SAP is up and running, it will be a great advantage to work in real-time," said Ms Tracey Lawrence. "We'll have a much better idea of where we are financially at any time." "We're only just scratching the surface of the system's capacities," said Ms Barbara Mars. "I'm looking forward to further training when the system is up and running, so that we can learn the more advanced features." All science staff at the meeting looked forward to the return to the faculty of Ms Lana Khalif, one of several Monash staff members seconded to the IAS project as a SAP trainer. They said Ms Khalik's new skills would be of great benefit on a day-to-day basis. |
Chance of a lifetimeMs Lucy Wiasak, who has just returned from overseas on a Caroline Chisholm Travelling Fellowship, believes the experience gave her the professional opportunity of a lifetime. "The travelling fellowship provided me with a wonderful opportunity to visit other resource centres similar to the one that I administer here at CHED and find out how they operate," Ms Wiasak said. "One of the most significant things I learned from my visits to other centres was that a resource centre must be user friendly and well organised to meet the needs of busy academic staff." Ms Wiasak, who is an administrative officer in CHED, said she would soon begin implementing several ideas gained from her visits to tertiary institutions in both Australia and the UK. She has already started assembling a searchable database of resources held in the CHED resource centre. When completed, the database will be attached to the CHED web site. According to Ms Wiasak, the visits to the tertiary institutions also provided her with the chance to meet and discuss routine administrative issues with staff. "As well as giving me ideas to improve my own efficiency, I was interested to find that I share similar challenges to those faced by administrative staff in tertiary institutions across the world," she said. "The travelling fellowship provided me with the opportunity to expand my knowledge and network base. It was a beneficial and rewarding experience." Information about the 1999 Awards for General Staff are at www.monash.edu.au/personnel/pdt/ |
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Items of interest from Academic BoardFollowing each meeting of the Academic Board, a short outline of issues considered by the Board will be published in Monash Memo. Where possible, contact details will be supplied for further information. Academic Board - 2 June 1999Leading the WayFollowing a series of meetings with a wide cross-section of the university community, a draft version of the strategic planning document titled Leading the Way was submitted to Academic Board for further comment. Introducing the item, the vice-chancellor and president, Professor David Robinson, advised members that Leading the Way differed from previous versions of the Monash Plan in that it sets 'signposts' that will guide Monash's development over the next 20 years. During discussion it was noted that the high-level and long-term focus of Leading the Way is possible due to the development of excellent operational plans for faculties, administrative areas and the Learning and Teaching (Operational) Plan, Research Management Plan and the ongoing development of a Globalisation Plan. The Academic Board noted the draft of Leading the Way, which will now be presented to Council at its meeting on 28 June. International operationsNoting that Monash seeks to broaden the international opportunities available to students and staff in all geographical regions, the vice-chancellor outlined some recent developments:
Queries should be directed to Tony Calder on extn 59004 or email anthony.calder@adm.monash.edu.au |
Growing up in citiesYoung people from the Mornington Peninsula community were on campus last week taking part in the 'Growing Up in Cities' workshops being conducted by the Faculty of Education. The workshops were part of a research project the faculty is undertaking in collaboration with the Frankston City Council to explore young people's perceptions of their environments. The workshops focused on fear and safety issues identified by young people in Frankston. They included 'Drugs, Violence and Identity', 'Mobility, Access and Public Transport', and 'Child and Youth Resources and Facilities'. For further information contact Lindsay Hasluck on extn 44117, on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays. |
Art and Design building a winnerArchitects of the new Art and Design building at the Caulfield campus have recently won a major award for their design. Denton Corker Marshall won the Award of Merit at the recent Royal Australian Institute of Architect awards, decided by a panel of building design experts. |
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