Newsletter 11th of July 2012

Hi there!

I don’t have much to report at the minute! Three things to highlight:

1.       The joint networking event with Curtin and Murdoch is going to go off! There is jazz, and music, and food – and it’s totally free! But you need to RSVP by the 12^th – so get on to that ASAP! Consider this very strong encouragement from me to come along (also, I’ll be there and I’d love to say hi). Website: http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/psa/events/networking_evening, RSVP to cupsa@guild.curtin.edu.au

2.       The Croccy photo for Week Three was captured! Winning photo will be up on Facebook and the website soon! One week left, who will win this week?

3.       Postscript is looking for contributors! Check the website to see what articles are still available, and write up something for our awesome little magazine!

All the best, I hope you’re all having a wonderful week!

Aisling

(9 exclamation points... I think I’m getting worse.)

Notices

Law students: Apparently don’t subscribe to this mailing list. If they did, they would join the PSA Committee and represent postgrad law students! Email Aisling at psa@guild.uwa.edu.au

Scholarships: The Mid-Year round for Australian Postgraduate Awards and UWA Safety Net Top-Up Scholarship applications is now open from Friday 1st June and will close on Friday, 13th July 2012. This round is for domestic PhD, other RTS Doctoral and Masters by Research applicants for commencement in Semester 2 2012.

This round includes the prestigious Ana Africh Postgraduate Scholarships in Medical Research. These top-up scholarships are valued at $7,500 per annum, and are awarded on the basis of academic acheivement. Applicants are also required to submit a statement of financial need. See: http://spe.publishing.uwa.edu.au/latest/scholarships/postgraduate/africh

National Student Leadership Forum: Is running in Canberra from the 20^th to the 23^rd of September, info is here: http://nslf.org.au/. See the website for how to apply: http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/psa/grants/nslf

Eco-Health Summit: The EcoHealth student section is a voluntary group of student coordinators working under the auspices of the International Association for Ecology and Health (IAEH or EcoHealth Association). Contribute your opinion/find out more: http://ecohealthstudentsection.weebly.com/index.html

Medically-minded? Nominations for the FMDHS 2013 Excellence in Teaching Awards are now open, for both coursework teaching and research supervision. See more: http://www.meddent.uwa.edu.au/staff/teaching/awards

Do you do placements? The Forum "A Place for ME" will be back on Wednesday the 1st 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.

Money? Money! Convocation and PSA co-fund some travel awards! Applications are open on the 1^st of July: http://www.graduates.uwa.edu.au/awards/pgrta

Threesome! By which, of course, I mean the three most awesome PSAs in WA (UWA, Curtin, and Murdoch) are co-hosting a networking event! It will be held at Curtin on the 19^th of July from 6pm to 9pm. Wine and Cheese/Nibbles are on the cards!

Postscript! You could contribute to the premier publication of the PSA! See the website for all the details: http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/psa/publications/postscript_2012

Theatre: 'The Cat in the Box' is a play written by a UWA postgrad and is showing at the Blue Room Theatre! This play messes around with quantum physics a little and Schrodinger's Cat in particular. See: http://www.blueroom.org.au/blueroomseasons/thecatinthebox for all the info.

Oxfam Dinner: Announcing OxfamUWA's fund-raising event of the year – a Global Dinner. It will a rollercoaster of a night filled with Fairtrade food, global events and a taste of the inequalities faced by people all over the world. With 18 tables representing different countries, the night is sure to be full of surprises! Tickets are $25 for concession or $30 for an adult. Or you can book a table of 10, for $200. Purchase your tickets at: http://www.trybooking.com/BNDG. For more information about the event head to: https://www.facebook.com/events/249841738458924/.

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

Faculty of Arts Casual Marking Pay (Take 2)

Today the issue of pay for marking in the Faculty of Arts came to the attention of the PSA again. Since the agreement to pay casual staff for marking was reached, there has been a great deal of confusion across faculties, admin, and casual staff about how exactly marking is paid. I hope to clarify this somewhat in this post, but will also continue working with the School and Faculty Managers in Arts so that an explanation is put on the Arts website, the process made clearer, and that terminology becomes standardised.

There are essentially three different kinds of marking in which we could be involved:

Marking as part of casual tutoring: These are the assignments you mark for your tutorial students, by virtue of being their tutor. Note that ‘reasonably contemporaneous marking’ is not entitled to additional pay – this would be any marking you do within the context of a tutorial eg: a pop quiz, tutorial presentation etc. For marking which takes up a significant amount of time outside of your tutorials, such as research essays, you’re entitled to be paid for ‘standard marking’. The rate at which you are paid is calculated by the Faculty through this equation:

1 Equivalent Full-Time Student Load (EFTSL) = 8 students.

For every 1 EFTSL you mark, you are paid for 3 hours at the standard marking rate.

This pay is calculated at the end of the semester – the reason for this being the significant fluctuation we experience in student enrolments during the semester. By calculating the marking entitlement at the end of the semester, the Faculty is able to accurately calculate how much we are owed. You should be aware that this takes time to come through – perhaps a month, since the end of semester will also necessarily include marking, submitting final results, waiting for extensions, ect.

External Marking: This is the tricky one, as everyone seems to call it something different. Other popular terms include ‘buy-out marking’ and ‘routine marking’. This is marking that you do outside of duties as a casual tutor. For example, you might not be doing any teaching, but your supervisor might ask you to mark 20 first-year essays if they’re overloaded. This marking should also be paid using the same equation and at the standard rate – but it is paid within the same pay period, not at the end of semester. This is because there is no contract, and no fluctuation in student numbers. It is important that you keep a track of any external marking you do, as opposed to marking as a tutor because of this difference. Make sure that your line manager promptly lodges the casual timesheet with the admin staff, and includes the project grant the money is to come out of, in order to be paid on time.

Exam marking: Is again worked out the same way, using the formula, but is paid at the ‘simple marking rate’.

These three different types of marking could all be conducted by the one person, within one semester. A lack of clarity in communication has proven a serious hurdle for some postgrads in being properly paid. However, all marking pay should go through by the 27^th of July.

There are two things I’ve flagged with the Managers:

1.       The equation used to work out the marking amount does not always accurately reflect how much time we have to put in to marking the work of eight students.

2.       The biggest frustration for us as casual staff is the lack of clarity in communication and knowing what we can expect as staff.

They acknowledge that these are ongoing issues, and we will work with them to try and remedy them. The important thing for us to do as postgrads is to continue to communicate with the staff, and let them know if we are experiencing problems – the earlier the better!

Here are some relevant and important documents for you to be aware of – the NTEU Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, the UWA Human Resources Casual Award, and the UniCasual FAQs about marking pay.

My final advice to you is to always make sure you have a clear record of what you’ve agreed to do, and what you actually end up completing. There is some flexibility in the marking equation if it is not equitable for your marking load, so make sure you discuss it with your line manager or unit coordinator before your start teaching or marking.

If I get any new info, I'll update this page!!

Conference Funding FYI

FYI for Arts Postgraduates and Conference Funding

Hello fellow postgraduates!

I recently queried conference funding and registration reimbursements (note: not travel reimbursements) and thought I would pass along this spectacular news to the rest of the Arts PGs.

First, the background information:

I'm presenting a paper at the upcoming CMEMS/PMRG 'Receptions: Medieval and Early Modern Cultural Appropriations' Conference at St. Catherine's College here at UWA. The conference runs 17-18 August and should be amazing (for any of you interested, here's the link to the conference: http://www.pmrg.arts.uwa.edu.au/2012_conference).

As you know a bit too well, every conference has its fees. This one has a $90 registration fee - not bad, especially since the dual CMEMS/PMRG and postgraduate student discount is built into this fee.

However, I did pause for a second and think - wait a minute! I'm presenting my first paper at a conference! But I thought I didn’t qualify for any of my funding support since it is all for travel only and so would have to pay for my first paper presentation out of my own pocket, right?

WRONG! After asking around to quite a few people, Humanities Graduate Research Coordinator, Rob Stuart, gave me some fantastic news - you can get reimbursed for conference fees!

Here is the information he sent me:

Rob's introductory explanation:

The schools in the Faculty had to bring their funding entitlements into agreement last year, so all three of them would now have a policy on-line that says more or less what Humanities' website does about conference funding.

The website says:

Conference travel funding

The School encourages its postgraduates to attend conferences and provides up to $740 to cover conference travel and attendance costs when the candidate is presenting a paper.

Applications must demonstrate a clear research benefit to the student, and have the written support of the supervisor.

Funding will be provided only after conference organisers have accepted the proposed paper for presentation and only if a student has applied for all other available University funding for attendance (such as the University Graduate Research Student Travel Award).

Rob's closing explanation:

As you can see, it's pretty clear that conference membership fees are a legitimate expense that can be funded. This should be true across the Faculty.

Thus, Arts pgs: reap the rewards of my true expat American nature and CLAIM YOUR FUNDING!

Hope this brightens your day as much as it did mine! If you’re in other Faculties which have a similar scheme, let the PSA know, so that all of your colleagues can also benefit!

Patricia

2012 Vice President

Newsletter 27th June 2012

Hi all!

Newsletter day always rolls around faster than I expect, but here I am writing it again!

Nobody could find Croccy’s location last week, so the money has rolled over to this week – there is $100 cash prize for people who can go to the location shown in Croccy’s photo, take a photo of 10 UWA postgrads there, and send it to me. Full terms and conditions are on the website: <http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/psa/grants/alligator_sightings>. If you don’t understand the competition, send me an email!

The PSA Committee is keen to run a Careers event for postgrads across the campus in late August/early September, but we’re a little short on people-power. We’re looking to co-opt some members for this project – if you want to get involved and have the time to help make phone calls, book venues, and work with me on planning the event, please get in touch!

There have been a number of new discipline or Faculty-specific Facebook groups popping up for UWA postgrads. You’ll see some in the notices below. If you have one and would like to share it so that more people know about it, just send me the link! I’m always happy to share it on the PSA page or in the newsletter.

Please note that the date for submissions for the National Student Leadership Forum has changed – see either the website or the notice below. I also remind you again that you are entitled to be paid for your marking and there will be more info going up on the blog very soon!

Amongst other work I’ve been doing, I’m trying to make sure that postgraduate student representatives within faculties, schools, and centres are elected from the students by the students, not nominated and chosen by the staff. If you’re not sure how you’re represented on the various boards and committees, please let me know!

Finally, applications for the Convocation Travel Award open next week and PSA co-fund two of the awards – apply please!!

Peace out posties!

Aisling

Notices

Connect! On Thursday the 5^th of July at 5pm at the University Club! It might be cold and windy, but we’ll still be there! Come along and say hi, though I’ll only be at this one for the first 10 minutes or so. Note that there are still nibbles available, but we have cut down on them in order to cater for the larger turn out of people we’ve been experiencing so that everyone can have a drink or two. Even if you’re not a drinker, there is always soft drink and water provided as well, so please come along!

Law students: You’re almost certainly rarer than white elephants. Join the PSA Committee and represent postgrad law students! Email Aisling at psa@guild.uwa.edu.au. At this stage I will take unwitting nominations, so if you know a postgrad law student just email me their details and I’ll pounce on them.

Faculty of Arts Postgrads:  <https://www.facebook.com/groups/175293819267279/>  is a group set up for postgrads across the Arts Faculty. Join for networking info, events, and debates.

Nitpicky? Get experience in editing and publishing! Trove, UWA’s online magazine for students by students, is currently seeking UWA PhD students and MA students to join the steering committee. please email Carol Ryles or Crystal Abidin at trove-cp@uwa.edu.au.

Ecologists! The inaugural conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia (SERA) will be held at the University Club in Perth, Western Australia, from Tuesday 27 November to Saturday 1 December. Website for all the details: <http://www.seraustralasia.com/pages/conference.html>

National Student Leadership Forum: Is running in Canberra from the 20^th to the 23^rd of September, info is here: <http://nslf.org.au/>. If you’d like to be the postgraduate representative from UWA, please apply by sending a brief CV; your statement of academic record; a single page explaining why you think the Forum is valuable and what you could contribute to Donna.Utz@uwa.edu.au by the 23^rd of July.

Inquisitive? Inquire: Journal of Comparative Literature is a peer-reviewed, open-access online journal that publishes full-length academic articles by current graduate students. The theme for Issue 3.1 (Winter 2013) is 'Literature and Identity' and there is currently a Call for Papers! See <http://inquire.streetmag.org/submissions> for the info.

Rookie teachers! The Centre for Teaching and Learning have a course for you! Applications close 11^th of July. Check it out: <http://www.catl.uwa.edu.au/pd/programs/iut>

Sisters are doing it for themselves: Graduate Women WA bursaries/scholarships are open again until 12pm on the 27^th of July. I assume the old form is still valid: <http://www.members.westnet.com.au/afuwwa/bursaries.html>

Money? Money! Convocation and PSA co-fund some travel awards! Applications are open on the 1^st of July: <http://www.graduates.uwa.edu.au/awards/pgrta>

Threesome! By which, of course, I mean the three most awesome PSAs in WA (UWA, Curtin, and Murdoch) are co-hosting a networking event! It will be held at Curtin on the 19^th of July from 6pm to 9pm. Wine and Cheese/Nibbles are on the cards!

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 20th June 2012

Hi postgrads!

Well, this edition of the newsletter is pretty Arts-focused, but I swear it’s not my bias! If you’re in something more science-y and want to let others know about it you should definitely send me the info! I’m just back from Academic Board and talking about the merge of the two Science Faculties into one giant super Faculty, so you’re getting some love regardless.

The first photo of the Croccy competition is up and ready for you to guess where he is! Final terms and conditions are on the website: http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/psa/grants/alligator_sightings (look, I made him his own webpage!). The link to this week’s photo is there too, and it’s on the Facebook page – best be liking that if you want to win! The major thing to note is that the committee assures me that 15 people is too hard – so now you only need 10! So figure out where that adorable little guy was, take 10 postgrads there, snap a photo and win a cool $50! I might upload another clue later this week... so join www.facebook.com/uwapsa to take advantage!

Speaking of the website, I spent the start of this week going through and culling dead pages, fixing broken links, and updating the content. It’s like a renovated house – the same place, but just a little bit fresher. Have a look though www.psa.guild.uwa.edu.au and let me know if there is anything else you want to see on there, and give me a heads up on any remaining broken links and typos. Note: If you try and break my website, you’ll make me cry.

I want to remind you that you are entitled to be paid for marking – so keep an eye on your payslips, and a note of how many essays/exams/assignments you mark and make sure that you get paid for all the work that you do! Another reminder, I have had a number of complaints about people preventing drinks from reaching the communal table at Connect. If you do this, I will ask you to leave. It’s not acceptable, it’s not collegial, and we all want something to drink!

Same as always, if you’ve got problems I feel bad for you, son – so tell your PSA!
Sparkly update finished.
Aisling

Notices

Law students: You’re almost certainly rarer than unicorns. Join the PSA Committee and represent postgrad law students! Email Aisling at psa@guild.uwa.edu.au. At this stage I will take unwitting nominations, so if you know a postgrad law student just email me their details and I’ll pounce on them.  

Cultural Studies/English majors/Theorists of squishy sciences: There is a UWA community being set up for you! Join the Facebook group to hear more: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/424150630940808/

Nitpicky? Get experience in editing and publishing! Trove, UWA’s online magazine for students by students, is currently seeking UWA PhD students and MA students to join the steering committee. please email Carol Ryles or Crystal Abidin at trove-cp@uwa.edu.au.

Ecologists! The inaugural conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia (SERA) will be held at the University Club in Perth, Western Australia, from Tuesday 27 November to Saturday 1 December. Website for all the details: http://www.seraustralasia.com/pages/conference.html

National Student Leadership Forum: Is running in Canberra from the 20^th to the 23^rd of September, info is here: http://nslf.org.au/. If you’d like to be the postgraduate representative from UWA, please apply by sending a brief CV; your statement of academic record; a single page explaining why you think the Forum is valuable and what you could contribute to Donna.Utz@uwa.edu.au by the 3^rd of August. Incidentally, this is on the PSA website!

Inquisitive? Inquire: Journal of Comparative Literature is a peer-reviewed, open-access online journal that publishes full-length academic articles by current graduate students. The theme for Issue 3.1 (Winter 2013) is 'Literature and Identity' and there is currently a Call for Papers! See http://inquire.streetmag.org/submissions for the info.

Rookie teachers! The Centre for Teaching and Learning have a course for you! Applications close 11^th of July. Check it out: www.catl.uwa.edu.au/pd/programs/iut

Sisters are doing it for themselves: Graduate Women WA bursaries/scholarships are open again until 12pm on the 27^th of July. I assume the old form is still valid: www.members.westnet.com.au/afuwwa/bursaries.html

Money? Money! Convocation and PSA co-fund some travel awards! Applications are open on the 1^st of July: www.graduates.uwa.edu.au/awards/pgrta

Threesome! By which, of course, I mean the three most awesome PSAs in WA (UWA, Curtin, and Murdoch) are co-hosting a networking event! It will be held at Curtin on the 19^th of July from 6pm to 9pm. Wine and Cheese/Nibbles are on the cards!

Wet? Avoid that disaster in the PSA Lounge! Ask for the key at Guild reception. Also, this building is heated. If you want to use the Lounge for study but are happy to share, just let Reception know. It’s a big room, and I’d love to see more people use it. Also, sometimes I’m lonely :(

Mature ones: The Mature Age Student Network Australia (MASNA) is having their first ever conference! See: http://masna-2012.blogspot.com.au/ for the details.

Need peace and quiet? Quiet Day is happening again on 26^th July on a lovely bush block in Mundaring, the cost is $50 including lunch, morning and afternoon teas ($35 for PhD students). Email michael.wood@uwa.edu.au or phone Michael for more information on 0435 065326.

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!

Newsletter 13th June 2012

Hi all!

 I hope that you’re all in one piece after the killer storm that was promised! I’m pleased to say that the office and the lounge are still intact, so life for the committee goes on uninterrupted. Connect was fun! It was great to see so many of you there, including the lovely Mendel Baba! By the way, if you intercept drinks on their way from the bar to the table outside, I will ask you to leave. Taking free stuff from the mouths of other postgrads is not ok!

Last week, I was lucky enough to hear a paper at the Limina Conference co-presented by four students in Anthropology. These students have been working hard to try and establish a feeling of community within their cohort. This is one of the things PSA was established to try and foster, and it’s really important to me that postgrads at UWA don’t feel isolated. However, at a disciplinary or school level, I think it is up to postgrads to do create this community – PSA doesn’t have the resources to go to each and every school, centre, and discipline office and organise something for the postgrads there. Also, we don’t know what you already have/need/want!

What we do want to do is make it easy and fun for your discipline to get together and relax, and also let you get to know some people from other areas. So we run Connect, the Quiz Night, and a Cocktail party. We provide the Small Grants, and the Lounge. Is there anything else you would like us to do though?

There is one thing that I’m going to try. Fans of the Newsletter might recall the May 3^rd newsletter asked for reports of any alligator sightings. One has been duly communicated to me! You can see his photo with me at Connect on the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/uwapsa). This brave alligator will scout out locations across UWA campuses (though probably not Albany – sorry dudes) and will send me a photo each week. I will post the photo on the Facebook page, and if you can get 15 UWA postgraduates in a photo in the same location as the alligator, you win $50 for the group to spend on something together. Coffee, Friday drinks, pizzas – anything the 15 of you decide. Sound fun?

Rules:
1. The alligator photo will be posted on Facebook by 5pm Monday. Your group photo must be emailed to psa@guild.uwa.edu.au by 5pm the following Sunday to claim the cash.
2. The 15 people in the photo must be current, active UWA postgrads, and the email must contain their names and student numbers so I can check. You must also name/describe the location.
3. Generally, first photo of 15 will win – however, if your group does something funny and quirky, I reserve the right to choose you as the winners. Also, if the same group keeps submitting, I might favour someone new over old winners. Committee members are eligible to enter.
4. If there are no winners in one week, the money will roll over to the next week. Woo!
5. You may use the Facebook page to try and gather additional postgrads to make up your 15, however, the point is that you talk to the people in the offices/labs/carrels around you. So do that first.
6. This will run for a four week trial – if you don’t participate, or if it’s always the same group, then I’ll scrap it.

Such a long entry from me today! First photo will be posted next Monday – so email any feedback/questions through ASAP.

As always, if you have issues or question let me know!

Stay toastie, posties!
Aisling

Notices

Law students: Do you exist? Join the PSA Committee and represent postgrad law students! Email Aisling at psa@guild.uwa.edu.au

Are you a woman? Graduate Women WA bursaries/scholarships are open again until 12pm on the 27^th of July. I assume the old form is still valid: www.members.westnet.com.au/afuwwa/bursaries.html

Rookie teachers! The Centre for Teaching and Learning have a course for you! Check it out: www.catl.uwa.edu.au/pd/programs/iut

Money? Money! Convocation and PSA co-fund some travel awards! Applications are open on the 1^st of July: www.graduates.uwa.edu.au/awards/pgrta

Threesome! By which, of course, I mean the three most awesome PSAs in WA (UWA, Curtin, and Murdoch) are co-hosting a networking event! It will be held at Curtin on the 19^th of July from 6pm to 9pm. More details for you when I have them, but save the date!

Cold? You can shelter in the PSA Lounge! Ask for the key at Guild reception. Also, there are a million packets of sugar in there, if your coffee needs sweetening.

Mature ones: The Mature Age Student Network Australia (MASNA) is having their first ever conference! See: http://masna-2012.blogspot.com.au/ for the details.

Need peace and quiet? Quiet Day is happening again on 26^th July on a lovely bush block in Mundaring, the cost is $50 including lunch, morning and afternoon teas ($35 for PhD students). Email michael.wood@uwa.edu.au or phone Michael for more information on 0435 065326.

H4X0R: PhD student, Jo, is also a blogger writing about lots of interesting things, but I recommend you check out her most recent post in particular: http://www.historypunk.com/2012/06/socialising-research-how-to-get-your.html

National Student Leadership Forum: Is running in Canberra from the 20^th to the 23^rd of September, info is here: http://nslf.org.au/. If you’d like to be the postgraduate representative from UWA, please apply by sending a brief CV; your statement of academic record; a single page explaining why you think the Forum is valuable and what you could contribute to Donna.Utz@uwa.edu.au by the 3^rd of August.

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!

Alligators and Money, oh my!

Fans of the Newsletter might recall the May 3^rd newsletter asked for reports of any alligator sightings. One has been duly communicated to me! This brave alligator will scout out locations across UWA campuses and will send me a photo each week. I will post the photo on the Facebook page, and if you can get 15 UWA postgraduates in a photo in the same location as the alligator, you win $50 for the group to spend on something together. Coffee, Friday drinks, pizzas – anything the 15 of you decide. Sound fun?

I am acutely aware of the limitations of being an organisation which spans the whole university - it means that while we're able to represent you on a univeristy level, and advocate for postgrads with a degree of authority, we're not able to engage on a discipline level and deal with your everyday needs. But, I'd like to try to make sure that you have a fantastic postgraduate experience and get to know the other people toiling away in your school as much as I can - and I think this is a fun way for you to break the ice with people you might not have spoken to before!

This is not a clue. Don't get too excited and barge into my office.

Rules:
1. The alligator photo will be posted on Facebook by 5pm Monday. Your group photo must be emailed to psa@guild.uwa.edu.au by 5pm the following Sunday to claim the cash.
2. The 15 people in the photo must be current, active UWA postgrads, and the email must contain their names and student numbers so I can check. You must also name/describe the location.
3. Generally, first photo of 15 will win – however, if your group does something funny and quirky, I reserve the right to choose you as the winners. Also, if the same group keeps submitting, I might favour someone new over old winners. Committee members are eligible to enter.
4. If there are no winners in one week, the money will roll over to the next week. Woo!
5. You may use the Facebook page to try and gather additional postgrads to make up your 15, however, the point is that you talk to the people in the offices/labs/carrels around you. So do that first.
6. This will run for a four week trial – if you don’t participate, or if it’s always the same group, then I’ll scrap it.