A Message from the Library about the Scholars Centre

Dear Postgraduate Students

As you may know Information Services is planning some upcoming changes to the Reid Library for implementation in February 2014.

The refurbishments are part of an overall plan to transform the Reid Library to better meet the needs of students.  The first stage of this transformation (in 2012) was the creation of the collaborative study zone on the ground floor and the provision of 24 hour access.  The next stage is the creation of a new postgraduate area on the first floor of the Reid Library.  This new area will significantly expand the facilities available to postgraduate research students.  Access will be via UWA student card based on enrolment type with two distinct areas within the facility; for silent study and collaborative work.  The silent area which will be totally sound-proofed will include 153 ergonomically designed desks and chairs with power available at each desk.  The second area will include 30 informal spaces, student lockers, printing and computing facilities and a dedicated bookable meeting room with technologies for collaborative student work.   The new location will be adjacent to the main help area on the first floor with convenient access to student IT assistance and subject librarian and research support.

When the new area opens (anticipated February 2014) the current Scholars’ Centre on the second floor will close.  Desks in the new facility will be available to all postgraduate research students and the current desk and carrel allocation system will cease.  This will provide more equitable and flexible access to all postgraduate research students across UWA, and will alleviate the unmet demand for what is currently limited available desk space in the Scholars' Centre.   Lockers will be available for storing books and other belongings in the new facility.  Consultation via the Postgraduate Student Association, including student meetings with the Architect responsible for design, have already occurred and it is expected that these will continue as more detailed decisions are made (eg. design and partitioning of desks, size and number of lockers, and the style of furniture).

Information Services will work with the Graduate Research School and faculties to transition the current students using the Scholars’ Centre to the new space and more information about the transition will be provided soon.

For further information or to view the plans for the new space please contact Roz Howard, Assistant Director (Arts, Business, Law), Information Services – roz.howard@uwa.edu.au.

Many thanks

Jill

---

Jill Benn | Associate Director (Research and Learning Support)

Information Services

The University of Western Australia M209

35 Stirling Highway CRAWLEY WA 6009

Ph: +61 8 6488 2341   

jill.benn@uwa.edu.au

www.is.uwa.edu.au

Achieve International Excellence
CRICOS Provider Code 00126G

Changes to the Scholars Centre

Dear Postgraduate Students,

There have been several rumours circulating about changes to the Scholars Centre in the Reid Library. The following information is what has been told to the PSA from the Library Executive.

During the current renovation and relocation of the Scholars Centre in the Reid Library the current plan is to no longer offer permanent desk space to honours and postgraduate students. The Library have noted that it is not the responsibility or a requirement for the Library to provide permanent desk space for postgraduate students as this responsibility lies with the Faculties. In the new refurbishment there will be up to double the desk space provided for postgraduate and honours students in the Scholars Centre, with the inclusion of group working areas. However, none of this desk space will be assigned. Lockers will be provided in the scholars centre for students wishing to leave books, laptops, etc there.

The library has assured the PSA that they are currently consulting with the Faculty of Arts and other Faculties on the issue of desk allocation. The Library have guaranteed us that they will be flagging this change with the Faculties to warn them of the increased pressures that will be placed on existing desk space.

I realise that this is not news that postgraduates in the Scholars Centre will want to hear. The library has told me that they will be informing all of the affected individuals of what is happening as soon as the plans are finalised. For more information or up to date information I encourage affect postgraduates to contact the library. http://www.uwa.edu.au/people/jill.benn

As the PSA is informed of more information we will update the postgraduate community.

Thank you,

Gemma Bothe

2013 PSA President. 

PSA Newsletter 12th of December

Minions! (meant in a non-insulting cartoonish funny sense)

GUESS WHAT!! This is the last time we get to do this with the date in our life time- 12/12/12!!

I bring you greetings from the last PSA Newsletter of the year. I know you are all sad. You’re probably shedding a tear right now, aren’t you? Last PSA newsletter of the year = university break and freedom (for a brief period of time anyway).

So a few news like items:

1)     We have nominations for Committee positions! Yay! So coz our constitution says so (and like when Simon says - you have to do it) I need to advertise that they have nominated for one week, here, on the webpage and on our notice board (I bet most of you don’t even know where it is- I will give a block of Cadbury chocolate to the first person to email me with the location of the notice board and 2 things that are currently posted on it.)

If you have any objections to these people ascending to the positions please let me know within the week and I will take them under advisement.

Sajni Gudka has nominated to be MDHS Faculty Representative

Jaqueline De Oliveira Haupt and Isabel Rossen have both applied to be Equity Officers

Madeleine Hartley has nominated to be the Law Faculty Representative (someone should tell Aisling that they do exist)

2)     Just a reminder that we still have the following positions open for the 2013 Committee:

Coursework Officer
Indigenous Officer
Education Faculty Representative
Law Faculty Representative

Other than that I don’t really have much to say. The Inspire Summer School is still open so register away my pretties. Like I have told you a million, billion, zillion times before, there is no Connect in January.  Follow us on Twitter @UWAPSA; we look like the loser kid at the party with no friends right now.

Finally as no one has emailed me with fantabulous things their fellow postgrads have done this week I am going to highjack this week’s shout out, with a slightly personal note.

As some of you may know Christo Bester (one of our 2013 Ordinary Committee Members) married Audrey Appudurai (another UWA postgrad) last weekend in the Tropical Grove at UWA. It was a shoetastic wedding and I would just like to say congratulations Audristo! I wish you many nerdy/happy years together.

Gemma over and out (at least until......let’s say mid-January 2013)

PS. Check your student email- it’s important you know.

PPS. As most of you may have noticed on facebook, twitter, here – I am a horrible speller.....sorry in advance, for the rest of the year.

Notices

·        2013 PSA Committee: There are still some positions open on the 2013 committee, so if you’ve got the desire to volunteer and a passion for postgraduates, shoot me an email!

New members welcome for:
Coursework Officer
Indigenous Officer
Education Fac Rep
Law Fac Rep

·        There will be NO Connect in January.

·        The PSA Lounge will be open for use by any postgraduate student anytime I'm in my office. In case I'm not there you can pick up the keys from the Guild reception.

·        The old mailing list, Postgrad Talk is being deleted. Yes I know most of you have no idea that it exists but if you're still on it this notice is for you!

·        Let's pat ourselves on the back! If you know any UWA postgrads who have done anything exceptional in their field of late let us know and we'll include a shout-out in the newsletter and blogposts! We're proud of our posties and would love to celebrate your achievements!

·        Check your student email!! Your student email is where the GRS communicates with you – regardless of if you have a staff account, or still use the same Hotmail account you set up when you were 12 years old. Check that and Student Connect at least once a week to ensure that you don’t have any outstanding fines, fees, milestones which might lead to an encumbrance – this would prevent the automatic re-enrolment of research students! Bad times for everyone.

Don’t start whinging if you’re not re-enrolled, check your student email NOW! (Simon says)

·        Inter-Uni Summer School! Registrations for the inaugural Inter-uni Summer-school for Postgraduate Research Excellence (InSPiRE) are now open, please find attached the promotional flyer.
InSPiRE will be held from February 11th – 15th 2013, with the opening day being held at the University Club of WA. The remainder of the week will be held across the four other Western Australian Universities, and students may register for single days, multiple days or for the whole week. The program will feature guest speakers from the industry and community, interactive workshops and networking events, and fantastic prize giveaways.
Numbers are strictly limited, and the students will need to register early to avoid disappointment. http://www.ecu.edu.au/conferences/2013/InSPiRE

Do you want to put a notice in the newsletter? You should email me! I’ll plug 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

Twitter: @UWAPSA
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

PSA Newsletter 5th December 2012

Bow Down to Your New Leader (please)

Greetings UWA Postgraduates,

I am your new leader. In a bloodless and uneventful takeover I have managed to wrestle power of this distinguished organisation from the now significantly less busy Aisling Blackmore.

Or alternatively;

Hi I’m Gemma Bothe, your new PSA President. I am in the process of taking up residence in the PSA office, so if you want to come and talk to me about anything, shoot me an email first to make sure I am around.

As of the 1^st of December the 2013 PSA committee has taken over. We still have several positions open on the 2013 committee including Course Work Officer, Equity Office, Indigenous Officer, as well as Faculty Reps for Education, Law and MDHS. If you’re interested in any of these positions, please email me!

There isn’t too much news this time of the year as everyone seems to be winding down (read- slacking off) as we come up to the festive season and university break.

I guess the big news items right now would be that there is no Connect this Thursday or in January. I know; tragic. There just aren’t enough people around the university for these two months to make the Connects worthwhile. However, they will be back in February next year (yay). 

The PSA now has its own twitter account (yeah we tweet and stuff). Find us, follow us, love us. https://twitter.com/UWAPSA

Finally if you know a UWA Postgrad who has achieved something exceptional let us know so we can give them a shout out in the newsletter. We want to celebrate the achievements of our peers and acknowledge the hard work they have done, while shaming the rest of you underachieving plebs into actually doing something (jokes- please don’t form a mob and get me in my first week :D)

I think I have pretty much doubled the average length of Aisling’s editorials in my above rambling.

So, I will say goodbye, until I put you all through another excessively long editorial next week,

Gemma

Notices

·        2013 PSA Committee: There are still some positions open on the 2013 committee, so if you’ve got the desire to volunteer and a passion for postgraduates, shoot me an email!

New members welcome for:
Equity Officer
Coursework Officer
Indigenous Officer
Education Fac Rep
Law Fac Rep

Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Science Face Rep

·        There will be NO Connect this month or in January.

·        The PSA Lounge will be open for use by any postgraduate student anytime I'm in my office. In case I'm not there you can pick up the keys from the Guild reception.

·        The old mailing list, Postgrad Talk is being deleted. Yes I know most of you have no idea that it exists but if you're still on it this notice is for you!

·        Let's pat ourselves on the back! If you know any UWA postgrads who have done anything exceptional in their field of late let us know and we'll include a shout-out in the newsletter and blogposts! We're proud of our posties and would love to celebrate your achievements!

·        Workshop! The GRS is running a workshop on a topic close to many postgrads' hearts,  Communicating Your Research! Details below!

Effective communication is a critical skill to ensure your research has impact and reaches target audiences such as academia, media, industry and community. This 3 hour workshop will provide practical strategies for presenting and communicating the significance of your research in a range of academic, community and industry contexts including conferences, journal abstracts and media releases. Special guest speakers will provide expert advice on how to maximise the impact of your research.

Morning/afternoon tea provided

The workshops are on the 12th December (Mt Lawley campus) and 13th December (Joondalup campus).

Please register for the workshop at:

http://www.ecu.edu.au/events-and-activities/events-view?event_id=0000000562

For further information please contact:
Dr Natasha Ayers, researchtraining@ecu.edu.au

·        Check your student email!! Your student email is where the GRS communicates with you – regardless of if you have a staff account, or still use the same Hotmail account you set up when you were 12 years old. Check that and Student Connect at least once a week to ensure that you don’t have any outstanding fines, fees, milestones which might lead to an encumbrance – this would prevent the automatic re-enrolment of research students! Bad times for everyone.

Don’t start whinging if you’re not re-enrolled, check your student email now.

·        Inter-Uni Summer School! Registrations for the inaugural Inter-uni Summer-school for Postgraduate Research Excellence (InSPiRE) are now open, please find attached the promotional flyer.

InSPiRE will be held from February 11th – 15th 2013, with the opening day being held at the University Club of WA. The remainder of the week will be held across the four other Western Australian Universities, and students may register for single days, multiple days or for the whole week. The program will feature guests speakers from the industry and community, interactive workshops and networking events, and fantastic prize giveaways.

Numbers are strictly limited, and the students will need to register early to avoid disappointment. http://www.ecu.edu.au/conferences/2013/InSPiRE

·        Do you have any old but still working music players, notepads (iPods, iPads), laptops, camera, mobile phones or musical instruments? Do not throw them away or let them age on a shelf. They could be the perfect Christmas gift for refugee children in Perth. This is a private initiative to make it happen this Christmas.

I will collect donations until Friday December 7th. Please leave your donation in the box marked “Donations here!” in the admin office, Social Sciences, Room 1.31. Jenny and Emma will help you to find the box.

For those who are not familiar with the Social Sciences Building, the building is located between the oval and the river and the office is on the first floor, accessible through the courtyard and open Mon-Fri between 9am and 3pm.

You can also contact me on 0438 100 857 or email me on andrzej.gwizdalski@uwa.edu.au

Andrzej

Do you want to put a notice in the newsletter? You should email me! I’ll plug 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

Twitter: @UWAPSA
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

What's happening in the Higher Education sector?

Any views expressed in this post are entirely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of the University of Western Australia or the UWA Student Guild.

Image Credit: alesia17, sxc.hu/photo/895649

Postgrads, there has been a lot of coverage recently on a number of developments in higher education. This post is not to tell you want to think, but to give you quick and easy access to some relevant materials on these issues, so that you can make up your own minds!

I do think it is important that we are aware and properly informed about wide-ranging issues in higher education, becuase they affect us as postgraduate students but they also affect the sector more broadly - including our opportunities as early career researchers and teachers!

Funding of the sector

So what on earth is happening here? Late last week we heard that there was a freeze on research grants (the Australian Research Council grants did not open as expected), and there was speculation that these grants would not be available. This development was very vocally criticised.

The Federal government released their Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook for 2012-13 on the 22nd of October. You can have a look at the official documents here.

First of all, the ARC and NHMRC funding was not reduced - the ARC linkage grants opened on Monday and there was $652 million distributed from the NHMRC. (citation)

This mini-budget did include significant cuts to the higher education sector, especially to the "abolition of University Facilitation funding (saving $270m) and reductions to the Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE) ($499m) as well as savings in relation to student income support and scholarships ($250m)." (S. Creagh, "Mid-Year budget slashes $499m from research support"). Specifically around student support, the Government has delayed making all Masters by Coursework students eligible for student payments and delaying any increase in the rate of Student Start-Up Scholarships. (citation)

The SRE funds exist to "support the 'indirect' costs of research such as administrative, equipment and staffing costs bit covered by research grants." (B. Hall and B. Preiss, "$1b cuts tipped to hit jobs, overseas students")

So far, commentary has pointed to potential job losses, the potential reduction in the quality of research space, a possible slippage in ranking, and the destablising effect on Australian researchers and their desire to work here (and a possible brain drain).

CAPA President Meghan Hopper pointed out that "These cuts may help the government achieve surplus in the short-term but they dismiss the long-term benefits of higher education to our economy and research output." (citation)

This budget is concerning to many in our sector, but especially for UWA with the new Cycle Two courses (the new Masters by Coursework), this is of great concern to the PSA.

Future of the sector

The other significant discussion happening at the moment is around what the Higher Education sector will look like, in a rapidly changing external environment. There are two important resources I would direct interested people to look at:

First, The Conversation have been running some incredibly interesting articles about the future of the sector, which culminated in a panel discussion last week. You can access it here.

Second, Ernst & Young released an interesting report today advocating radical change within univeristies. You can find and read that report here.

The Ernst & Young report highlights some of the drivers of change within the sector and The Conversation discussion focused on the developments around online teaching, Massive Open Online Courses, and the effect on learning.

I really want to highlight that these are developments we, as postgraduates, need to be thinking about. The way that the sector changes in line with a new digital economy will have long-term impacts on us - whether we want to be researchers or teachers.

Will the kind of jobs we see now still exist? Are we being properly trained in new resources so that we are competitive in an increasingly international environment? Are the same standards of teaching and learning being maintained in an online environment? What are student-teacher ratios going to look like in 5 years?

Have a read of some of the commentary for yourself! Think about how you want our future to look.

Universities must adapt or perish

What students want and how universities are getting it wrong

Research online: Why universities need to be knowledge brokers

MOOCs offer enormous potential

How can we influence or respond to this?

So now you're informed and have an opinion - what can you do with it? Can you influence the process or the future at all?

Yes, you can.

• Talk to your supervisors and your research group, and raise their awareness too.
• Express your opinion to the PSA!
• The PSA has access to both the UWA administration and can lobby for you there
• The PSA is also a member of CAPA, and will help formulate CAPA policy and priorities in our Annual Council Meeting at the end of November.
• Interact with the conversations going on online, write to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research (Chris Evans, who happens to be a Senator from WA), or write to your local Federal Member of Parliament.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this post, I hope that the collection of resources is useful to you!

Aisling

2012 PSA President