Newsletter 22nd August 2012

Hi guys!

REMINDER: PSA Awards Round Two is open – this is only a short round, to work out any kinks in the new applications. It closes 5pm 3^rd of September, so get in quick! We’re offering up to one Small Grant, one Fieldwork, and four Conference Travel Awards. Did you know applications for the Teaching Internship and for Convocation Travel Award close at the end of the month! Get in quick, while all this money is around!

Did you know that Faculties normally include student representatives on their boards – such as the faculty Research Committee and the Teaching and Learning committee? Did you know that this student representation includes postgraduates? But do you know who your reps are, or how they are elected/selected? These reps are often not in touch with the PSA, and sometimes not in touch with the students they are supposed to represent! My last big push for the year will be on making sure that the faculties commit to making sure that these representative are elected from the students, by the students, and that all the postgrads know who is on the committees representing them.

This needs your support though – so ask questions, and show that you’re interested! These bodies make decisions which affect you!

Finally, Guild elections are coming up, nominations for positions close on Friday. Another ‘Did you know?’ – postgrads make up 21.5% of the UWA student population in 2012. Do you know how many guaranteed voting positions we have on Guild Council? Zero. You have one guaranteed representative (the PSA President!) but that person is not elected in open elections, only by UWA postgrads, and so has no vote. I encourage you to consider running, or at least voting – and talk to the people running a pressure them to take our voice and needs into account!

Lots of cool stuff to do and see below – get on it!

Peace out posties!

Aisling

Did you know? 7 did/do you knows in this editorial!

Notices

EDUCATION FORUM: All postgraduate students from The University of Western Australia are invited to present their education-related research at the next Fogarty Foundation Postgraduate Forum to be held in the afternoon of Tuesday 20 November 2012 at the Graduate School of Education. For further information about the forum, please see www.education.uwa.edu.au/research/forum/ or contact Eileen Slater 20980524@student.uwa.edu.au

OneSearch and Library Website: Want to get a Woolworths gift voucher AND give feedback on two of our most used resources? See how at: http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/is-website-usability-testing

Like science AND communication? You should totally check out the Science Communication Seminars, Fridays, 4.00pm at the UWA Centre for Learning Technology. Next up (24^th of August) is Jenny Donovan speaking on “The Modern Storyteller: What Children learn about DNA from their favourite family member – the television.” No RSVP required, snacks and drinks available – email Sophia Bickford at 20228745@student.uwa.edu.au to join the mailing list!

MUPSA Conference:

Multidisciplinary Conference 2012

The Third Multidisciplinary Conference from the Murdoch University Postgraduate Student Association (MUPSA) is coming up in September.  This is a chance for Murdoch Postgraduate students to showcase their research across multiple disciplines!

Where: Economics, Commerce and Law (ECL) Lecture Theatres 2 and 3, Murdoch University South Street Campus

When: Thursday 27^th September. Opens at 8:30am outside ECL2 for a 9:05am opening address

Cost: FREE TO ATTEND!

To register: complete the registration form at http://mupsa-conference.murdoch.edu.au before 17^th September

Email mupsa@the-guild.com.au for any queries

Joint Event: Did you come to the joint event hosted by Curtin? Give your feedback by following the link on the PSA Facebook page! www.facebook.com/uwapsa

Trove: UWA’s Online Creative Arts Journal – get your work published! Submissions accepted all year, deadline for 3.2 is Monday 28^th of September. More details? Sure can! www.trove.arts.uwa.edu.au

Art!! An invite from Chris (Lawrence) Poole:
 Various works: old and new. Old work never shown / new work I shouldn't be showing.  Its been a while, but after many years (too much thesis and not
enough art) I feel like a virgin again. (The anonymous extrovert that
was never to be anything but everything and nothing?)
WHERE: Artlab (Crawley) At the old Black Swan Theatre building on
Broadway (Opp. the Caltex cnr of Stirling Hwy and Broadway).
TIMES: Opens Sat. 1st Sep. 6pm (drinks). Thereafter: Open 1.30-7,
Tuesday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday until the 14th (or by appointment).

[The PSA President is a fan of Chris’ work... you should check it out!]

Volleyball and Fun Day! Fun games, volleyball, sausage sizzle, cupcakes - a great family day out and a good cause!  We (Rotary of Crawley and African Students Union, UWA) are organizing what promises to be a lovely action packed day of sports, fun games, food and music to raise funds for science education and youth leadership at two schools in Malawi, Africa.
DATE: Saturday, 6th October
TIME: 10:30am for 11am game start. Finish at 3pm.
VENUE: Riley Oval, UWA Campus, Crawley - near University Club on Hackett Drive.
REGISTRATION: Advance registration required for volleyball teams-  www.trybooking.com/BUDA $100 per team (minimum 6 players).
BENEFICIARIES:  Mzuzu Academy  and Nkhomboli Community Day Secondary School
FACEBOOK: Volleyball and Fun games for Malawi Schools

PSA FUNDING ROUND TWO OPEN: You should totally check out the refurbished awards, on the pretty new website (this link should even work!): http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/psa/grants/psa_funding

Funded trip to Water Management conference for research students: The Deans of Graduate Schools of the Go8 and C9 are this year arranging a graduate research student forum with the broad topic, Water, water management and global sustainable futures. The Forum will be hosted by The University of Queensland and be attended by 34 doctoral students from China and Australia. Two students from The University of Western Australia will be selected to attend and present papers at the Forum. One applicant will be selected from the science/engineering areas, another from the broad social sciences/humanities/arts areas. We encourage eligible and interested graduate research students to apply – contact michael.azariadis@uwa.edu.au. Forms are also on the PSA website under the ‘Notices for Postgrads’ link on the sidebar.

Domestic Scholarship Applications open! Online applications are now open for a wide range of postgraduate research scholarships for local (domestic) students, including Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA), University Postgraduate Awards (UPA), prestigious University scholarships funded from bequests and other faculty and discipline-specific scholarships. Closing Date:  5pm Wednesday 31 October 2012, see: www.scholarships.uwa.edu.au

Money? Money! Convocation and PSA co-fund some travel awards! Applications close on the 31^st of August: http://www.graduates.uwa.edu.au/awards/pgrta

Teaching Internship: Applications for the Postgraduate Teaching Internship Scheme close on the 31^st of August, and there is an information session in Fox Lecture Theatre on the 7^th of August from 1pm to 2pm. More info? Of course! http://www.teachingandlearning.uwa.edu.au/students/postgraduates/internship

Idea-ful? The Day of Ideas is sponsored by the IAS, and focuses on important themes.

Manning Clark House is running a special public lecture “Night of 100 Objects - Creating histories through Objects” by Dr Jeremy Hill, Head of Research, The British Museum. The lecture is on the 8^th of November 2012, from 6.00pm-7.00pm, at the WA Museum, costing $30.

The IAS’s 2012 Day of Ideas lecture series will focus on the theme: “Objects/History/Humanity: Museums in Contemporary Society”. It will take place on the 9^thof November 2012, from 9.30am –5.00pm, in Banquet Hall South, University Club, UWA, costing $75/$70 (concession). The day is followed by sundowner until 6.00pm.

More info and registration: http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/conf/2012-doi

Institute of Advanced Studies Lectures and Masterclasses

23^rd August:

“Animal Psychology and Human Nature”, David Konstan, 10am, Old Senate room, (Masterclass)

“The (mis)use of religion in justification of political violence: a comparative analysis”, O.P. Rafferty, 6pm, University Club LT, (Public Lecture)

27^th August: “The Star-Crossed Stone”, K.J. McNamara, 6pm, Webb LT, (Public Lecture)

28^th August: “Fossils as Ancient Windows into the Evolution of the Body, the Mind and Soul”, K.J. McNamara, 10am, Old Senate room, (Masterclass)

29^th August: “WA on the threshold… SKA and the new view of the universe”, Peter Quinn, 6pm, University Club Auditorium, (Public Lecture)

30^th August: “Climate Change: Will we cope?” Chris Rapley, 6pm, Social Science LT, (Public Lecture)

Registration and questions should be directed to the IAS: http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/about

Careers Month

August is CAREERS MONTH.  Check out the events and activities both on and off campus.  For all details and to book, go to CareerHub – http://uwa.careerhub.com.au.

-----------------------------------------------

POSTGRADUATE CAREERS WEEK – targeted at postgraduate students (coursework and research). 

Bookings essential on CareerHub – http://uwa.careerhub.com.au

MONDAY 27 AUGUST - On the Couch with the Recruiters seminar – Meet the recruiters and get tips for your resume, interviews and job etiquette. 

Recruiters from Accenture, Public Sector Commission and John Davidson Australia

4.15pm in Ernst & Young Lecture Theatre, Business School

TUESDAY 28 AUGUST - MBA Case Study Workshop – a presentation of case studies and an opportunity to network with Accenture

7am – Michael Chaney Case Study Room, Business School – BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL ON CAREERHUB

TUESDAY 28 AUGUST - Accenture BBQ – Find out about career opportunities at Accenture

1pm – Oak Lawn – Undergraduate and Postgraduates welcome.

MONDAY 3 SEPTEMBER - Resume writing workshop – This workshop is designed to assist postgraduate students with their resumes.  Guest speaker – Accenture

1pm, Social Sciences South Building

Do you want to put a notice in the newsletter? You should email me! I’ll spruik most things related to postgrads, professional development, and activities. Newsletter day is currently Wednesday, so email two sentences and any links to psa@guild.uwa.edu.au by 9am on Wednesday to be included!

Website: http://www.psa.guild.uwa.edu.au  
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/uwapsa
Blog: http://uwapsa.blogspot.com.au
Email: psa@guild.uwa.edu.au
Internal Mail: M300
Phone: (08) 6488 3194
Office: Guild South Wing, First Floor, Office 1.03
Lounge: Guild South Wing, First Floor, Room 1.05

Newsletter 5th of August 2012 - Special Super Bumper Weekend Edition!

Special Super Bumper Weekend Edition!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to our new members and commencing postgrads! Hopefully some of you are reading this, since I signed you up to the newsletter myself! Thursday was a huge day, with both the new Postgraduate (Research) Welcome, and Connect! Pictures are on Facebook, so get tagging, my friends! (www.facebook.com/uwapsa)

I was really disappointed last week, as I was part of the panel selecting students to attend the National Student Leadership Forum. Looking forward to sending a postgrad on a free trip to Canberra, I was really surprised when no postgrads had applied! Make sure you read through the newsletter carefully – there are some really amazing opportunities for you and I encourage you to make the most of them!

National developments: the Higher Education Standards Panel has been established to advise the Commonwealth Ministers for Tertiary Education and for Research on standards relating to the new Higher Education Standards Framework. The panel is chaired by Alan Robson! More info on the website next week.

Speaking of the website, we’re adding a new section – Postgrad FAQs. There is a survey on the Facebook page asking what your FAQs as a new postgrad are or were, and filling it out makes you a good person! Just add an answer, or vote for one you agree with. Other awesome things – new blog post about Connects, Postscript is pretty much finished, and should be out to you by early September, and I hope to email you next week with very, very good news about PSA grants and awards… so stay tuned!

This is a huge issue of the newsletter, but it is packed with great stuff, all for you! Have a fabulous, relaxing weekend (kick back with a coffee and this newsletter!) – I’ll see you all soon!!

Aisling

Notices

Funded trip to Water Management conference for research students: The Deans of Graduate Schools of the Go8 and C9 are this year arranging a graduate research student forum with the broad topic, Water, water management and global sustainable futures. The Forum will be hosted by The University of Queensland and be attended by 34 doctoral students from China and Australia. Two students from The University of Western Australia will be selected to attend and present papers at the Forum. One applicant will be selected from the science/engineering areas, another from the broad social sciences/humanities/arts areas. We encourage eligible and interested graduate research students to apply – contact michael.azariadis@uwa.edu.au. Forms are also on the PSA website under the ‘Notices for Postgrads’ link on the sidebar.

Domestic Scholarship Applications open! Online applications are now open for a wide range of postgraduate research scholarships for local (domestic) students, including Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA), University Postgraduate Awards (UPA), prestigious University scholarships funded from bequests and other faculty and discipline-specific scholarships. Closing Date:  5pm Wednesday 31 October 2012, see: www.scholarships.uwa.edu.au

Money? Money! Convocation and PSA co-fund some travel awards! Applications close on the 31^st of August: http://www.graduates.uwa.edu.au/awards/pgrta

Teaching Internship: Applications for the Postgraduate Teaching Internship Scheme close on the 31^st of August, and there is an information session in Fox Lecture Theatre on the 7^th of August from 1pm to 2pm. More info? Of course! http://www.teachingandlearning.uwa.edu.au/students/postgraduates/internship

Do you do placements? The Forum "A Place for ME" will be back on Wednesday the 8th of August at 2pm. It will be a great opportunity to talk about placement and how we would like things to change and feedback to the university. Email uwaplacement@gmail.com for more info.

Idea-ful? The Day of Ideas is sponsored by the IAS, and focuses on important themes.

Manning Clark House is running a special public lecture “Night of 100 Objects - Creating histories through Objects” by Dr Jeremy Hill, Head of Research, The British Museum. The lecture is on the 8^th of November 2012, from 6.00pm-7.00pm, at the WA Museum, costing $30.

The IAS’s 2012 Day of Ideas lecture series will focus on the theme: “Objects/History/Humanity: Museums in Contemporary Society”. It will take place on the 9^th of November 2012, from 9.30am –5.00pm, in Banquet Hall South, University Club, UWA, costing $75/$70 (concession). The day is followed by sundowner until 6.00pm.

More info and registration: http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/conf/2012-doi

Institute of Advanced Studies Lectures and Masterclasses

6^th of August: “Why do we get Osteoarthitis? Can we fix our arthritic cartilage?”, Alan Grodzinsky, 4pm, Webb LT. (Lecture)

7^th of August: “Ending of Life and Medical Care: Legal Challenges”, Meredith Blake, 6pm, Social Sciences LT (Lecture).

8^th of August: “Pluripotent Stem Cells: States and Fates”, Martin Pera, 4pm, RPH, (Masterclass)

9^th of August: “How Cultural Continuity Reduces Suicide Risk in Indigenous Communities”, Michael J. Chandler, 6pm, Social Sciences LT, (lecture)

13^th of August: “Theoretical foundation and applications of 33S and 36S measurements in geochemistry and geobiology”, James Farquhar, 10am, Old Senate Room. (Masterclass)

15^th of August: “Fields Forces and Flows in Biological Systems”, Alan Grodzinsky, 10am, Old Senate Room, (Masterclass).

16^th August: “Climate Ethics: Obstacles to Action?” Dale Jamieson, 10am, Old Senate Room, (Masterclass).

17^th August: “Researching (and writing about) the Media”, Sally Young, 10am, Old Senate Room, (Masterclass).

Registration and questions should be directed to the IAS: http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/about

Many, many conferences:

FREE Bio-Med Conference: This event will be held at St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and is completely FREE for all biomedical UROP, Honours, Masters and PhD students. Apart from a number of prizes for talks and posters, this year we will be giving out a Biomed Link Travel Grant award to one research student who will travel interstate to present their research work at the Biomed Link 2012 Conference! We will also hold post-conference drinks to encourage interaction between participants. The deadline for registration and abstract submission is 5pm on Friday, 31 August 2012. Abstract submission is NOW OPEN on the following link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/biomedlink2012  

Philosophy Conference: 2012 Australasian Philosophy Postgraduate Conference, 28 - 30 September, University of Auckland. Registration for this year's APPC is now open.  Registration is free for presenters and non-presenting attendees. All attendees must register in advance at: http://aap.onefireplace.com/events?eventId=473630&EventViewMode=EventDetail (presenters by 31 Aug, non-presenters by 14 Sep).

Sustainable Renovation and Buildings: European Conference on Sustainable Renovation of Buildings. 13-14 September 2012 in Karlsruhe, Germany. This event will bring government leaders and officials, businesses (including SMEs), architects, engineers, energy advisors, building industry specialists, real-estate and facility management professionals, members of trade and other professional bodies and stakeholders engaged or interested in the field of sustainable building renovation, green buildings and sustainable economy. Please find below the link to download the conference brochure at etechgermany.com/ECSR_2012.pdf.

Measurement, Automation, and Physics: International Conference on Measurement, Instrumentation and Automation(ICMIA2012). September 15 to 16, 2012 Guangzhou, China. Please send us your full paper on July 31th. All papers will be refereed and accepted papers will be published in the Open Access Journal of Physics: Conference Series. See www.icmia.org/

Materials and Manufacturing: 2012 International Conference on Materials and Products Manufacturing Technology (MPMT 2012). September 22-23, 2012, Guangzhou, China. Paper submission due: July 25, 2012. All accepted papers will be published by Advanced Materials Research Journal. See www.icmpmt.net

Energy, Environment and Sustainability: 2nd/2012 International Conference on Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (EESD 2012). October 12-14, 2012, Jilin China. Submit original, unpublished manuscripts before August 10, 2012. All papers accepted and registered will be included in conference proceedings published by TTP(Advanced Materials Research). See www.iceesd.net

Civil Engineering and Transport: 2nd International Conference on Civil Engineering and Transportation (ICCET 2012). October 27- 28, 2012 Guilin, China. The main topics of the conference are civil engineering, transportation engineering, architecture and building materials. Paper submission due: August 31th, 20112 (No need to prepare abstract in advance) All accepted papers will be published in "Applied Mechanics and Materials" before the conference. See www.theiccet.org

Information Technology: 2012 International Conference on Information Technology and Management Innovation (ICITMI2012). November 10 - 11, 2012 Guangzhou, China. FULL PAPER Submission September 10th 2012. Papers will be published in Applied Mechanics and Materials. See www.icitmi.org

Chemical, Material, and Metallurgical Engineering: 2012 International Conference on Chemical, Material and Metallurgical Engineering. 15-16th December, 2012 Kunming, China. The main topics of this conference are: Chemical Engineering and Technology, Advances in Chemistry Research, New materials and advanced materials, Materials Processing Technology & Mining and Metallurgical Engineering. Paper submission: 10th September, 2012. Please visit our website for more information about the layout format and way of submission. All accepted papers will be published on international journal Advanced Materials Research. See www.iccmme.net

Advances in Materials and Manufacturing: 3rd International Conference on Advances in Materials and Manufacturing Processes (AMMP 2012). 22-23 December 2012 in Beihai, China. Forum for the latest research and development in design, materials, manufacturing and their related fields. Papers due September 20th. Accepted papers will be published in "Advanced Materials Research". See www.icammp.org

IT in Education: 2012 Conference on Information Technology in Education. Dec. 27-29, 2012 Sanya, Hainan Island, China This conference will cover issues on Collaborative and Group Learning, E-Learning and Knowledge Management, Evaluating of Teaching and Learning Technologies, Socially-Informed and Instructional Design, Learning Systems Platforms and Architectures , Modeling and representation. Full paper or abstract submission: Oct.15, 2012 Accepted papers will be published in the special issue of Creative Education.. Seewww.engii.org/cite2012/

Do you want to put a notice in the newsletter? You should email me! I’ll spruik most things related to postgrads, professional development, and activities. Newsletter day is currently Wednesday, so email two sentences and any links to psa@guild.uwa.edu.au by 9am on Wednesday to be included!

Website: http://www.psa.guild.uwa.edu.au 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/uwapsa
Blog: http://uwapsa.blogspot.com.au
Email: psa@guild.uwa.edu.au
Internal Mail: M300
Phone: (08) 6488 3194
Office: Guild South Wing, First Floor, Office 1.03
Lounge: Guild South Wing, First Floor, Room 1.05

Why I love Connects

Over the last nine months, I've given a great deal of thought to the question "What is the value and purpose of the PSA?".

You might think this is an odd question for me to be asking - if anyone should know the value and purpose of an organisation, it should be the President - right? No - this kind of critical reflection is vital for all organisations. Groups become stagnant, out-of-touch, unresponsive, and cliquey when the people involved fail to consider and talk about the purpose of that group regularly. 

So what conclusions have I come up with thus far? That the purpose of the PSA is to foster and continue an inclusive postgraduate community at UWA. Not a vague sense of community, not a clique of the same people all the time. But to make sure there is a genuine group of peers who help each other through difficulties, prevent feelings of isolation, and who talk about the shared experience of being a postgraduate. We are stronger as a community than we are as disjointed groups.

This is why I love Connect. Connect is a chance for us to see our community, in all its diversity. To occupy a space together, talk about our lives, and welcome new members. I love Connect, because you're a friendly, interesting, fun group of people. The chance to come together and talk to each other, and to the Committee, is what keeps the PSA in touch with UWA postgrads. For some people, Connect is a once-a-month chance to have a couple of free drinks. For others, it is an opportunity to meet people in Perth for the first time. Still again, it represents a chance to forget the stress of the previous weeks, and unwind. I have to say, I enjoyed seeing how much fun people had in photos with the crocodile!

It's not a perfect event, but it's a great base from which to build. This is why I'll keep promoting it, and when I leave the Committee, I'll keep coming. If you get something out of Connect, I hope you encourage more people to come along. If you can see a way to improve Connect, or if you think think the purpose of the PSA is something else - let me know! I'd love your feedback.

Until next time!
Aisling