Innovative teaching rewarded Professor Angela Carbone providing an update on her teaching activities during 1999. Teaching and broadening students' learning experiences continue to be the top priority for the winner of the Prime Minister's University Teacher of the Year award and fixed-term professor for 1999, Professor Angela Carbone. A move to the School of Information Management and Systems (SIMS) earlier in the year led Professor Carbone to become involved in the development of a learning studio for first-year Bachelor of Information Management and Systems students. "This is a very exciting new development, as information technology has not been taught in a studio-based environment before," she said. "At the same time as we are developing the new studio, we will be revising our teaching methods and our virtual teaching resources." A winner of a 1997 vice-chancellor's award for distinguished teaching, Professor Carbone continues to partner with students to enhance their learning which, she says, is having positive outcomes. She said she had been modifying and enhancing her teaching throughout the year as a result of feedback she receives from her students every three weeks. "I've found this to be a very powerful teaching element that has an immediate and positive impact upon student learning," she said. According to Professor Carbone, an increase in the overall pass rate for one course she teaches can be attributed to the introduction of student-led discussion groups. "I introduced the discussion groups with the aim of broadening my students' understanding of how others learn, and I found that a very strong learning culture developed with the obvious beneficial results." On top of her teaching and research commitments, Professor Carbone receives invitations to address a diverse range of groups throughout Australia, and has been asked to provide input into a national policy on lifelong learning and also to be part of a development team for online competency-based testing.

History of Business Systems degree launched

Former CEO of IBM Australia and current National Mutual board member Mr Brian Finn recently launched a book tracing the history of the Bachelor of Business Systems degree at Monash.

The book, Cooperating for Excellence: Monash University Bachelor of Business Systems - the first 10 years - 1988-98, was written by Seamus O'Hanlon, who teaches in the History department.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Finn said he believed the history was being published at a most appropriate time with the current critical shortage of appropriately skilled people to meet Australia's needs in the field of information technology.

"Government and the IT industry should recognise that the Bachelor of Business Systems has been, is currently, and will continue to be, a successful solution for the IT industry skills shortage crisis, which industry leaders put at 30,000 today and 200,000 in the next several years," he said.

The head of the School of Business Systems, Professor Rob Willis, said the Bachelor of Business Systems' story over the past 10 years had been about responding to the community's changing needs. "It is about never being prepared to accept second best and always being ready to challenge the comfortable paradigm," he said.

"The future of the degree offers many new opportunities, with the establishment of off-shore campuses and a growing demand for cooperative education."

Cooperating for Excellence is available from the Monash University bookshop.

When a little can do a lot

Getting fit for summer does not necessarily mean hours of sweat and toil, according to Peninsula's MONSU Fitness Centre manager Mr Mark Mathieson.

"New research has highlighted that as little as 15 to 20 minutes of moderate exercise three or more times a week is adequate to make a significant improvement to your health," he said.

For staff motivated to get fit for summer, Mr Mathieson has the following tips:

At the formal announcement of the development of the new drug delivery system are Acrux chief executive officer Mr Ross Dobinson (left) and co-discoverer of the new technology Dr Barrie Finnin.

Outstanding development in drug delivery

Victorian College of Pharmacy researchers last week announced the development of a radical new drug delivery system that enables patients to spray drugs directly on to the skin for entry to the bloodstream.

According to team member Professor Barry Reed, the new drug delivery system means certain drugs will no longer have to be administered by injection, or by taking tablets, which many people, particularly children and old people, find difficult to swallow.

A company called Acrux Limited has been set up to commercialise the discovery, which is expected to reap millions of dollars in licensing fees for both the college and the university.

Professor Reed, who is professor of biopharmaceutics at the college, said Monash had encouraged and supported the commercialisation of the product, which had made the whole venture possible.

Pharmacy College researchers who have been working on developing the system since the early 1990s include Professor Reed and "three generations" of his students, including senior lecturer Dr Barrie Finnin, project manager Dr Tim Morgan and professor of Pharmaceutics Professor Bill Charman.