Public Lecture by Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia at the University of Canberra
By Riyana (MIra) Miranti, Convenor - BGL Indonesia Program
We were delighted to host the Public Lecture of Indonesia’s Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Dr Siswo Pramono, on the 23rd of November. His lecture discussed the rise of Asia in the context of Indonesia-Australia relations. The lecture was well received and attended. The DVCA Professor Geoff Crisp welcomed the Ambassador, and we discussed ways to enhance BGL’s/UC’s partnerships with Indonesia.
I would like to thank Nilima Mathai, Justin Wilson, Ashleigh Ralph and Putri Agrintasia for their assistance in making this event ran smoothly.
Graduate Certificate End of Course Lunch
Tuesday 22nd November, 2022
By Brendan McCaffrie
On Tuesday, graduates from the Department of Education, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts celebrated the successful completion of their Graduate Certificates, with an End of Course Lunch at the National Portrait Gallery.
In what was the biggest year ever for the program, we had 120 Departmental graduates complete the program, as well as more than 60 more senior staff who completed their Graduate Certificate in Public Policy and Finance earlier this year. And we’re expecting an even bigger 2023, after the recent signing of a new contract with the National Indigenous Australians Agency.
Our participants were celebrating the end of what was a fun, but highly challenging year of study for them, which formed the major part of the learning and development component of their graduate years with their respective departments. It’s truly been a pleasure teaching them this year, they are a really switched-on, intelligent group, and the quality of work produced, and the quality of discussion in the classroom, was outstanding across the board.
Senior representatives from each department spoke to congratulate the group. They reminded the graduates of the importance throughout their careers of maintaining their networks of peers, remaining curious and open to learning, and saying yes when opportunities come along. Darren Sinclair spoke about the importance of the
Graduate Certificate Programs, and the close relationship with the APS that they entail, to the Faculty and University, and also harked back to his own experience of being an APS graduate before commencing his academic career.
It was also a wonderful opportunity for our unit conveners to celebrate surviving another year. Thank you to Juan Castilla-Rho, Lain Dare, Leonie Pearson, Paul Porteous, Jacki Schirmer, Mick Shadwick, for their work as unit conveners this year. As Melissa Lei’s student address also noted, thanks also to the many guest speakers from among our Faculty and Adjuncts who spoke to the group, including: Khalid Ahmed, Russell Ayres, Stephen Bartos, Linda Botterill, Meredith Edwards, Michelle Grattan, Virginia Haussegger, John Hawkins, Mike Jensen, David Kallisch, Alex Marsden, Carmel McGregor, Mike Mrdak, Darren Sinclair and no doubt a host of others who I’ve forgotten to mention.
The lunch ran smoothly and was a wonderful event for all who attended, there was a really fun atmosphere in the room. Thanks to Justin Wilson for all his help organising the event. Justin is, in fact, so organised that he was already talking to the NPG’s events team about booking next year’s End of Course Lunch.
Congratulations Iman!
We congratulate Iman El-Sakka, for completing her University of Canberra MBA this week.
We look forward to celebrating with her at the graduation ceremony next year.
John Hawkins was interviewed three times on ABC radio (Illawarra, Darwin and Adelaide) this week about the collapse of FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The third of these runs from around 2.07 to 2.18
John has an article in The Conversation about economic growth across states. John also wrote a letter to AFR about a misleading front page headline they used on this topic.
The latest figures on the economic performance of Australia’s states and territories shows Victoria leading the nation and New South Wales falling to last place.
The annual gross state product accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics record the equivalent of gross domestic product (the total value of goods and services bought and sold).
Michael de Percy's interview
with Fred Pawle on Rewiring the Nation vs Nuclear is now available Begins at 31.15.
Michael was elected Vice President of TelSoc, the Telecommunications Association, Australia’s oldest continuously functioning learned society. He was also re-elected Vice Chairman of the ACT and Southern NSW Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia (where he is a Chartered Fellow).
Michael has an article “Local government or bureaucratic symbolism?” published in The Spectator.
The editorial read: Should local government exist? Does it do a good job? Has it been corrupted by petty politics and bureaucratic nonsense? These are reasonable questions asked by Michael de Percy, who puts the merits of local government to the test. Personally, I’m torn. Local government should exist, if it were to perform the duties it was designed for. However, local governments that wage war on Australia Day, refuse to fly our national flag, and engage in wasteful, vanity-seeking projects should be turfed.
Michael presented at the Australian Consortium of Social and Political Research Inc.’s 8th Biennial ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference on 23rd November 2022.
Michael has received copies of his edited book COVID-19 and Foreign Aid: Nationalism and Global Development in a New World Order.
Michael discovered that his great-grandfather witnessed a cavalry and lancer charge during the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux before he succumbed to gas poisoning, reinvigorating Michael's calls to arms for free speech in Australia
Michael was quoted extensively on ABC News Canberra this week on the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council rate rise proposal
upcoming events
Master Class Series: Monday 28 November to Friday 2 December
By Justin Wilson
UC's Master Class Series will be held from Monday, 28 November to Friday, 2 December 2022. The event is hosted by Global Student Recruitment (GSR) and will promote UC's suite of postgraduate courses. The event will be held online, and Faculties will deliver webinars that provide prospective postgraduate students and non-school leavers with a taste of what they will experience if they study a course at UC. All 3 schools from our Faculty will be represented at this event. Our Faculty is offering some fantastic webinars that will provide insight into the course content of our postgraduate courses, while aiming to convert interested participants to apply to study a course with us.
Many thanks to our Heads of School (Ben Freyens, Alison Gerard, and Maree Sainsbury) for their continued support. A huge thank you to our academic staff (Erina Fletcher, Doug Jackman, Habib Khan, Riyana Miranti, Trevor Ryan and Brian Weir) who have generously given up their time to participate in this recruitment activity for the Faculty. It is an extremely busy time of the year so your support is much appreciated.
The Voice to Parliament
This masterclass will give an overview of the history and issues surrounding the proposal to introduce a Voice to Parliament for First Nations Australians. It covers the concept of sovereignty, the reception of white-settler law and the case of Mabo, the 1967 referendum, the stolen generations, the race power and other relevant constitutional provisions, and the recognition process leading up to the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the upcoming referendum.
Talent Management – A Strategic Imperative (change the lens to sharpen the focus).
This Master Class engages participants to think about why effective talent management is a 'strategic imperative' for all knowledge-based service organisations and how the organisational context shapes they way that talent is defined and managed.
Climate change, sustainability and business: Balancing, integrating or confounding?
Climate change is now recognised as a significant issue for Australian society, government and especially for business. But what does it really mean for businesses? Is it all downside, or are there upsides? ESG, too, is a term often spoken about, but not always clearly understood. This Masterclass will explore climate change and sustainability, relate both to the 'business' of business and suggest ways for businesses and students of business to better understand the challenges and opportunities presented.
Why should we explore financial numbers ?
This Master Class engages participants to think about why people need to take into account financial management and accounting numbers as part of 'strategic imperative' for all organisations and strategic decisions making and how the organisational context shapes they way that financial and non-financial issues. It will also address how Accounting discipline takes into account of emerging themes such as sustainability, CSR and climate changes issues
Mental health disclosure requirements of new lawyers, an ethical crossroad?
Summary: the road to becoming a lawyer is complex, especially when we consider our understanding of how mental health challenges new, young and veteran lawyers face both prior and post admission. This workshop considers the requirements for disclosure and how proposed legislative amendments may affect disclosure obligations.
Does your data measure up?
We see and use a lot of data in our life. We may find data and information from social media that we read casually. We may use data for our work and to make decisions. In the context of public policy we also utilise data as evidence for better public policy making. So, how do you measure that your data is quality data. This master clases engage participants to critically but practically assess their data quality and understanding the limitation.
Professional Development Week is a biannual week-long event, to give all staff the opportunity to develop their capabilities in their current roles and build their skills for future career growth.
All UC staff are encouraged to participate in these Professional Development activities to build performance capability and advance their personal career development. Mark your calendars now, and keep an eye out for registrations which will open in the weeks leading up to PD Week.
An indication of some of the themes covered are below, with a couple of examples for your interest:
Development of Academic capability
Examples:
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Academic Promotions Session
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Getting the most out of UCLearn in your teaching
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Developing your Higher Education Academic Fellowship application: Getting Started
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UC Teaching Awards & Citations: developing your evidence
How to maximise efficiency & effectiveness
Examples:
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How to create and engaging recruitment campaign
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Career Conversations
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Onboarding for Impact
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Program & Risk Assessment Workshop
Mental health and wellbeing, including financial & technological wellbeing
Examples:
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The Accidental Counsellor
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The Working Mind for Employees & Managers
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Disconnect to Reconnect
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Mastering your Money
Improved communication practices
Examples:
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Powerful Email Writing
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Courageous Conversations
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Giving & Receiving Feedback
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Communicating with Influence & Impact
Building inclusive teams and disability confident work practices
Examples:
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Inclusion 101
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Words at Work
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Disability Confident Workforces
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It’s time to talk about menopause at work
The University's Safety and Wellbeing team has contracted with TrimEVAC to provide staff online training modules each year so that we are prepared and ready for emergencies. The online modules will train us in emergency procedures. BGL staff are encouraged to complete the UOC Building 11 or UOC Building 24 induction modules. For further information, please visit the BGL Health, Safety and Wellbeing Share Point site and select the ‘Our Wardens’ tab.
Justin Wilson
Chief Building Warden
BGL Outlook Engagement Calendar
Please remember that we have a BGL Outlook Engagement Calendar. You will be able to drag and drop principle dates/seminars/meetings from the BGL Engagement calendar into your calendar and use the overlay view option to quickly see where you have conflicts or free time.
If you don't have this calendar on your computer, please contact Justin Wilson. It will take one or two minutes to install.
Masterclass Series
28th November – 2nd December
Explore Uc Day - alternate event
Friday 25 November
Offer Advice Day
20 January 2023 TBC
Semester 1 Orientation
30 January - 3 February
Justin Wilson will be reaching out to staff to solicit participation in these events.
Murra Magazine
Murra Magazine - Issue 8
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Issue
BGL Health, Safety and Wellbeing portal
The BGL Health, Safety and Wellness portal is dedicated to promoting and supporting the Faculty’s culture of health, safety and wellbeing, and is accessible to staff and HDR students.
This portal will help you to: identify fire wardens and first aid officers; find quick links on how to report an incident, whom to call if you are in immediate danger and require assistance; and to find out the range of campus services designed to foster and promote your health and wellbeing, including special offers available on campus.
Our Wardens
JUSTIN WILSON
Chief Warden
Building 11
ROB RIGBY
Deputy Chief Warden
Building 11
KATARINA GEORGIEVSKA
Warden
Building 11
Level B
GAIL REARDON
Warden
Building 11
Level C
SUE UZABEAGA
Warden
Building 11
Level C
LAIN DARE
Warden
Building 24
Our Health & safety representatives
KATIE LEY
CRAIG APPLEGATE
Our FIRST AID OFFICERS
CORAL JOHNSON
NANDITA DUTTA
NILIMA MATHAI
